Fulbright Experience of Kyle Inman '11 in Chronicle of Higher Education Spotlight

October 26, 2011

October 26, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Can two sectarian groups, bitter enemies divided by religious and political differences, forge a bond by making music together?," begins a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. "Kyle K. Inman wagers they can, and she's determined to record the elusive sounds of peace in the pubs and on the streets of Northern Ireland, a region still shaken by decades-long political and religious strife. Through the Fulbright-mtvU Fellowship program, the 22-year-old graduate of DePauw University will hunt for Roman Catholic and Protestant musicians bent on creating a harmony that runs deeper than just melody."

Inman, a 2011 DePauw graduate, tells the publication, "One thing I've realized is that it depends on which generation you're talking to in America as to how much they know about Northern Ireland. I saw Fulbright as an opportunity to return and use my passion for music, love for travel, and knowledge of Northern Ireland to make a difference by drawing attention to the artistic support of the peace process." 

Collin Eaton writes, "Inman, who is from Texas, says her passion for Northern Ireland developed in college after a tour during her freshman year. At DePauw, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music and English literature, Ms. Inman ran a Northern Ireland awareness project, a weeklong series of events focused on the country's art and culture and how they related to the conflict. In January 2009, she traveled there again and met a man whose guitar playing would later help shape the idea for her Fulbright project. At a traditional pub in Belfast called the Hatfield House, the man, a former leader in the Irish Republican Army, told her about his time as a prisoner and about his music, which commemorated friends lost in the violence."

Read more at the Chronicle's website (a subscription may be required to access the full text).

Kyle Inman's Fulbright award was noted in this previous story.

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