Strategic Initiatives Funding
OIP International Pre-Dissertation and Small Grants Competition
2007-08 Recipients
Cecilia Aldarondo, CLA/Comparative Studies in Discourse and
Society
Cuba
Study of the contemporary visual culture of Cuba, with
particular focus on visual art, film, and video; will involve interviews
with cultural producers (educators, artists, directors, curators, and
other relevant professionals), as well as visits to cultural institutions
in Havana such as galleries, foundations, universities, and film archives.
Renata Blumberg, CLA/Geography
Latvia & Lithuania
Preliminary fieldwork to identify research sites, study intensive
Lithuanian at the advanced level, consult with academics and governmental
officials, and obtain relevant scholarly and government literature
that is unavailable in the United States.
David Boulware, School of Public Health
Uganda
Recruitment of HIV+ Ugandans with cryptococcal meningitis to enroll
in an ongoing, observational pilot study examining the pathogens of
HIV Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS), a newly recognized,
but poorly understood phenomenon whereby ~30% of patients with AIDS will
paradoxically worsen after starting HIV antiretroviral therapy.
Chih-Ming Hung, CFANS/Conservation Biology
Taiwan
Preliminary investigation on the conditions of bear populations using
sign survey in the proposed study sites, initiate contact with indigenous
people to become familiar with their culture, test the use of tracking
dogs in the fieldwork, and contact adequate genetic laboratories for
testing bear fecal DNA methodology.
Yeonbo Jeong, CLA/Feminist Studies
South Korea
Collect materials including forum proceedings and official statements
regarding the debate over ova trafficking for stem cell research in Korea
and conduct in-depth interviews with bioethics scholars, activists, and
egg donors.
Isaac Kamola, CLA/Political Science
South Africa
Preliminary dissertation fieldwork to interview politicians, academics,
business leaders, and members of pro-privatization think-tanks and anti-privatization
activists, to see if different understandings of globalization influence
their stance on the privatization of social services.
Jonneke Koomen, CLA/Political Science
Tanzania & Kenya
Conduct the final phase of dissertation field research to investigate
how elite development planners in international institutions headquartered
in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi conceptualize “gender” and understand
the causes of women's inequality.
Hadas Kushnir, CFANS/Conservation Biology
Tanzania
Complete dissertation research by conducting interviews with villagers
in the two districts with the highest number of lion attacks on people
and compare how human and environmental conditions differ in areas with
and without attacks.
Kaisa Larson, CLA/Hispanic Literatures
Spain
Establish the necessary professional and institutional contacts for my
project, visit archives to review materials on women's tole in wartime
communist movements, and compare written accounts on this topic to visual
forms of representation.
Moosung Lee, CEHD/Educational Policy
Germany
Investigate a wide range of archives closely related to this project to find valuable in-house materials that cannot be obtained in major university libraries and continue to seek and analyze new and previously unknown policy texts.
Judith Otto, CLA/Geography
Poland
Interview local tourism and economic development officials regarding
the emergence of “communist heritage tourism” in the city
district known as Nowa Huta and the congruence or disjunction of this
new form of tourist practice with official goals and plans for economic
regeneration and growth.
Her Vang, CLA/History
Laos
Conduct oral interviews with Hmong informants who fled Laos in 1975 to
immigrate to America but have recently returned to Laos to live under
the same regime, focusing on how they have reestablished their new life
and whether they are welcomed by the people and the government.
Joanne Zerdy, CLA/Theater Arts
United Kingdom
Conduct archival and ethnographic research at various libraries and archives
in England and Scotland.
Xi Zhu, CLA/Sociology
China
Research archival data and newspaper articles related to my dissertation
research from government agencies, libraries, and media archive datasets;
collect information on possible empirical sites; and initiate contacts
with informants.