CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Patty’s dissertation work examines education, international development, and racial politics in the context of South Korea. More specifically, she has focused on the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) program which brings primarily students from developing countries to study in South Korean universities. As the South Korean government is looking to utilize these students to address the country’s current low fertility crisis, this further complicates ongoing negotiations surrounding the socio-political and racial politics of South Korean identity. She also explores how social media discourses participate in cultivating soft power for South Korea and understanding the interests of various stakeholders in that process.
Patty has received funding from the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award, the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, and the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. She has an MSEd from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Anthropology from Yale University.