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Andrew Ollett is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago , where he has taught since 2019. His research focuses on the literary and intellectual traditions of South and Southeast Asia, particularly through works in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha, and Kannada from the first millennium CE. Co-founder and editor of NESAR (New Explorations in South Asia Research) Director of NEH-funded edition/translation of the Kavirājamārga (earliest Kannada literary manual) Expert in Prakrit and Kannada literary traditions His work explores the 'question of language'—examining how language choice shaped cultural production and change in premodern India. Current projects include a monograph on context-sensitivity in Indian language theories and a study of manuscript technology's impact on early South Asian knowledge communities. He has authored The Mirror of Ornaments (Naples: Unior Press, 2025) and Language of the Snakes (UC Press, 2017), and co-authored Lilavai (Harvard, 2021). Recent publications include interdisciplinary studies on: Sanskrit-Prakrit campū genre reevaluation Pragmatics in Mīmāṁsā interpretive concepts Manuscript literacy's influence on literary forms Historical linguistics of Middle Indic syllable reduction Philosophy of language in Śālikanātha and Kumārila Bhaṭṭa Awarded the NEH 'Scholarly Editions and Translations' grant , he teaches classical South Asian literature courses covering Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tamil traditions. He maintains digital resources including a Prakrit Digital Texts Project and Mīmāṁsādigdarśinī digital text repository, and actively contributes to open-access scholarship.

• Poetics
• History of Literature
• Intellectual History
• +9 more

Prita Meier is an Associate Professor of Art History at New York University's College of Arts & Science , affiliated with the Department of Art History & the Institute of Fine Arts. Her work bridges African art history, Indian Ocean world studies, and global modernity frameworks. Education: Ph.D. (2007) in History of Art, Harvard University M.A. (2000) in History of Art, University of Iowa B.A. (1996) in Art History, University of Florida Research Interests focus on the visual and architectural cultures of Africa, particularly Swahili Coast port cities, exploring globalization's cultural dimensions, Islamic art, and photography histories. Her work interrogates spatial-temporal dynamics in African modernity and colonial art frameworks. Scientific Awards include CASVA Senior Fellowship, NEH Implementation Grant (with Allyson Purpura), Mellon Collaborative Grant (with Kenny Cupers), Clark Art Institute Residential Fellowship, and Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship. Notably, she declined the National Humanities Center Fellowship and Stanford Humanities Fellows Program. Publications highlight Indian Ocean trade networks, Swahili Coast architecture, and photography's global circulation. Recent works (2020-2017) examine infrastructure as identity, oceanic materiality, and itinerant art historiography. Earlier articles (2016-2009) analyze porcelain trade, modernist discontents, and Swahili funerary practices. Contact: spm9@nyu.edu | 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003

• Art and architecture of Africa
• Port cities and visual cultures of the Indian Ocean world
• Comparative urbanism
• +4 more

Rachel Fell McDermott is Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College, Columbia University, specializing in South Asian religions, particularly the Hindu goddess traditions of Bengal in India and Bangladesh. Her work bridges religious studies, human rights, and comparative religion, with a strong focus on Kali, Durga Puja, and the literary legacy of Kazi Nazrul Islam. Education: A.B., Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1981 M.Div., Harvard Divinity School, 1984 A.M., Study of Religion, Harvard University, 1986 Ph.D., Study of Religion, Harvard University, 1993 Her research centers on the religious and cultural dynamics of Bengal, exploring themes such as goddess worship, ritual practices, religious poetry, and the intersection of religion with politics and identity. She is deeply engaged in comparative religion, examining how religious themes like suffering, sacrifice, and divine femininity manifest across traditions. Her scholarship also addresses diasporic religious experiences, digital religion, and interfaith dialogue, particularly between Hindu and Christian communities. The 15 most recent publications reflect a sustained scholarly engagement with goddess traditions, especially Kali and Durga, as well as broader themes in South Asian religion, including Tantric symbolism, festival culture, and the reception of Hindu deities in the West. Her work spans ethnographic, historical, and textual analysis, often highlighting the contested and evolving nature of religious canons. She frequently contributes to major academic anthologies and journals in religious studies, South Asian studies, and comparative theology. Scientific Awards: No specific awards listed in the provided text. As a senior professor and managing editor of major academic volumes, she has likely advised numerous graduate students and secured research funding, though specific names and grants are not mentioned. She teaches courses such as “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?” that explore theodicy across religions. She is currently on leave for the 2024–2025 academic year, indicating ongoing active involvement in academic life. She is involved in significant editorial projects, including the third edition of The Sources of Indian Traditions , and is working on translations and a monograph on Kazi Nazrul Islam. Her scholarly presence includes invited lectures at institutions such as Princeton, the University of Connecticut, and the Bangla Academy in Dhaka, reflecting her international recognition in the field of South Asian religious studies.

