Bonderman Travel Fellowship

Xoe Amer

Photo of Xoe Amer

Comparative History of Ideas with Departmental Honors

Undergraduate

2015 Fellows

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Travel Locations: Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam

Travel objectives: Xoe will be travelling through Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. She has never before been outside of the West Coast. As a barista, she is compelled by the global dynamics of the coffee trade, especially as it reifies histories of colonialism and migration. As a poet, she is compelled by the poetry, literature, and folk music of each region and their roots in community life. She hopes to find some insight into the pieces of art and culture from these regions that have been so significant in her own life so far from their places of origin, and consider how this kind of interconnectedness manifests in other places, in others’ lives.