Professor Theodore F. Cook, history, and Professor Aaron Tesfaye, political science, have been selected for 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grants. Additionally, Professor Kathleen Malu, educational leadership and professional studies, has been awarded a Fulbright Specialist Award.
THEODORE F. COOK will travel to the United Kingdom via his award, at the invitation of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, to work on his long-term project titled "War and Memory in Shaping Japanese Culture: Completing a Global Archival Investigation.”
Cook, director of the University’s Asian Studies Program, has been conducting research for this project over the past decade in the U.S., Japan, Saipan, Australia and France. He aims to develop new pedagogy addressing issues vital to transmitting the cultural history of war and the study of trauma and memory in comparative context.
Although Cook will not be arriving in the UK under his Fulbright award until April 2019, he will spend the earlier months of the academic year conducting research as a visiting fellow at both the Institute of Comparative Culture and the Center for Global Discovery at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.
Following his trip, Cook plans to present his research internationally and write a book. He says he hopes his work abroad will lead to the creation and expansion of innovative courses at William Paterson, such as two he recently taught, “Imagining War” and “Engaging Disaster: Community and Community Preparedness and Recovery from Catastrophe,” which predominantly focuses on recent disasters in Japan.
AARON TESFAYE will spend the 2018-19 academic year in Ethiopia by means of his grant, teaching two courses at Mekelle University – International Political Economy and Comparative Politics – and conducting field research in economics for a book manuscript titled, “China in Ethiopia: The Long-Term Perspective.” This marks Tesfaye’s second time in Ethiopia as a Fulbright Scholar, having previously been awarded a grant for research there for the 2010-11 academic year.
The purpose for writing his book, Tesfaye says, is to explore what China wants from the ancient country and what Ethiopia wants from China, as well as whether both nations can achieve their objectives in the Horn of Africa. Based on his previous research in Ethiopia and China, Tesfaye has written two books on Ethiopia already, as well as one on the politics of the Nile Basin.
Not only will this research benefit students and scholars of development, but Tesfaye says it should also be useful for NGOs and governments who are interested in the study of China as a rising global power, its rapid modernization, and need for resources and relations with Africa.
Cook and Tesfaye will each be supported in their academic efforts abroad by the award of a full-year sabbatical from the University.
KATHLEEN MALU, already a two-time Fulbright Scholar, is spending the latter half of April 2018 in Romania under a Fulbright Specialist Grant, which funds short-term projects. Through the grant, Malu will be hosted by Casa Corpului Didactic, where she will meet with teachers in the sciences, humanities, mathematics, and foreign languages to learn about the challenges they face in their teaching. With that information, she will design an in-service course for the teachers.
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