- Marie Comuzzo, Ph.D. Candidate at Brandeis has been awarded a ACLS/Mellon Dissertation Innovation Fellowship for 2025-2026. This fellowship will support her dissertation, described in her own words:
“I am traveling across the world–joining communities who gather around whales, collaborating with musicians, scientists, and indigenous knowledge holders, and developing new public-facing platforms to share what I learn and connect communities. Through this fellowship, I’m creating an innovative dissertation that weaves together ethnography, sonic studies, decolonial queer theory, grief work, and active kinning work (Kimmerer). It will include not just academic writing, but also a multimedia website, a book-in-progress, public talks, a gathering of whale listeners at BIOME TRUST in Aotearoa, and a social media presence designed to amplify the voices of those working at the frontlines of interspecies connection.”