Katherine Fitzgerald
Katherine Fitzgerald, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University, has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship by the U.S. Department of Education, International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE)office. Doctoral candidates can engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies through the DDRA grant. Nationwide across all disciplines only 100 Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowships were awarded.
Fitzgerald will conduct her dissertation research in China for six months investigating No Pure Lands: The Contemporary Buddhism of Tibetan Lay Women.
Fitzgerald posits that the Buddhism of female lay practitioners—often labeled animistic, pagan, superstitious, non-philosophical, shamanistic—is in fact constituent of modern Tibetan Buddhism. Using ethnographic data collected in Nangchen, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, Fitzgerald argues for a definition of Tibetan Buddhism founded in female lay practice. Her research seeks to (1) Understand the place of circumambulation and sacred space as aspects of Tibetan Buddhist practice and how these practices have been informed by migration; (2) Understand how mobility, both physical and imaginative, is a key aspect of contemporary Buddhist practice; and (3) Conceptualize how violence, both physical and emotional, is conceived of as a method for achieving enlightenment and an essential aspect of Buddhism.
Fitgerald earned her Bachelor of Arts in theatre and dramatic arts at Barnard College (2010) and Master of Arts in comparative studies at The Ohio State University (2015). Her faculty advisor is Hugh Urban.
The Office of International Affairs administers the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program for The Ohio State University, and grant competitions are held annually. Doctoral candidates interested in applying for the Fellowship must contact Fulbright-Hays program director, Joanna Kukielka-Blaser, kukielka-blaser.1@osu.edu.