Current NYU Shanghai Global Research Initiatives Fellows

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Nov 2 - Dec 10)：

Christensen’s dissertation is about medieval fairy figures in nineteenth-century French novels. She is comparing medieval and nineteenth-century literary portrayals while examining fantasies about women and their roles in romantic relationships. Fairies are supposedly from the past and otherworldly places and they often represent an imaginary escape from society and reality. Everything about a fairy—her physical appearance, her living space, her connection to nature, her education—adds to her seductive role in love narratives. As her dissertation is based entirely on French literature, Christensen has no connection to the site in Shanghai, but she will prepare to write and use online reading materials while in residence.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Nov 2 - Dec 10)：

Kun’s dissertation project focuses on the birth of French psychiatry, at the end of the 18th century. It undertakes the analysis of the philosophical background of early mental health expertise, namely the works of the Idologues (e.g. Cabanis) and the physician philosophers (e.g. La Mettrie, Pinel). The project is interdisciplinary: it follows the effects of the evolution of psychiatric thought in medicine, law and literature, from the era of the French Revolution to the July Monarchy (1830). Kun’s project is based on theoretical works, but his findings are adduced by archival documents found in the National Archives of France. Although Kun’s project is not connected to the NYU Shanghai site, he would use this opportunity to work on his dissertation and write in a new, inspiring environment.