Laura Tourtellotte

Graduated Spring 2021

Research Interests

Kazakhstan; Central Asia; Russia; Gender and transnational feminism; body and reproductive politics; biological citizenship; gendered work and emotional labor; pro-natalism and nationalism; Post-Soviet politics

About

Laura is interested in body politics, pro-natalist national policies, gendered production and reproduction, and access to intimate partner violence and sexual assault crisis services in Central Asia and the post-Soviet space. Laura’s research examines how competing nationalist discourses and demographic concerns in Kazakhstan constrain the roles of both service providers and recipients of crisis social services, producing a moral hierarchy of gendered bodies. She examines how biological citizenship is activated by social service providers and by those soliciting crisis assistance within the broader context of gender politics and women’s work.

Before embarking upon her anthropology degree at Boston University, Laura worked at a domestic violence prevention resource center in Moscow, Russia in 2014-15 through the Alfa Fellowship Program. She holds an MA in Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies from Harvard University, where she conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Kazakhstan. Her MA thesis is “The ‘Eastern Women’ of Grandfather Apple: Motherhood and Work among Women in Almaty, Kazakhstan.” Laura also holds a BA in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies from the College of William and Mary.

Awards

• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship (2018-2019)
• Pardee School Institute for Muslim Studies and Civilizations Research Grant (2018)
• George Washington University Central Asia Program Student Research Paper Competition (2018)
• U.S. Department of State Title VIII Foreign Language Grant (2018)
• American Councils Study Abroad Diversity Scholarship (2018)
• Boston University long-term Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (2018)
• Boston University Graduate Student Organization Conference Travel Grant (2017)
• U.S. Department of State Title VIII Foreign Language Grant (2017)
• Boston University Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant (2016, 2017)
• Pardee School Institute for Muslim Studies and Civilizations Summer Research Travel Grant (2016)
• Alfa Fellowship Program for young professionals (2014-2015)
• Maurice Lazarus Graduate Research Travel Award (2013)
• Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Academic year Fellowship, Russian (2012-13 and 2013-14)
• Critical Language Enhancement (ACTR-ACCELS) Award, Izhevsk, Russia (September 2010 – March 2011)
• U.S. Student Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, Izhevsk, Russia (September 2010-March 2011)