Meshack Simati Receives 2017 Dissertation Library Travel Award From Georgia State University

2017 Feb 24

Meshack Simati, of New Orleans, received a 2017 Dissertation Library Travel Award from Georgia State University Library and the Georgia State University Office of Graduate Programs to help fund travel required for Simati to complete a Ph.D. dissertation.

Awards are offered once per semester and are available to doctoral students in any discipline who require funding to travel to a museum, archive or library to complete dissertation research. Candidates must complete a comprehensive application to be eligible.

Both recipients of the award are Suzanne Litrel and Meshack Simati.

Litrel, a Ph.D. history student, is studying "unlikely alliances and unimagined bonds" among the people residing in Dutch-held Brazil of the 17th century. She plans to use the award to travel to Lisbon, Portugal in order to access documents held at two archives - the Arquivo Historico Ultramarino and the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo.

Simati, a Ph.D. student in political science, is conducting research on the "the strategic interaction that happens between the opposition political parties or non-state actors and the judiciary during the pre and post-election period" in emerging African democracies. His travel award will facilitate access to newspapers and other reports at the Kenya National Library Archives.

Upon return, recipients are expected to present on their travel and research as it relates to their dissertation. Brief presentations will be held at the Georgia State University Library.