Fulbright Chronicles, Volume 1, Number 2 (2022)
Authors
Bruce B Svare and Kevin F F Quigley
The Fulbright Chronicles like the Fulbright Program itself aims to be global, reflecting the remarkable diversity of the Fulbright participants and experiences everywhere.
We are very pleased with the response to the inaugural issue (April 2022) that helped generate the compelling submissions needed for a quarterly journal about the enduring impact of the Fulbright Program and topics of concerns to our Fulbright community.
One of the essential strengths of the Fulbright program is its diversity and the voices that contribute to our pages must reflect this.
To fulfill our ambition to be the journal for Fulbrighters everywhere, we need your help in encouraging contributions. In 2019-20, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 60% of Fulbrighters were from foreign countries and 40% from the US. Our editorial team wants to represent the 400,000 Fulbright Alumni from all 150 countries of the world where the program has a presence.
We also welcome contributions from every type of Fulbright program from faculty scholars to distinguished chairs and administrators, to those involved in the sciences, performing and fine arts, as well as student researchers and high school teachers.
One of the essential strengths of the Fulbright program is its remarkable diversity and the important voices that contribute to our pages must reflect this. To that end, the articles and commentaries in this issue reflect the variety and inclusiveness we are seeking.
This second issue of the Chronicles begins with a timely piece by Courtney Queen and Robert Osgood. As Fulbright scholars to Latvia during the Russian invasion of nearby Ukraine, they discuss strategies for continuing to grow professionally as Fulbright Scholars even in the face of massive institutional restrictions and societal change. There is also an important piece by Fulbright Distinguished Chair William Schonberg about his work to assist the Australian Department of Defense in safeguarding Australia’s science and technology national interests. This issue also includes reflections by Habiba Atta on her Fulbright postdoctoral stay at Rutgers University where she learned biochemistry techniques allowing her to aid her home country of Nigeria in cleaning up oil spillage and preventing contamination.
Also in this issue, Jonathan Hollander, choreographer and artistic director of the Battery Dance in New York City, tells us about his Fulbright activities in India and Malaysia where his collaborations aided him in teaching dance forms in those countries as well as bringing new ethnic dance forms to the United States. Susan Opp writes enthusiastically about her Fulbright teaching and research experiences in Mauritius where she was able to improve her pedagogical practices and simultaneously find new outlets for scholarship in the area of global public administration. Brenda Millan, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Spain, reflects on her experiences in this country and how they have prompted her to promote sustainability and climate action at the international and local level. Scott Roulier and Rahul Jindal, Fulbrighters to India during the COVID-19 pandemic, examine how they processed the social impact of an explosion of new urban infrastructure and political tensions during the pandemic. And in the final article, David Crumpton, a Fulbrighter to Myanmar transplanted to Thailand to complete his work owing to the recent military coup, writes persuasively about a grassroots governance model for post war Myanmar in collaboration with expat Burmese students at Chiang Mai University.
This issue also marks another important milestone in the evolution of Fulbright Chronicles. In our goal to represent the scholarship of Fulbrighters, we are starting a book review section under the aegis of seasoned editor and Fulbright Alumna Erika J. Waters. You can read about this new section in the current issue and contribute your own book or serve as a reviewer. This is yet another way to contribute to a professional journal that represents the good work and scholarly activity that Fulbrighters engage in every day.
Please keep your articles and commentaries coming. Also, don’t forget about the letters section of Fulbright Chronicles where you can discuss a variety of topics in short form (500 words or less). In addition, in the letters section we encourage brief comments on an issue of importance to the Fulbright community and/or a recently published article or commentary. This can include both supportive and critical thoughts.
Enjoy what you read in the second issue. We hope that you will feel inspired to submit something about your own Fulbright scholarship and experiences, as well as suggesting to other Fulbrighters that they should contribute to the Chronicles. With your help, we can better reflect the remarkable diversity and enduring impact of the Fulbright program. Thank you!