SOFIA NAVARRETE ZUR, named 2021-2022 recipient of the Bishwanath and Sandhya Sinha Memorial Endowed Fellowship in Media Studies
Congratulations to SOFIA NAVARRETE ZUR, the 2021-2022 recipient of the Bishwanath and Sandhya Sinha Memorial Endowed Fellowship in Media Studies. She is a second year graduate student in International Affairs with a focus on Media and Culture. Sofia pursued her bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University where she studied Cultural Anthropology, Psychology, and Film.
She is a visual anthropologist and a multimedia artist inspired by engaged research, ethical witnessing, and story-telling through visual narrative. As the Sinha Fellow, she will be working on several projects related to migration and creativity, the current theme of the fellowship.
Sofia has extensive experience in cross-cultural and multidisciplinary approaches. She notes, “I have confidence in the role that creative thinking, innovative research, and storytelling perform in understanding evolving world crises and in responsively visibilizing increasing needs across the globe. As the visual medium becomes increasingly innovative and interactive, it has the power to capture both social and intimate stories while making them accessible and actionable within our progressively interconnected world. Thus, I view media as vessels for capturing narratives that have the power to evade mental defenses, change attitudes, engage emotions, and ask questions, with the ultimate goal of working toward social consciousness and change.”