AAUW awards international fellowship to architecture doctoral student

LAWRENCE — The American Association of University Women (AAUW) awarded its 2021-22 International Fellowship to University of Kansas graduate student Bushra Nayeem of Bangladesh. Nayeem is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in the School of Architecture & Design’s Department of Architecture.

Nayeem’s research focus revolves around the shift of architectural trends within the wider context of global economics, politics and humanity during the end of the 19th century. Her work builds on the idea of locale, which is crucial to global development processes and in narrating stories on the outskirts of history. 

Her dissertation examines the state of "otherness" evolving in an emergent system of globalizing forces, which calls into question the existing hegemonic order in the architectural discipline. A particular area of interest for her study is the intersection between the built environment, development and human rights, which shapes new discourses surrounding architecture and the environment.

AAUW is one of the world’s leading supporters of graduate women’s education: Over the past 133 years, it has provided more than $115 million in fellowships, grants and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries. AAUW American Fellowships support women scholars who are pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication. 

AAUW International Fellows are selected for their academic achievement, scholarly promise and demonstrated active commitment to helping women and girls through assistance in their communities, professions, or fields of research.