AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Julia mckenzie aid9/13/2023 ![]() ![]() Since then her engagement has deepened and broadened. McKenzie first encountered Lewiston’s international community while visiting Bates as a prospective student. “Hannah struggled admirably with the conflict between her anthropological commitment to cultural relativism, on the one hand, and her commitment to some kind of global moral minimum,” says Danforth, adding that he could recommend “no other student in my 40 years of teaching more highly or with greater confidence.”Īs McKenzie wrote in that paper, “We are all learning, debating, and wading in global cultural flows - even just within the small city of Lewiston.” ![]() He’s seen her wrestle with issues that swirl around her academic work.ĭanforth recalls how McKenzie, in one of her papers, analyzed attitudes toward homosexuality, including homophobia, among asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola living in Lewiston. “We are all learning, debating, and wading in global cultural flows - even just within the small city of Lewiston.” “I want to grapple with the questions about what kind of humanitarian I can be, and how to merge the sensitivities I’ve learned from anthropology and community-engaged work here with my hope to help people who are struggling.”ĭana Professor of Anthropology Loring Danforth is advising McKenzie’s community-engaged honors thesis, in which she is exploring the work of people on the front lines of addressing violence against women in Lewiston’s African immigrant communities. “Anthropology taught Hannah what not to do but she feels that she is still in the dark about how to be a good humanitarian,” explains Associate Professor of Politics Senem Aslan, a member of the Watson Committee that nominated McKenzie for her award. McKenzie’s other path as a Bates student, deep community engagement with Lewiston’s vibrant immigrant communities as well as extensive off-campus study experiences, reflects her growing desire to help struggling people around the world. Her academic path as an anthropology major has taught McKenzie to be leery of traditional humanitarian efforts that “frame refugee communities as passive or simply needing Western aid,” she explains. Anthropology major Hannah McKenzie ’21, recipient of a 2021 Watson Fellowship, poses on Lisbon Street in Lewiston on July 30, 2020, during her summer work in the local community. Each Watson Fellow will receive $36,000 for 12 months of travel and college loan assistance, as applicable.Īs she concludes her Bates education, McKenzie is at a crossroads of sorts, and the Watson Fellowship, she believes, will be the perfect guide. “As an outsider, I will meet them in their worlds of expertise, contributions, and pride,” she says.Īn anthropology major from the Maryland town of Stevenson, in Baltimore County, McKenzie is among 42 Watson awardees across the nation for 2021. college seniors.ĭuring her year abroad, McKenzie plans to travel to South Africa, Uganda, Greece, and Switzerland to meet and talk with refugees about their traditional foods, their markets and restaurants, and how they are working to sustain and empower themselves. Watson Fellowship, a prestigious grant that supports a year of international exploration for graduating U.S. ![]() Hannah McKenzie ’21 has received a Thomas J. Share on Email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |