West LA Times

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program has awarded fellowships to 15 UCLA graduate students, marking the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has had the most recipients from any research university in the United States. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, this program allows doctoral candidates to study various societal aspects, including culture, economy, history, and international relations. The fellowship aims to enhance the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the United States.

The selected UCLA fellows for 2024 will conduct research across multiple countries: Colombia, Egypt, Guinea, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Nigeria, Spain, and Taiwan. The Division of Graduate Education at UCLA administers this research abroad program. Further details can be found on the UCLA Fulbright Fellowships website.

Among the awardees is Natasha Bluth from sociology who will study in Poland. Her research focuses on Ukrainian wartime migration and its effects on refugees and families. Adam Boggs from architecture declined his fellowship to accept a tenure-track position with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His intended research was a comparative study of functionalist architecture in Mexico.

César Bowley Castillo will focus on political mobilization among urban poor communities in Colombia. Sunny Chen's project in Morocco examines phosphate mining and its relation to environmental politics during anti-colonial struggles. Wesleigh Gates' research in Colombia involves studying movement practices among trans and gender-variant populations.

Sara Greenman-Spear will explore Mexican women's political activism during the 1960s and 1970s through historical lenses in Mexico. AnnaLise Hoopes will investigate empathy cultivation in schools across Italy, Germany, and Ecuador. Sara Hussein's project looks at Cairo’s role in African anticolonialism networks from Egypt to England.

Juan Carlos Jauregui's work in Peru addresses mental health among LGBTQ+ young people living with HIV. Rachel Kaufman's dissertation focuses on women known as conversas during religious persecution periods in Spain and Mexico. Kanako Mabuchi explores early broadcast television’s convergence with postwar art movements in Japan.

Chris Abdul Hakim Martinez studies Guinea's bauxite mining industry within global economic frameworks. Leah Nugent examines Indigenous participation in environmental projects across Taiwan's colonial history impacts. Andres F. Ramirez's work revolves around Indigenous urban planning practices challenging state property regimes in Colombia.

Finally, Hunter Wimpey's research delves into Kyoto's transformation during festival times as part of identity development studies amid diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

More information about these fellowships can be accessed via official UCLA channels for those interested in understanding how these scholars contribute to global knowledge through their respective disciplines.