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Awet Andemicael is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace studies and theology. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale Divinity School with an M.A. degree in theology and a certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. She also holds an M.F.A. degree in music from the University of California Irvine and an A.B. degree in economics and music (cum laude) from Harvard University. Awet has been awarded prizes for theology and theological writing from the SEVEN Fund/Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty, the AKA Educational Foundation, Yale Divinity School, and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. At Notre Dame, Awet plans to study interfaith engagement and theologies of forced migration. She will also take part in the music and religion working group of the Notre Dame-based Mellon Initiative on Religion Across the Disciplines. She has been awarded a Notre Dame Dean’s Fellowship and is a Fund for Theological Education Doctoral Fellow. aandemic@nd.edu |
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Douglas Ansel is pursuing his Ph.D. in peace studies and political science. He earned a B.A. in political science and economics from Mississippi State University, where he wrote an honors thesis examining the growth of democracy in countries emerging from internal armed conflicts. Douglas's research interests include using quantitative social science methods to analyze armed conflict, as well as U.N. peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconciliation. He is co-authoring an article analyzing how U.N. peace operations after civil wars influence prospects for democracy. He has been awarded a Notre Dame Presidential Fellowship. ansel.1@nd.edu |
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Jessica Brandwein is earning her doctoral degree in peace studies and political science. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2006 with a B.A. in history and mathematics. After college, Jessica worked at the Genocide Intervention Network in Washington, D.C., where she lobbied on behalf of human rights in Darfur. She also has served as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Jessica plans to study the politics of post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation, particularly in Central and East Africa. Specifically, she plans to explore whether nation-building after genocide and civil war provides a basis for theoretical work on post-conflict peacebuilding and nation-building. She has been awarded a Notre Dame Presidential Fellowship. brandwein.2@nd.edu |
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Matthew J. Chandler is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace studies and sociology. His research interests include nonviolent action, social movements, social change, and religion in conflict and peacemaking. He graduated from American University with an M.A. degree in international peace and conflict resolution. Matthew’s M.A. thesis analyzed the case of Hezbollah in Lebanon to explain its paradoxical usage of both violent and nonviolent action. He graduated summa cum laude from George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, where he earned a B.A. degree in religion, philosophy and sociology. Matthew has worked as deputy director of Nonviolence International and as a team coordinator for Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq and Palestine, and as a research assistant at the United States Institute of Peace. He is the author of the first public report on detainee abuses perpetrated by U.S. forces in Iraq. Matthew is a Kroc Excellence Fellow and a Mullen Family Fellow. chandler.20@nd.edu |
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Ryne Clos is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace studies and history. He holds a B.A. in history and religion from Centre College. His senior paper, based on research in Nicaragua, examined the rise of the Sandinista movement and its role in the Nicaraguan revolution. Ryne’s research interests include historical analysis of religious social change movements, including those influenced by liberation theology, in shaping political developments. He plans to study human rights and violent or nonviolent activities of social movements, the causes and instruments of repression, and the evolution of Marxist ideologies, particularly in Latin America. Notre Dame has awarded Ryne a Gaia Fellowship. clos.1@nd.edu |
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Alex Dukalskis is pursuing his doctoral degree in political science and peace studies. He holds a B.A. in politics with minors in philosophy and sociology from Willamette University (2004) and an M.Sc. in human rights from the London School of Economics (2006). His research interests include authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, transitional justice, and the role of ideas in oppression. His peer-reviewed work is either in print or forthcoming in International Studies Review, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, and Democratization. In 2004-05 Alex was a Fulbright grantee in South Korea. Since 2006 he has worked with the International Debate Education Association and the Open Society Institute, where he has been involved in projects to promote debate and open discourse among youth. He has participated in such projects in over 20 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. Alex is a University Presidential Fellow. Visit Alex's website at http://alexdukalskis.wordpress.com/ |
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Alma Gottlieb-McHale is earning her Ph.D. in peace studies and political science. She was born in Tel-Aviv and was raised there and in Morgantown, West Virginia. She holds a master’s degree in comparative politics and international relations from the University of Maryland (2008) and a bachelor's degree in social thought and political economy with a minor in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2004). Since 2004, Alma has worked with local and international organizations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the ADVA Center for Israeli Policy Analysis and the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel. She has translated and documented Israeli High Court hearings, Knesset discussions, and Israeli Defence Force military trials for Human Rights Watch in Jerusalem and has worked as an educational tour guide for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. gottlieb-mchale.1@nd.edu |
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Janna Hunter-Bowman is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace studies and theology. She earned an M.A. degree in peace studies from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary while teaching as an adjunct peace studies professor at Goshen College, her alma mater. As a senior program officer for Justapaz, a church-affiliated NGO in Bogota, Colombia, Janna developed and directed a national program monitoring political violence and peacebuilding. She also led and translated for fact-finding missions, authored in-depth investigative reports on the effects of U.S. policy, and published numerous book chapters and popular journal articles. Her eight years of field experience, supported by Mennonite Central Committee, also included assistance to Internally Displaced Persons. Janna also led policy advocacy efforts for Witness for Peace a grassroots organization committed to nonviolence.
