Elisabeth Friedman Awarded the Fulbright-Hays
Research Award
New
York, N.Y., June 8, 2001 -- Will the burgeoning
use of e-mail, the Internet, and electronic conference
in Latin America foster a "cyberdemocracy" --
or a digital divide between Internet haves and
have-nots?
Thanks
to a Fulbright-Hays grant from the U.S. Department
of Education, Assistant Professor of Political
Science Elisabeth Friedman expects to be able
to shed much light on the answer to that question.
Her $40,000 Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Award
will fund field research and a living stipend
for six months of study in Latin America.
Friedman's
project will examine how non-government organizations
(NGOs) use information and communication technology,
and how these new capabilities affect both their
strategies and outcomes in the developing world.
The
study is titled "The Reality of Virtual Reality:
Assessing Women's Non-Governmental Organizations'
Usage of Information and Communication Technologies
in Latin America" and will focus on how women's
NGOs have used cutting-edge communication and
information technology to advocate for women's
rights and gender equality in Argentina, Brazil,
and Mexico.
The
project reflects the current debate in Latin America
over whether the use of modern technology is successful
in uniting people across different classes, cultures,
and genders, or whether it widens the gap between
these social groups.
Friedman's
inspiration for this study came after a conversation
with Kathryn Johnson, assistant professor of history
and the director of American Studies at Barnard,
who does extensive Internet-based teaching and
research. Through their discussion on the organization
of Latin American civil society, Friedman noted
how much of her own work on Latin American women's
organizations was made possible through e-mail
exchange and web research.
That
insight led to another: "Beyond facilitating my
own research, I had no idea about the ultimate
impact of this technology on their goals. It was
one of those wonderful moments where you realize
the subject was almost screaming out to be studied,
but you were, ironically, too close to it to hear!"
A Barnard graduate, Friedman specializes in comparative
politics, the politics of Latin America, as well
as gender and politics in the developing world.
She teaches a number of classes in these areas
of interest as well as doing extensive research
on these topics. Her upcoming project will take
her to Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil in July-December
2002 for extensive fieldwork - and most likely,
she'll use e-mail to keep in touch with her Barnard
colleagues and students.
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Contact:
Laya Saludo, Public Affairs Intern, 212-854-2037
Lucas Held, Public Affairs, 212-854-2037
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