Two Creighton professors have been honored by an international grant program and are working in their fields in Europe.

Dr. Jeffrey Hause, associate professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and Philosophy, and Dr. Jennifer Ladino, assistant professor in English, were named Fulbright Scholar grantees for 2009-10 and are currently doing research and teaching at European universities.

Hause is on the west coast of France at the University of Nantes while Ladino is at the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway.

While in Nantes, Hause is researching the 13th century philosopher Thomas Aquinas’s understanding of action theory. Action theory tries to explain human actions in terms of reason, causes and desires.

Hause hopes to complete one section of a larger study of Aquinas before leaving France in May. Once back in Omaha, he would like to compile a book.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and allows American scholars to conduct research and teach in a foreign country.

In an interview over Skype, Hause said he began the application process in the summer of 2008 and found out in two stages that he had been named a Fulbright Fellow. In early 2009, the American government recommended him to the Franco-American commission in Paris. It wasn’t until the Franco-American commission approved him in the spring of 2009 that he understood what it meant to be a Fulbright Fellow.

“I was thrilled; I was honored,” Hause said. “Very often, philosophy doesn’t get a lot of funding. Funding very often goes to the sciences, the hard sciences in particular . . . So I was really pleased not just on my own behalf but also for my field because I think it was really important for philosophy, for my field, that the Fulbright commission was willing to fund a philosophical project.”

“I am not sure that the book itself will be used as a textbook,” Hause said. “It will probably be more of a research book for graduate students and other professors, but with any luck, if the book turns out to be a good book, I’m hoping that some of the ideas will filter down into the classroom at all levels.”

Ladino was also pleased to be a fellow.

“I was not sure about my chances, but I was certainly not counting on getting the award,” Ladino said in an e-mail interview. “It was a very pleasant surprise.”

Ladino is teaching a course on American literature and culture while she is in Norway.

“It’s quite ambitious, especially since it is all covered in one semester,” Ladino said. “This course, which I taught in the fall, included a series of eight lectures . . . and two seminars that met once a week . . . This spring, I am teaching a seminar on the literature and cultures of the American West.”

She believes this semester will change the way she teaches.

“The different educational system I am experiencing in Norway has made me reflect quite a bit about my own pedagogy,” Ladino said. “I have learned new ways to encourage discussion, and I have been reminded never to take my audience or their assumptions for granted, but instead to elicit discussion of those assumptions and use them as a starting point for critical inquiry.”

Accompanything Hause in France are his wife and two sons, a 12-year-old and a 7-year-old. Both children are in French school, although neither speaks French fluently.

“The boys speak very little French,” Hause said. “I tried to teach them before we got here, but you know, they’re kids. They didn’t really want to take French lessons from dad. And I don’t blame them.”

Ladino’s husband and 2-year-old son are with her.

“Evan, my son, has picked up some Norwegian words,” Ladino said. “His favorites are ‘brannbil’ (firetruck), ‘politibil’ (police car) and, of course, ‘nei’ (no).”

Both Hause and Ladino said so far they are enjoying their time abroad.

“The people at the philosophy department at the University of Nantes have been really wonderful to me,” Hause said. “They gave me the key to the department and to the copy room and they made me feel right at home. Here I am; I just waltzed in from the United States and they’re handing me keys to everything.”