The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies is pleased to announce that four scholars began their terms as visiting research fellows at the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.
The Kroc Institute’s Visiting Research Fellows Program brings outstanding scholars focused on peace research to the University of Notre Dame for a semester or a full academic year. Visiting research fellows actively integrate their research with ongoing Institute research initiatives and participate in events and lectures as part of the Institute’s learning community.
This year’s fellows include:
Daniel Castillo (Fall 2020-Spring 2021) is associate professor of theology at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, and is a 2002 alum of the Kroc Instiute’s Master’s program. He works at the nexus of liberation theology and environmental ethics, and is particularly interested in the ways the contemporary planetary emergency is rooted in both the legacies of Western extractive colonialism and the production of anti-black and anti-brown racism, as well as the interplay between neoliberal globalization and the current rise of fascism around the world.
While at the Kroc Institute, Castillo will work on his manuscript, “I Have Seen: God-Talk and Christian Praxis in the ‘Anthropocene.’”
Alisher Khamidov (Fall 2020) specializes in inter-ethnic relations, religious activism, social movements, and inter-state relations in Central Asia. He currently works as a researcher and consultant on peacebuilding and governance advising a number of international public organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations, based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
While at the Kroc Institute, Khamidov will work on a manuscript entitled, “The Promise of Peaceful Towns: Examining Geographic Variation in Interethnic Conflict in Kyrgyzstan.” Khamidov is the first-ever recipient of the Kroc Institute’s Visiting Research Fellowship for Alumni.
Lisa McLean (Fall 2020-Spring 2021) is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. McLean’s research focuses on gender and migration, exploring the grassroots mobilization of migrants and their families in response to displacement and border violence.
At the Kroc Institute, she will transform her dissertation into a scholarly monograph that explores the use of the “caravan” as a method of intersectional strategic peacebuilding.
Andrew Owsiak (Fall 2020-Spring 2021) is currently Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and Associate Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia. Owsiak studies three broad themes in his research: why countries fight one another, the bilateral processes or characteristics that promote peaceful relations between disputing countries, and the role of third-parties in peacefully (or diplomatically) ending conflicts and/or building more peaceful relations between countries.
While at the Kroc Institute, Owsiak will be working on a co-authored book manuscript, ”Diplomacy and War: Lessons for World Politics.”
Applications for 2021-22 Visiting Research Fellowships will be accepted from September 15, 2020, through January 1, 2021. Learn more about the program and how to apply.
For more information, contact: Lisa Gallagher, lgallag3@nd.edu
Originally published by at kroc.nd.edu on August 18, 2020.