Achievement

CHANGE faculty member Samer Alatout and IGERT Trainee Chelsea Schelly published an article, "Rural Electrification as a 'Bioterritorial' Technology," in the Spring 2010 Radical History Review. It describes the history of rural electrification during the New Deal, and shows how this "technology of government" helped to construct, maintain, and solidify specific delineations of rural populations and territory as legitimate objects of government action. This project represents a significant achievement in three ways. First, it highlights our program's ability to foster student-faculty mentoring and collaboration. Second, as history is not the home discipline of either author, it reflects the ability of IGERT trainees to transcend disciplinary boundaries, relying on their interdisciplinary training to help navigate a new field. Third, this paper serves as a foundation for the student's dissertation and demonstrates how CHANGE helps students progress intellectually and academically.