DeAndré Espree-Conaway, a senior in the College, has been named a recipient of the prestigious year-long Watson Fellowship for 2013–14. He is one of only 40 fellows from 31 universities who will be awarded $25,000 for a year of travel and exploration. Sewanee had four finalists nominated this year out of the several hundred candidates who compete for the fellowship each year on the national level.
Espree-Conaway, from Houston, Tex., plans to observe the role that language documentation plays in the world’s indigenous cultures and societies. He is a French and anthropology double major who has always been intrigued with language, culture and history. His Watson travels will take him around the South Pacific (to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Indonesia and more) to observe different contexts within which to understand the role of language documentation in minority language speakers’ social and cultural lives.
In addition to French, Espree-Conaway has pursued languages including Indonesian, Italian, Latin, Old English, Middle English, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Ilocano and Breton. He has studied abroad at the Canada Institute of Linguistics, in France, and in Java, Indonesia. During his time at Sewanee, he also conducted fieldwork in Java through the Biehl International Research Scholarship.
Since 1985, when Sewanee was selected as one of the Watson institutions, the University has produced 43 fellowship recipients, including Blair Barrows and Aaron Rutz, both C’12, who are now completing their fellowship years.
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program was established in 1968 by the children of Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of International Business Machines Corp., and his wife, Jeannette K. Watson, to honor their parents’ long-standing interest in education and world affairs.
The Watson Foundation regards its investment in people as an effective long-term contribution to the global community.
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