Nathan Young
Nathan Young, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures 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.
Young will conduct research in Turkey for six months investigating Modernization’s Other: Nostalgia for Village Life in Turkey.
Young's research investigates the relationship between models of society and nation-building. He will examine nostalgia for village life in the Turkish imaginary, identifying how it shapes and is shaped by modernization narratives, and reveals ways individuals conceptualize self and nation. Young's research asks: to what extent are Turkey’s development and urbanization narratives dialectically constructed with village life nostalgia? How do such sentiments influence lifestyle choices and identity projects? Is nostalgia employed to cope with urban life and national traumas? Through interviews and participant observation in and around Ankara, Young will uncover nostalgic rural-life affinities and pursuits and apply them to interpret phenomena in Turkey, including: urban-rural dynamics, hometown loyalty and disillusionment with “modernity.”
Young earned a Bachelor of Arts in literature and mathematics at Claremont McKenna College (1993), a Master of Arts in theology at Fuller Theological Seminary (2008) and a Master of Arts in Turkish folklore at Ege University (2014). His academic advisor is Morgan Liu.
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.