Already an experienced international traveler, junior Laura Brody is aiming to study abroad in at least four countries during her undergraduate career.
Brody, from Thomasville, N.C., is majoring in international comparative studies and French, and minoring in history.
“I chose international comparative studies as a means of fostering my passion for interacting with people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds, and through it have been able to significantly deepen my sense of cross-cultural understanding and appreciation,” she said. “I chose to major in French not only for the beauty of the language, but for the ability it would provide me to communicate at ease with people around the francophone world.”
Brody is currently working on a thesis regarding memory politics in Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
“I am examining in particular the similarities and differences between divisions within Irish Republicanism and Greek Cypriot Nationalism, as well as the way in which those divisions are represented in narratives of national struggle in the political context of divided societies,” she said.
Brody spent this past summer in Northern Ireland through DukeEngage, a program that fully funds immersive service experiences for undergraduates. After the DukeEngage program finished, she remained in Northern Ireland to conduct research for her thesis.
“I conducted a case study on the Irish Republican History Museum in West Belfast,” she said. “Throughout July and August I was also able to conduct interviews with several former members of the Irish Republican Army, as well as other members of the wider Republican and Nationalist communities in Belfast.”
Next summer, Brody will continue her research in the Greek Cypriot community in Nicosia, Cyprus.
During the summer after her freshman year, Brody participated in the Duke in Oxford program. She hopes to study abroad again this spring in France.
“My favorite aspect of my study abroad experience in Oxford was undoubtedly the opportunity to both interact and meet with new people in such a culturally diverse city, many of whom managed to significantly challenge my perspective on the world around me,” she said.
Brody said her favorite class at Duke has been Language in Immigrant America, a service-learning course. Through the course, Brody worked as an ESL teaching assistant for a refugee resettlement agency in Durham.
“This was an extremely rewarding experience for me, and one through which I was able to utilize my French skills in a real world setting by working with native French speakers from places such as Senegal, Rwanda and the Central African Republic,” she said.
Aside from her courses, Brody has been involved with the Duke Wind Symphony, Passport Magazine, the Coalition for Preserving Memory and Gamma Phi Beta. She also works at the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute, and serves on its Student Advisory Board.
Prior to attending graduate school, Brody said she would like to take a gap year doing an internship or service program.
Department of Romance Studies
