2007-08 Watson Fellows Newly Announced

Zorba Leslie

Finding Justice: Learning to Reconcile the Past to Live the Present
Places to Visit: Chile, South Africa, Rwanda and Cambodia
Major: Politics and Government
Hometown: Tacoma, Washington

Over the course of twelve months, I will travel to Chile, South Africa, Rwanda and Cambodia.  In each of these countries, I will seek to assess the effectiveness of the retributive and restorative methods of securing justice available to post-conflict societies as they attempt to strike a balance between forgiveness and vengeance.  I will ask how conventional courts and tribunals compare to truth and reconciliation commissions (herein TRCs) in their ability to meet the needs of individuals, communities and nation-building.  What form does the healing process take after verdicts and sentences are passed, and the truth confessed?  In each of these countries I will become an active participant in ongoing reconciliation efforts, including the impending criminal tribunal in Cambodia and grass roots truth recovery efforts in Chile.  In South Africa I will extensively interview the architects and participants of what is now considered the ideal model for TRCs and non-violent transfer of power, and will partake in community efforts to memorialize the past and reeducate the younger generation.  In Rwanda, where there is a general sense that the international criminal tribunal and domestic courts have failed to adequately address the psychological and physical needs of individuals, I will take part in local efforts to use traditional gacaca courts, a truth-based indigenous court not unlike TRCs.  Ultimately, through a combination of interviews and hands-on reconciliation involvement in post-conflict healing, I hope to better understand how to most effectively focus my personal and professional efforts to achieve justice.

Kendra Loebs

Exploring Biology and Belief in the Manual Management of Chronic Pain
Places to Visit: Morocco, India, Thailand, Japan, Tonga
Major: Biology
Hometown: Lakefield, Minnesota

Ancient manual therapies such as massage, anatomical manipulation, and accupressure continue to play medically-significant roles in many cultures.  This is particularly true in the management of chronic pain conditions, which require frequent medical care that is not easily accessible to many individuals.  Theories and techniques of manual medical therapies often draw strongly from both knowledge of the body as a biological entity and consideration of the patient as a spiritual being.  As such, they recognize the mind-body paradigm in healing and treat much more than just the physical manifestations of pain.  Broadly, this project seeks to understand the roles that manual therapies play in community health through the study of specific and general traditions of manual therapies in Morocco, India, Thailand, Japan, and Tonga.  I particularly desire to understand the metaphysical beliefs underlying manual therapies as they relate to the management of chronic pain conditions.  I intend to immerse myself into the worlds of healers to understand the ways in which they conceptualize the multifaceted etiology of pain and how knowledge and belief ultimately shape their holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment. 

Leif Rasmuson

Changing Seas: Evolving from traditional to commercial fisheries.
Places to Visit: Norway, Chile, Japan and Australia
Major: Biology
Hometown: Sebastopol, California

My project focuses on the transition from artisanal to commercial fisheries and the resulting impact of this shift on culture in Japan, Norway, Australia and Chile.  Some countries encourage a return to artisanal methods and I want to know if this has led to a revival of traditions.  Fishery regulations differ among countries and are strongly influenced by local fisheries.  To offset falling fish stocks the number of fish farms worldwide grows exponentially each year and may represent a possible path for maintaining traditional fisheries and biodiversity.