Dartmouth is fortunate to be able to offer three dissertation fellowships: the Charles A. Eastman, the Cesar Chávez, and the Thurgood Marshall. This year, the three fellowships were awarded to Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote (Native American Studies), Rocío Magaña (Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies), and Nazera Wright (English). The purpose of these fellowships is to support graduate scholars for a year-long residency at Dartmouth, which usually runs from September through August. They offer an opportunity for scholars who plan careers in higher education and have completed all other Phd requirements to finish their dissertations. Fellows may pursue the Phd degree in any discipline or area taught in the Dartmouth undergraduate Arts and Sciences curriculum. Additionally, each fellow is affiliated with a department or program at Dartmouth.
Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote accepted the Charles A. Eastman Fellowship in Native American Studies for many reasons. Her dissertation is entitled “Envisioning Nationhood: Kiowa Expressive Culture 1900-1950” and examines Kiowa art and dance as expressions of American Indian nationhood and sovereignty. She found this fellowship attractive because Dartmouth has a strong Native American Studies Department, where there are several individuals examining similar issues. Working out of NAS has been a new experience for her because she has always worked out of history departments, where there are frequently only one or two people who specialize in this field. This fellowship offers her several important benefits. It allows her the chance to focus exclusively on completing her dissertation. Many other dissertation fellowships have teaching requirements. Concentrating solely on her dissertation work will allow her to make greater progress in finishing her dissertation. It also provides workspace, which is important when tackling such a large project. For Jenny, this is an outstanding fellowship at an institution with a vibrant academic community.
In the spring of 200, Rocío Magaña had the opportunity, and the challenge, to decide between several dissertation fellowships. Her dissertation “Bodies on the Line: The Protection of Life, Death, and Authority on the Arizona-Mexico Border” focuses on the death of unauthorized border crossers in the Arizona-Mexico Border region in order to examine how the management of life and death become central elements in contemporary politics. She feels that she could have not made a better choice than coming to Dartmouth. Rocío remarks that “the right balance of institutional support and independence make Dartmouth College a perfect place to write for the pre-doctoral scholar.” As a Cesar E. Chávez Dissertation Fellow, hosted by the Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies Department, she enjoys the benefit of a scholarly environment that is supportive of her work and its timely progress. Faculty within LALACS and beyond have provided an analytical eye to her work-in-progress, and engaged her in collegial discussion and exchange. Their generous career advice and scholarly insight have been timely and invaluable.
In Rocío’s experience, she has found that the administrative staff of the Office for Graduate Students, the academic departments, the library, and even College Housing have all gone out of their way to ensure or facilitate access to everything she could possibly need so that her residence as a fellow is both productive and enjoyable. The support that comes with a Dartmouth College Dissertation Fellowship has become a propelling force through her final stage of doctoral work.
Being born and raised in Washington D.C., Nazera Wright’s family and friends were skeptical about whether she would be happy completing her dissertation in the small town of Hanover, NH. Little did they know that the qualities that make Dartmouth College unique are what drew her to apply for the Thurgood Marshall Dissertation Fellowship: the quaint environment, the campus’s highly intellectual community, and Dartmouth’s world-class resources. These traits first attracted her to Dartmouth, and are making her year in residence one of the most rewarding experiences of her graduate career.
Nazera’s dissertation “Girlhood in African-American Literature, 1850-1950” examines how literary and visual representations of girlhood between 1850 to 1950 act as political weapons in African Americans' fight for citizenship. She recounts how she has “come to rely on the rhythms of campus, an everydayness that is conducive to completing my dissertation at Dartmouth; the hourly ringing of the bell atop Baker Library, the ebb and flow of students across the Dartmouth Green, the tea served daily at 4pm in Sanborn Library.” She appreciates the quiet charm of downtown Hanover, a single street lined with restaurants and coffeehouses, each shop a mainstay in a community that prides itself on tradition.
As the Thurgood Marshall fellow, she fits easily into the fabric of campus life. Nazera enjoys working with students in Cutter/Shabaaz, and realizes how her interactions with students impact their academic pursuits. Her affiliation with the English Department has been most rewarding; the Leslie Humanities Center, the Hood Museum, and the events that offer social and professional networks are also ideal for a scholar in residence. The writing sessions she has with Rocío and Jenny, the Chávez and Eastman fellows, contribute to her sense of belonging and facilitate the completion of their groundbreaking projects.
Jennifer C. Rowell
