Na primeira pessoa, Emily Lange partilha connosco a sua experiência Fulbright. Ao abrigo de uma Bolsa Fulbright para Investigação (20/21) e no âmbito do seu doutoramento em International Relations da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Emily desenvolveu parte da sua pesquisa sobre o autor Martin Wight na University of Notre Dame, IN, EUA.

 

«It is not easy to unpack 7 months of stay in the United States. These were intense months of study and research, meeting of many people, debating with colleagues, living the American football experience, going ice-skating for the first time, and eating a lot of peanut-butter.  The highlight of my stay was sharing in the Domer experience: one of the University of Notre Dame’s landmarks is the Golden Dome. 

 

On campus: Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the left, Golden Dome on the right.

 

Notre Dame campus is beautiful, and its academic community rich, welcoming and vibrant. If I had to share the one thing that most surprised me, and which I hope to carry on, this would be the nature of Notre Dame’s intellectual exchange.

I am not a Catholic, and did not seek out Notre Dame for being a Catholic university; I applied to this Host Institution due to the research interests that my academic advisor and I share. However, I was surprised to find in a Catholic University greater freedom for intellectual discussion than in the more secular Portuguese universities I have been in. Because my research on political doctrines and ideology deals with belief and religion, it was a breath of fresh air to experience a different way of doing research, where religion and faith are not sidelined a priori, nor even considered as a mere sociological phenomena, but placed on the table of discussion as a valid depository and avenue of knowledge.

I thank Fulbright and the University of Notre Dame for this enlightening and enriching opportunity.»

 

Muito obrigada, Emily, e welcome back!

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