INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Researchers at two Indiana universities are sharing more than $630,000 in funding for projects including one exploring the life of naturalist Henry David Thoreau and one studying the 1950s calypso craze.

The funding announced Monday by the National Endowment for the Humanities is among nearly $18 million in grants the group awarded for more than 200 humanities projects nationwide.

Indiana University will get $550,000 for four projects, including a cultural history of the 1950s calypso craze in the U.S. But most of IU's funding will go to ongoing efforts to preserve and access digitized films and sound recordings.

Notre Dame will get $84,000 for two projects, including a book on the life of Thoreau, the 19th century naturalist best known for his book “Walden” about living alone in the woods.