Graduate Research by Elise Pizzi in China

Is currently doing fieldwork for her dissertation in China. Elise was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Grant to conduct her fieldwork and study Chinese in China for 14 months.  Fulbright is the US government’s flagship program for international education and exchange. The program selects participants based on academic merit and leadership potential, and provides opportunity to increase mutual understanding among people from different countries.  Starting in August 2013, she received a Critical Language Enhancement Award to study Chinese at Tsinghua’s Inter-University Program for four months. Beginning in January 2014, she will be able conduct her dissertation research in Guizhou province.

Her research concerns the provision of public goods, specifically water, in rural China. While this part of China has adequate rainfall and rivers, many villages do not have reliable sources of water, have only polluted water sources, or struggle to manage the resources they have, especially in times of above or below average rainfall.  While many of these challenges are environmental, the political process directly affects the management of water resources. The goal of this project is to understand how.  Elise hopes her research will contribute to a broader understanding of how to more efficiently provide water to communities in China and the developing world, especially in poor and rural areas.