fulbright update

so, this past october i applied for a fulbright grant to study incanismo and tourism in Cuzco, Peru for the 2008-2009 academic year.

and i've made it through the first selection round!! i recieved word this morning through email. so i am super super super excited, although now it means that i have to wait until late june until i recieve final word from the Peruvian selection committee.

here is a snippet from my proposal for those interested:

"My proposed area of study is the twentieth century Peruvian cultural movement termed Incanismo by Peruvian anthropologist Jorge Flores Ochoa. Incanismo can be described as the widespread fascination and identification with Incan culture that has pervaded modern Peruvian nationalist discourse in the past century. It is a highly influential ideology that has become tremendously lucrative as a component of Peruvian national and international tourism. My research goals are to 1) better understand the history and development of Incanismo as a cultural movement that has defined the re-invention of Peruvian national cultural history in the twentieth century, 2) examine the problems and contradictions that arise within this movement, particularly in Cuzco, 3) determine if and how Incanismo is being, or could be, translated into activism and advocacy for Cuzco’s indigenous."

so its not a definite yet, by any means, but i am one step closer, and that makes me so so so so happy. Basically, I've been recommended for the grant by the national screening committee of the Institute of Inernational Education (IIE), and they will forward my application to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State (and yes I copied and pasted that from my email...), and the supervising agency abroad. so yeah, it'll be a long time before i hear back for sure. so keep your fingers crossed for about 4 more months.

yay yay yay yay.
yay.

cheers!
alli