New York University

Gallatin alumnus Max Holleran (BA ’07) is no stranger to cultural research endeavors. The recipient of a 2007 Gallatin Jewish studies grant, he has conducted extensive research with the American Civil Liberties Union’s legal department, Brooklyn Public Agenda, the New York State public defender program, and the School for International Training in Grenada, Spain. This year, Holleran became Gallatin’s most recent graduate to receive a Fulbright Grant, which he is using to explore the public management of cultural tourism in post-Soviet Bulgaria.

Originally from Boulder, CO, Holleran created his Gallatin concentration in Political Theory and Urban Studies, pursuing much of his course work at Gallatin and NYU’s College of Arts and Science. During his junior year, he fed his desire to examine global issues by studying abroad in Spain. The son of an urban planner and a poet/psychologist, Holleran seems to have the natural balance required to delve into his cultural, socioeconomic Fulbright research. He was able to sit down with Gallatin Today to discuss this work just before he left for Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city.

GT: Your research in Sofia will examine how urban heritage conservation affects international tourism. What in particular sparked your interest in this issue?

MH: It’s hard not to become interested in urban issues when you’re living in New York City. I’m very interested in how people learn about themselves from the places they inhabit. No one reacts to their surroundings passively. I wanted to go to a former Soviet country undergoing a deep transition, not just in economic organization and on-the-ground urban planning policy, but also within each citizen’s conception of their city and country. Sofia is reinventing itself by resurrecting pre-Communist-era buildings and monuments in an attempt to make the city a business and tourist destination, and also more subtly to reorient how people imagine their national history. By selling the city’s architectural history to foreigners, they are both drawing EU residents to spend their money there while also emphasizing a heritage that predates Soviet rule. Such an approach worked very well for cities like Prague and Budapest and the hope is that it will work in Bulgaria as well.

So, on one hand I’m interested in the very concrete economic changes taking place, such as the restitution of private property, direct foreign investment in the refurbishment of historic buildings, and the construction of new residential and commercial spaces. However, I also have a much more theoretical research agenda regarding how these changes are greeted by ordinary people and what impact they will have on the national identity.

GT: What excites you most about your research?

MH: I’m really looking forward to meeting a wide array of people and asking them about their personal experiences in Sofia. We all have memories associated with our homes, workplaces, and city streets that go far beyond the bare aesthetic changes that have taken place, and that really illuminate fascinating aspects of the lives we’ve lived. Talking with people about those kinds of places is sometimes a catalyst for them to reflect on their life histories. By asking about the places first, you really get far more revealing answers about the stories that go with them.

GT: Did any of your Gallatin and NYU professors have a role in your process?

MH: My adviser, Professor George Shulman, was a great help. He was instrumental as I crafted my proposal, giving me excellent support in all my plans and also guiding me when I occasionally questioned my life’s direction. Professor Mosette Boderick, in the department of art history at NYU, really helped me with the architectural history and planning aspects of the project. Professor Neil Brenner, in the sociology department, gave me great advice on how to incorporate urban theory into my proposed research. He was the first person who encouraged me to apply for the Fulbright Grant.

GT: Did any Gallatin courses in particular have an effect on you?

MH: Absolutely. Professor Stacy Pies’s Imagining Cities seminar had a huge impact on the development of my concentration and the work I continue to do today. She introduced me to many of the cornerstone urban planning writings, as well as urban theory works that I continually come back to. That class also taught me how to write!

GT: What are your interests outside of your studies?

MH: I’m from Colorado, so I of course love to hike! I also like to cook a lot, and I’m really eager to learn how to cook Bulgarian food. As I understand, it kind of fuses Turkish, Greek, and Slavic foods.

GT: Any plans or goals for the future?

MH: Nothing concrete, but after my trip to Bulgaria I will likely apply to a Ph.D. program in political science. Then, I could see myself teaching applied political theory and urban issues at a research institute. Both my parents are professors also, so it’s kind of natural.