Gemma Taylor is a recipient of the PepsiCo Summer Travel Fellowship and the Harriman Junior Fellowship for continuing second year study.
What region/topics are you focusing on at the Harriman Institute?
I focus on Central Asia. I am especially interested in contemporary politics, nationality studies, and ethnic violence.
What’s your thesis about?
My thesis-in-progress examines how the relationship between Kyrgyzstan’s government and far-right groups creates an environment conducive to nationalist violence. I ask how and why this culminates in the legitimation of nationalist violence by the official discourse of Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov.
What are some of your favorite things about studying at the Harriman?
The students. We are all high achieving, driven people who inspire each other to do better. At the same time, everyone has their own regional focus, perspectives, and interdisciplinary approaches. This means that our conversations are full of constructive criticism and mutual education. It’s really unique. We’re all nerds, too, but that goes without saying. I also can’t stress enough how supportive and understanding our professors and coordinators are.
What’s your most memorable experience here so far?
Working as a Harriman intern at Human Rights Watch last spring. It was a great opportunity to research topics overlooked in my academic career. One of the coolest parts was getting to work in the Empire State Building.
Where in the region have you traveled?
As an undergrad at UCLA, I traveled to Kazakhstan twice and Kyrgyzstan once to study Russian, and also for a capstone year post-graduation. Last summer, thanks to the Harriman Institute, I received funding to travel to Kazakhstan for research and to do an internship at a CAPS Unlock (Central Asia Policy Studies think tank) regional center.
Fun fact about you:
I don’t have any Eastern European or Eurasian heritage but I still love to go mushroom hunting, especially for chanterelles and porcini which are luckily abundant in my hometown! (I won’t tell you where.)
Pictured: Gemma at the house museum of Dinmukhamed Kunayev in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Kunayev, who was good friends with Leonid Brezhnev and helped usher in the “Golden Age of Kazakhstan” in the 1960s, is depicted here as a wax figure.
