Harold Wrighthas been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship
Harold Wright, a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology 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 90 Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowships were awarded.
Wright will conduct his research in the Brazilian Amazon for six months (should travel restrictions be lifted) examining the topic of Food Security, Identity, and Social Networking among Indigenous Residents of Parque das Tribos, Manaus, Brazil.
Wright’s research examines the issues of homophily, food sovereignty versus food security, and reciprocity, and their influence on social behavior and structure in a multi-ethnic, culturally diverse semi-urban setting. As obtaining stable food sources has long been recognized in anthropology as a central tenet of social organization, to address this question he will focus on the concepts of food security and sovereignty, social networks, and resource sharing in the context of interethnic cooperation among the indigenous inhabitants of Parque das Tribos a predominantly indigenous, peripheral neighborhood of the Amazonian city of Manaus, Brazil.
Wright will address two primary questions: 1) To what extent does the population of Parque das Tribos represent a singular, heterogenous, food sovereign community; and 2) What role does ethnicity play in the development of food sharing networks and strategies? The case of Parque das Tribos has implications for our understanding of food sovereignty, identity, and cooperation among indigenous peoples in semi-urban and urban environments throughout Latin America, as well as their degree of social integration with non-indigenous society.
Wright earned his Bachelor of Arts from Grand Valley State University (1994) and his Master of Science from the National Institute for Amazonian Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia) in Manaus, Brazil (2009). His faculty advisor is Barbara Piperata.
The Office of International Affairs administers the Fulbright-Hays program for Ohio State, and grant competitions are held annually. Doctoral candidates interested in applying for the award must contact Fulbright-Hays program director, Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) program continue to prioritize the health, safety, and well-being of fellowship recipients, while also taking into consideration the varying degrees to which the pandemic may be affecting countries around the globe. A decision regarding travel for fellowship recipients is scheduled for no later than November 17, 2020. If in-person participation is not possible in spring 2021, the intention is for fellowship recipients to be able to complete their Fulbright experience by June 2022 or apply for an extension.
Fulbright-Hays recipients would be required to abide by any Ohio State University travel restrictions in place for students, faculty and staff, regardless of the DOE and IFLE decision.