Moira O’Shea moshea@uchicago.edu

Moira is a comparative-historical and cultural sociologist who studies nationalism, collective memory, the uses of art in society, and identity.  Her dissertation, tentatively titled “Amidst Manas, Aitmatov, and Lenin: Nationalism and Belonging in Kyrgyzstan,” is an exploration of culture and art in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  She uses ethnographic and interview data as a lens to explore different processes of presenting the idea of nation and ways those ideas are interpreted and understood. Moira is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago and holds a MA in Sociology from University of Chicago, a MA in Education Policy and Research from DePaul University, and a BA in Philosophy and Classics from St. John’s College.