Janna, a Mullen Family Fellow, plans to study the value of the human rights framework on the conflict transformation efforts of victimized communities and develop complementary modes of communicating sociopolitical violence. |
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Ashley Johnson is pursuing a doctoral degree in peace studies and history. She earned a B.A. in peace studies and history from Whitworth University. Her research interests include comparative genocide and ethnic conflict, and she has conducted research in Rwanda on these topics. Ashley’s undergraduate research examined the relationship between religion and violence by analyzing the involvement of Christian denominations in the Rwandan genocide. At Notre Dame, she plans to research the effects of colonialism, land boundaries, and economic disparity on ethnic identity and the progression of ethnic violence in Africa. She plans to compare strategies used to distill ethnic tension and violence following genocide. johnson.550@nd.edu |
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Ji Eun Kim is earning a doctoral degree in peace studies and political science. She holds an M.A. degree in international relations from Seoul National University (SNU) and a B.A. degree in American Studies from the Catholic University of Korea. After graduating with her master's degree in 2009, she worked at the Center for International Studies at SNU. At Notre Dame, Ji Eun plans to conduct research on ethics and international relations, and the role of morality at the intersection of security and peacebuilding. She is especially interested in the moral dimensions of a state, social construction of international moral norms, the use of moral rhetoric and its influence on state's threat perception, the role of religion in international politics, and East Asian security issues. kim.251@nd.edu |
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Kathrin Kranz is pursuing her Ph.D. in peace studies and political science. She holds an L.L.M. degree in public international law from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in international politics from the University of Stirling. She has researched Hindu-Muslim conflicts in India and international politics in South Asia. At Notre Dame, Kathrin plans to study transitional justice and peacebuilding, reconciliation and gender, and the relationship between human rights, peace and security. She has been awarded a Notre Dame Presidential Fellowship. kranz.8@nd.edu |
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HyunJin “Deborah” Kwak is earning a doctoral degree in peace studies and sociology. She holds an M.A. in peace studies from Notre Dame and a B.A. in political science and French from Calvin College. Debby has conducted research on the relationship between Christianity and politics as well as religion and civic responsibility. She also worked as a Kroc intern in Jerusalem. For her doctoral research, she plans to examine the role of religion and ethnicity among individuals and groups in conflict societies. She also will analyze conditions that lead to religious extremism or religious peacemaking. hkwak@nd.edu |
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Shinkyu James Lee is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace studies and political science. He holds an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School (2008) and an M.Litt. in anthropology of religion from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (2004). His professional experiences include service to the Korean Army and work for the U.N. Office of the World Council of Churches. James's research interests include the role of religious traditions in peace and war, global inter-religious dialogue, and the relationship between religious values and concern for human rights. He has been awarded a Notre Dame Presidential Fellowship. lee.317@nd.edu |
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Laura Taylor is pursuing her doctorate in peace studies and psychology. She earned an M.A. in peace and justice studies from the University of San Diego (2005) and B.A. degrees in psychology and Spanish from Haverford College. She was born and raised in Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands. As a senior program officer at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, Laura worked on the Nepal and Guatemala Projects and Women PeaceMakers Program. Previously, she was project coordinator for an indigenous women's community mental health project in Guatemala. She has research experience and operational knowledge in conflict transformation, mental health, and transitional justice, and has 6 years of field experience in rights-based empowerment with a focus on gender and community reconciliation in Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Nepal. She has authored numerous scholarly publications and has made media appearances on gender inclusion and human rights, and is fluent in Spanish. taylor.184@nd.edu Visit Laura's website at http://lauraktaylor.wordpress.com/
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Lenore VanderZee is earning a Ph.D. in peace studies and political science. She holds a bachelor's degree (1998) in interdisciplinary studies from Calvin College and a J.D. (2006) and L.L.M.. in human rights law (2007) from Notre Dame Law School. From 2000-2003, she worked with Palestinian human rights and development organizations and reported for Dubai Television as a journalist in Israel and the West Bank. During law school, she interned at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Middle East and North African unit at the International Center for Transitional Justice in New York. Lenore's dissertation research focuses on military occupation, specifically why and how it ends. Her committee includes Peter Wallensteen (Chair), Michael Coppedge, Michael Desch, and Mary Ellen O'Connell. She is also interested in the measurement and conceptualization of democracy, environmental politics, human rights, and how international laws and norms shape state behavior and domestic decision-making. vanderzee.1@nd.edu
Visit Lenore's website at lenorevanderzee.com. |
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Ana Velitchkova is exploring the role of civil society in peacebuilding through her doctoral studies in sociology and peace studies. Most of Ana’s work focuses on social movement networks. Recently, she has addressed questions pertaining to Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and to the United States. Before coming to Notre Dame, Ana completed master's level work in political science, foreign languages, and literatures at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Ana has actively been involved in community work such as a Study Circles-based effort to improve race relations that is organized by the Human Relations Commission of the city of Carbondale, Illinois. She also has worked as a newspaper reporter and community radio host. velitchkova.1@nd.edu |
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Laura Weis is earning a doctoral degree in peace studies and history. She graduated from St. Louis University in 2004 with B.A. degrees in history and sociology. She has conducted research on education and public policy in Washington, D.C. and has surveyed post-conflict recovery projects in Indonesia. At Notre Dame, Laura plans to study the cultural and historical forces behind causes of violent conflict; the ethnic, racial, and religious perceptions that influence foreign policy decision-making; and contemporary justifications for armed conflict. She is especially interested in perceptions of Islamic culture and religion. weis.14@nd.edu |
