The UMass Amherst Ethnography Collective announced on Apr. 21 that Ashley McGraw and Marco Trigoso have been awarded its 2026 Fieldwork Fellowships. The fellowships provide support for students conducting ethnographic fieldwork, helping to advance their dissertation research at different stages.
The fellowships are funded by the Ethnography Collective Fund, which was established in 2024 to promote professional development for graduate students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Ethnographic Research. This certificate offers interdisciplinary training in humanistic and social scientific approaches to immersive research methods such as digital storytelling, photovoice, and collaborative ethnography. The fund aims to invest in upcoming ethnographers and encourage innovative field-based research.
Ashley McGraw is a doctoral student in anthropology whose work combines linguistic and medical anthropology. Her research focuses on Western North Carolina, where she examines rural experiences and community interactions with place—a topic influenced by her own background from the region. McGraw’s dissertation project is titled “Navigating Housing and Social Service Care In Western North Carolina after Disaster.” It investigates how residents respond after a hurricane struck Southern Appalachia, highlighting how unhoused individuals navigate governmental aid systems and build networks of care while maintaining autonomy amid social inequality. She employs arts-based methods like zine-making alongside participant observation.
Marco Trigoso is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication who studies how Peruvian bureaucrats manage digital technology policy within an environment shaped by international actors and global technological trends. His broader interests include environmental impacts of artificial intelligence development, platformization of social relations across South America, and depoliticization of digital technologies. Trigoso’s dissertation explores Peru’s state-led digital transformation policies—specifically initiatives like the Digital Girls program and national AI governance strategy—and analyzes their formation through collaborations with international organizations using institutional ethnography methods.
The UMass Amherst Ethnography Collective is a grassroots initiative led by faculty from four colleges: Education; Humanities and Fine Arts; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Public Health and Health Sciences. Participants come from departments including Anthropology; Communication; Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies; Political Science; Public Policy; Sociology; Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies; as well as Community Health Education.