David Wishard
About
David Wishard is a recipient of the Academic Year 2014-2015 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship. The award provides undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students with financial support to develop fluency in less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) and expertise in the regions in which these languages are spoken. Every year the Center for Global Studies awards between 12-15 fellowships to UW students. Click here to learn more.
I am a dual-Master’s degree candidate in Public Administration and International Studies (Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies). My research and academic work has focused on international environmental regimes and multilateral politics over the management of shared resources. This year I will complete my thesis, which uses the history of the Arctic Council’s land-based marine pollution action program for Russia as case study in how these themes come into play in the Russian Arctic. The Russian Language FLAS fellowship I received from the Center for Global Studies was pivotal for my research, as it enabled me to focus exclusively on interview transcription (obtained face-to-face in Moscow in the summer of 2014) and language coursework instead of having to find part-time employment. My thesis will be published next year in a new, UW journal from the Future of Ice Initiative. Getting my work into suitable order for such an opportunity would not have been possible without the FLAS.