The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announce that Ph.D. candidate Kiana Sakimehr has been awarded the John F. Richards Fellowship by the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS). This institute is a private and non-profit organization located at Boston University and headed by scholars to promote and support the study of Afghanistan.
Kiana will use the funds to cover expenses related to her field research that focuses on Afghan refugees who recently arrived in the US. She intends to investigate the often-neglected emotional aspect of migration and how it shapes peoples’ interpretations and perceptions of their new reality as refugees. By focusing on the wide-ranging functions of emotions, her project examines the possible reconfiguration of and transitions in emotions with regards to expectations of living in the US. Moreover, her study explores the role of institutional structural possibilities and constraints regarding these transitions in emotions. Kiana acknowledges the support she has received from her committee members, specifically her advisor Dr. Chantal Tetreault.