Congratulations to PhD Student Rachel Cochran for receiving a 2020 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellows Program! See the announcement here.
Cochran’s dissertation, titled “Political Thought in the 18th century Persian Cosmopolis,” will explore how cosmologies, epic narrative traditions and esoteric sciences shaped political thought and practices in the Persian Cosmopolis, a transregional space constituted by the shared legacy of Persian literature and culture. Through research on manuscripts held in Uzbekistan and India, her dissertation examines how Muslim intellectuals circulating across South and Central Asia navigated the widespread economic, environmental and political crises of their era and investigates 18th century Muslim political thought in the context of global history.