Daoine Bachran and Natalie Kubasek Garner Mellon Dissertation Fellowships

Two ALS PhD candidates in English, Daoine Bachran and Natalie Kubasek, have both garnered UNM-Mellon Dissertation Fellowships to facilitate the completion of their dissertations. 

Daoine Bachran’s dissertation, “From Recovery to Discovery: Ethnic Science Fiction and (Re)Creating the Future,” argues that science fiction by Native, Chicana/o, and black artists re-imagines scientific paradigms for understanding history, the present, and future possibility. 

Natalie Kubasek’s dissertation, entitled “Chicana Feminist Acts: Revising the Script of Chicana/o Theater from the Early Twentieth Century to the Present” proves that since the 1930’s, Chicanas have staged feminist acts in theater that challenge patriarchal and nationalist ideas of gender and sexuality by imagining and performing multiple Chicana identities. 

Dr. Jesse Alemán chairs both award-winning dissertations.

Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the highly competitive and nationally recognized Mellon award provides dissertation fellowships in the humanistic social sciences across ten UNM departments to senior doctoral students working on studies relevant to Latino/a or Native American communities. The year-and-a-half award is meant to assist in the completion of the dissertation by providing a $25,000.00 stipend at the beginning of each semester for three semesters; tuition remission; health care coverage; and up to $1,500.00 for professional development or research support during the tenure of the award. The Mellon also awards the fellow’s dissertation chair a $3,000.00 stipend.