The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) is proud to recognize the exceptional achievements of our 2024-2025 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellows. These students have demonstrated a strong commitment to language acquisition and international studies, embodying the spirit of global engagement that UW–Madison cultivates.
The FLAS fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is a prestigious award designed to support students in developing advanced foreign language proficiency and in-depth knowledge of specific world regions. Administered by UW–Madison’s National Resource Centers, these fellowships are instrumental in producing future leaders with the cultural expertise necessary to navigate our international landscape. The fellows also contribute to a U.S. workforce competent in less commonly taught languages that are considered critical to national security and contribute to our broader understanding of global languages.
IRIS is thrilled to celebrate the dedication and scholarly pursuits of the FLAS fellows. Learn more about some of these remarkable students and their unique research interests:
Xuan H. Le Nguyen, Department of Geography
Language of focus: Vietnamese
Water narratives in the Mekong Delta diverge among different communities, with those in power propagandizing water abundance for national progress and the marginalized experiencing different realities of water that force them into a defense mechanism of flight or fight. In interviewing communities and tracing water policy interventions, Xuan seeks to understand how recent Vietnamese policy shifts impact local socio-ecological resilience across different river island settings, offering actionable insights for more inclusive water governance in the Mekong Delta.
Russell Knapp, The Information School
Language of focus: Danish
Russell is in his second year of his master’s in library and information studies. He is learning Danish and has been taking classes in Scandinavian studies. Within his degree, his primary interest is archival studies, including classes and coursework in archives & records management, digital curation, and genealogy. Russell has also been working in the Special Collections Department and is currently doing his master’s practicum with Recollection Wisconsin, where he is conducting an archival digitization project at Middleton Area Historical Society.
Emma Feldhausen, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Language of focus: Portuguese
Emma is an undergraduate student majoring in international studies with a focus in global security, Spanish, and Portuguese, with certificates in political science and public policy. Through her studies, she explores the intersections of language, politics, policy, and international security. She is passionate about social justice, human rights, international relations, global security, languages, politics, and the legal field.
Ernesta Cole, Department of African Cultural Studies
Language of focus: Gambian Wolof
Ernesta is a second-year PhD student in African cultural studies. Her research focuses on linguistic expression and the stigmatization of English, Indigenous, and native languages in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. She is particularly interested in linguistic variations, as well as the diasporic use of African languages. Through the department’s multilanguage seminar, Ernesta is also studying Gambian Wolof, the language spoken in the country where she was born, and has a growing interest in the Aku language.
Lauren Parnell Marino, Department of Development Studies
Language of focus: Luganda (spoken in Uganda)
Lauren’s research interests include gender, women’s empowerment, women’s economic participation, and international development. Her dissertation project is focused on understanding the motivations and decision-making practices of women entrepreneurs who run small-medium sized businesses in Uganda and Ethiopia. This study uncovers how logics that drive women entrepreneurs’ decision-making align more closely to a framework of moral economy than to a model that prioritizes self-interest.
Madeleine Afonso, Department of French & Italian
Language of focus: Italian
Madeleine is a fourth-year undergraduate in the Department of French & Italian. In addition to Italian, She is majoring in botany and journalism as well as obtaining a certificate in European studies. Within her Italian major, Madeleine says she loves studying Italian literature and continuing her studies after spending time abroad in Bologna in UW’s BCSP Italian Immersion Program.
Mike Dawes, Department of Psychology
Language of focus: Turkish
Mike is an undergraduate student pursuing his bachelor’s in psychology. He is studying Turkish and plans on working in Turkey following his graduation. Mike’s work will be within the realms of volunteering and education, specifically helping undereducated children.
Marianna Merzedes Krumrine, Department of Anthropology
Language of focus: Arabic
Marianna is a third-year doctoral student in socio-cultural anthropology at UW–Madison. She has been a Foreign Language Area Studies Fellow for the 2024-25 academic year to learn Arabic for use in Europe. Her doctoral research concerns hip-hop and cultural policies in France. Obtaining competency in Arabic is vital for her research, as most of French hip-hop is multilingual with an Arabic predominance.
Emily Mae Jensen, Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+
Language of focus: Danish
Emily is a third-year undergraduate student studying anthropology, linguistics and Scandinavian studies. She is currently studying on exchange at the University of Copenhagen for the 2024-25 academic year and is learning Danish. During her time in Copenhagen, she is primarily interested in studying the mutual intelligibility of the Scandinavian languages and the process of adapting to speaking and writing in Danish as someone who is already proficient in Norwegian.
Elliott Brandsma, Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+
Language of focus: Swedish
Elliott is a Ph.D. candidate in Scandinavian literature and cultural studies. He is using his FLAS fellowship to conduct dissertation research in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden. Elliott’s project investigates Sweden’s literary relationship to Christianity and the Bible. Examining novels such as Pär Lagerkvist’s Barabbas, Sven Wernström’s children’s book Kamrat Jesus (Comrade Jesus), and Tor Hedberg’s Judas, Elliott’s research hopes to shed light on Sweden’s paradoxical relationship to Christianity.
Amanda Grant, Department of History
Language of focus: Swahili
Amanda studies Swahili and is pursuing a double major in history and art history, specializing in East Africa. Her research focuses on the history of gendered healthcare in the region, with a current interest in the professionalization of midwifery in colonial Uganda. She recently authored an illustrated biography for the Tharaka-Nithi Women’s Welfare Program exploring contemporary biopolitics surrounding FGM, which will be used to support literacy initiatives and promote local history.
Isa Whitten, School of Education
Language of focus: Filipino
Isa is a junior majoring in education studies, double majoring in environmental studies, and pursuing a certificate in Southeast Asian studies. As part of her certificate and in an effort to build her connection with her Filipinx heritage, she is learning the Filipino language. Outside of school, she serves as the vice president internal of UW–Madison’s Filipinx American Student Organization (FASO), and she is helping with research to collect the oral histories of FASO’s members and record their experiences as Filipinx students in college.
For more information about FLAS fellowships at UW–Madison, visit the FLAS website or check out their FAQ page.