Ph.D. candidate in history awarded Fulbright to Canada
Ian Jesse, a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Maine, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to Canada in history from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Jesse, who is from Plymouth, Massachusetts, will conduct research at the University of New Brunswick on how wildlife conservation laws of the late-19th and early-20th centuries affected the household economies of the rural inhabitants of Maine and New Brunswick.
He is one of more than 1,900 U.S. citizens who will conduct research, teach English, and provide expertise abroad for the 2017–2018 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.
While in Canada, Jesse will conduct archival research at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, New Brunswick Museum, and local historical societies.
Jesse is interested in the economic relationships between humans and wild animals and how laws altered those relationships. He plans to look at records of fur trappers and dealers, market hunters, and woods guides, as well as government documents and petitions that shaped conservation laws.
“This generous award will support a full academic year of research which will allow me to make some real progress on my dissertation,” says Jesse, who earned a master’s degree in history from UMaine in 2013.
Beyond his research, Jesse says the Fulbright award will allow him to experience living in another country for a year.
“Although Fredericton, New Brunswick is only a few hours away from Orono, there are some very real cultural differences on the other side of the border,” he says.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. Fulbright participants address critical global challenges — from sustainable energy and climate change to public health and food security — in all areas, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States and the world.
More information about the Fulbright Program is online.
Contact: Elyse Catalina, 207.581.3747