Joseph Livingston, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton College, has been awarded a J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship. Livingston will travel to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) refugee camps in Jordan for his study, "The Causes of Social Class Composition and Disparity among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan."
According to Livingston the overall aim of his project will be to gain a fuller understanding of the many factors that affect the life chances and social mobility of one Palestinian refugee as compared to the next. He will explore a refugee's family history and personal experiences, and examine the level, type, and cause of social class disparities in refugee communities.
The purpose of the Fulbright grants is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. The grants are funded through an annual appropriation made by Congress to the U.S. Department of State and by foreign governments, universities, corporations and private donors. The J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, composed of 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the president of the United States, establishes criteria for selecting candidates and has the final authority for awarding the grants.
Livingston, recipient of an Emerson Grant from Hamilton College in May 2001, conducted field work in Tel Aviv and studied the effects of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on the work of Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Jewish coexistence groups in the summer of 2001. Livingston presented his findings in a regional Peace Studies Seminar at Hamilton College in September 2001. A government major, member of Model UN, Eurosim, Sudanese Refugees CARE Group, and the Debate Team, Livingston attended the Middle Eastern Studies Association national meeting in November 2001.
