Olivia Hochstadt and Whitney White are nominees for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship 2021

Congratulations to our Art History majors Olivia Hochstadt and Whitney White, who are two of the 4 nominees for the Watson Fellowship 2021. Their project titles and descriptions are below.

 

Olivia Hochstadt 

Threads of Creativity: Knitting Cultures Together

Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Denmark, Scotland, Norway, Iceland

Why do people create? For my Watson project, I will explore how place-specific knitting and hand craft practices reflect identity and culture. I want to meet the people behind the craft and learn from their stories. In order to pursue this project, I plan on traveling to Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Scotland, Denmark and Norway, places that each have knitting, weaving, and yarn spinning techniques unique to their specific environment, climate, and cultural history. I will travel to the countries where distinct fiber arts techniques have originated to learn how different communities around the world use knitting and handcrafts to tell stories.

 

Whitney White

Remembering Traumatic Pasts

South Africa, Germany, Colombia, Armenia, Poland, Japan

On my Watson, I will explore how countries that have experienced significant trauma have chosen to remember their painful pasts. This journey will take me to museums, monuments, and institutions dedicated to preserving the memory of these events to explore how people and communities define themselves—and are defined by others—in relation to their past.

 

To learn more, please visit the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship website.