University of Washington

Jessica Bachman has been awarded three fellowships for work on her dissertation, "Books across Borders: Science, Cold War Culture, and Soviet Book Reading in Postcolonial India, 1954- 1991." She received the Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, the American Councils Title VIII Research Scholar Program's Advanced Research Fellowship, and a fellowship from the SSRC. Jorge Bayona had three articles published this year. His translation of Jaymie Patricia Heilman's Rebeliones inconclusas: Ayacucho antes de Sendero Luminoso, 1895-1980, was also published. In addition, Bayona was a visiting research associate at the Institute DISTINGUISHED DISSERTATION AWARD: QUIN'NITA COBBINS QUIN'NITA COBBINS (CENTER) CELEBRATES WITH HER PHD COMMITTEE. This spring, the Department of History was delighted to see Quin'Nita Cobbins earn her doctorate in history. Her research has focused on telling the stories of African American women in the Pacific Northwest. Cobbins's dissertation, "Black Emeralds: African American Women's Political Activism and Leadership in Seattle, 1940-2000," explores the political goals, resistance strategies, and community-building efforts of black women in 20th-century Seattle and was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Dissertation Award from the UW Graduate School. This highly competitive award is given to the scholar whose dissertation is deemed the best in all the social sciences and is the top honor for PhDs at the UW. It reflects the significance of Cobbins's work and her outstanding and exceptional scholarship. When talking about this project, Cobbins reflects, "Black women have made countless contributions to Pacific Northwest and western history but remain the most understudied group." In addition to her contributions to the scholarship on African Americans, Cobbins has also spent her time at the UW bringing these important stories to the wider Seattle community. In 2017, she worked as a historical consultant for the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) on an exhibit featuring the work of the African American photographer Al Smith. "The museum had amassed a donation of nearly 40,000 images from his family that depicted African Americans in Seattle. They needed a historian to help narrate the story." MOHAI has since digitized about 500 of the images from the collection for research and public use. One of the best things about this position was getting to work with non specialists who shared Cobbins's love and passion for history. It was also a great opportunity to make an impact beyond the university. This is something Cobbins is very passionate about. "I think all scholars have a responsibility to the public to educate and inform—especially now that we're living in an age that promotes 'alternative facts' as truth. We are also increasingly finding those who have an ahistorical understanding of the past, as seen through the commemoration of controversial public memorials and symbols. I want my work to make the practice of history a collective and educational enterprise for all." She has also worked beyond the academy on the website BlackPast. org, where she is currently the assistant editor/historian. This site is an online reference guide dedicated to African American history and the history of people of African ancestry. Now that Cobbins has graduated, she has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Gonzaga University. About her time at the UW, she states, "My experience at UW has been a rewarding one. I have connected with brilliant scholars and colleagues who share a deep passion for inquiry and learning. My time here also has shaped me as a historian, broadened my knowledge of black women's history in the U.S. West, and provided opportunities to develop my skills outside of the ivory tower." GRADUATE STUDENT NEWS of Philippine Culture of the Ateneo de Manila University, and visiting research fellow at the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He was also awarded a Chester Fritz Fellowship to support dissertation research. Katia Chaterji won a Fulbright Award to support her dissertation research in Southeast Asia. She was also awarded a Chester Fritz Fellowship for this project. Ross Coen accepted a tenure- track job as assistant professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He was also awarded the 2018 Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship. Madison Heslop received a Fulbright Award to support her dissertation research in Canada. Emma Hinchliffe presented her research on 'The Field of Cloth of Gold' at the Renaissance Conference of Southern California. Her documentary film, Bollywood Blockbusters in the USSR, was also screened at 3rd I Film's South Asian Film Festival in San Francisco. Arthit Jiamrattanyoo gave his talk, "From 'Sod' to 'Swing': Occidentalisms and the Politics of Cultural Translation in Modern Thailand" at Thammasat University, Bangkok. His Thai- language article under the same title was recently published in Ratthasatsan, a leading journal of political science in Thailand. He has also finished a Thai research paper with the support of the Thailand Research Fund, which will be published in a forthcoming book. Adrian Kane was awarded a Chester Fritz Fellowship in support of dissertation research. Roneva Keel was the John E. Sawyer Dissertation Fellow. The theme of this years fellowship was "Capitalism and Comparative Racialization." Keel was awarded for her dissertation topic, "Mobilizing Empire: Race, Sugar, and U.S. Colonialism in the Philippines and Hawai'i, 1898-1946." 8  U N I V E R S I T Y O F W A S H I N G T O N

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