Two professors Named Fulbright Scholars
Summer 2012 · Comment ·
Anthropology Assistant Professor Ritu Khanduri’s research centers on colonial and contemporary India and the Indian Diaspora in the United States. History Associate Professor Alusine Jalloh focuses on reviewing African business history and the history of Sierra Leone.
The two academicians now share a bond: They were named Fulbright Scholars for 2012–13. Sponsored by the State Department, Fulbright awards enable professors to conduct research and are given on the basis of academic or professional achievement.
Dr. Khanduri will use her grant to conduct an ethnographic study in India of women in engineering. She will follow a cohort of new engineers as they train and launch their careers.
“The Fulbright-supported research will take forward my interest in narratives about science, technology, and society,” she says. “It will also shape my teaching, student mentoring, service, and community outreach in important ways.”
Dr. Jalloh, director of UT Arlington’s Africa Program, will continue his research while working on a book, Muslim Fula Business Elites and Politics in Twentieth-Century Sierra Leone. He will spend part of the next academic year teaching at Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone.
“My research will contribute to closing the gap that exists in the historical literature on the interconnections among African minority business groups, governments, and political parties in post-independence Africa,” he says. “I look forward to promoting cross-cultural understanding between the U.S. and Sierra Leone.”