• South Asian Religions
• Hindu Goddess Worship
• Bengali Religious Traditions
• +12 more

Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at New York University. He holds a joint PhD in Anthropology and Education from the University of Pennsylvania (2015) and a B.A. in Economics and Finance from George Mason University (1997). His research focuses on media consumption, production, and circulation in relation to migration, gender, race, and urban space. He co-edits the Multimodal Section of the American Anthropological Association's flagship journal, American Anthropologist. His first book, *The Globally Familiar: Digital hip hop, masculinity and urban space in Delhi* (Duke UP, 2020), examines how Delhi’s youth utilize hip hop aesthetics through digital platforms. His forthcoming co-authored book *Digital Unsettling: Decoloniality and Dispossession in the Age of Social Media* (NYU Press) critiques corporate social media’s colonial legacies. Current projects include ethnographic work on African communities in India and a study of Angolan anthropologist Augusto Zita N’Gonguenho’s anticolonial methodologies. He previously served as Senior Lecturer and co-director of the Centre for Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. His research employs collaborative, multimodal approaches to explore decoloniality, digital media’s socio-political impacts, and urban cultural dynamics.

• Media Studies
• Urban Anthropology
• Digital Cultures
• +6 more

Utathya Chattopadhyaya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializing in Modern South Asian and British Imperial History with intersecting interests in the Indian Ocean World, Global History, and Commodity History. His research combines critical materialist and anti-imperial frameworks to analyze colonial agrarian frontiers, intoxicant commodities, and social dynamics of caste, class, and gender. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including commodity histories, South Asian public culture, and historical methods. Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2018) His recent publications focus on cannabis regulation, colonial political economy, and multispecies entanglements in imperial contexts. He has received prestigious fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, UC Humanities Division, and the Mellon Foundation. Chattopadhyaya co-teaches interdisciplinary courses on topics such as race, colonialism, and cannabis history, contributing to emerging scholarship in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and decolonial studies. Chattopadhyaya's research clusters around British imperialism's material impacts, particularly in eastern Bengal's agrarian transformations and intoxicant commodity systems. His work synthesizes historical methods with critical plant studies and gender analysis, producing innovative insights into colonial governance and resistance. He actively engages with graduate students in comparative history and Indian Ocean World studies. "Ganja and the Godhead" (2024) - Colonial cosmologies and cannabis "Colonial Capitalism" (2024) - Economic structures of empire "Bodies that Cohere" (2023) - Gender analysis in colonial contexts Key awards include the Margaret T. Getman Service to Students Award (2024), Regents Humanities Fellowship (2022-23), and ACLS Fellowship (2021-22). His scholarly activities intersect with research clusters in Science, Technology and Society; Race, Blackness and Abolition; and Global Antiquity.

• Modern South Asian History
• British Imperial History
• Indian Ocean World
• +10 more

Amitav Acharya is UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at American University's School of International Service. He holds honorary positions at Rhodes University, University of Pretoria, and Nankai University, with previous appointments at Harvard, Oxford, and Tsinghua University. Research focuses on: Global international relations and world order transitions US-China relations and Asian regionalism Non-Western international relations theory United Nations and global governance Publications demonstrate extensive contributions to IR theory with works translated into multiple languages. Honors include: Three-time ISA Distinguished Scholar Award recipient American University Scholar-Teacher of the Year (2020) First non-Western President of International Studies Association (2014-2015)

• Global International Relations
• US Foreign Policy
• China Studies
• +4 more

Michael Christopher Low is an Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah. He specializes in late Ottoman Empire, Arabian Peninsula history, Indian Ocean World studies, and environmental history. His research focuses on the intersections of empire, environment, and global networks, particularly through the lens of the Hajj pilgrimage and water infrastructure in the Middle East. Low earned his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University (2015). Before joining Utah, he was an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University (2015–2022). His major work, *Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj* (2020), won the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Book Award and explores Ottoman modernization and global health dynamics in the Hijaz region. He is currently working on a new book project, *Saltwater Kingdoms*, examining desalination’s environmental and energy impacts in Arabia. Key affiliations include the Environmental Humanities Program (as Research Professor, 2023–2025), NYU Abu Dhabi (Senior Humanities Fellow, 2020–2021), and Koç University (Visiting Fellowship, 2016). He serves as Series Editor for *Transregional Middle Easts* and on editorial boards for journals like *Journal of Global History*. Awards include the Alice Hamilton Prize (2016) for environmental history, and grants from Columbia University, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the William Lind Foundation. His research spans Ottoman public health policies, colonial Hajj logistics, and the hydraulic history of the Saudi state.

• Late Ottoman Empire
• Arabian Peninsula
• Indian Ocean World
• +3 more

Valerie Hansen is the Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University's Department of History. She specializes in Chinese history to 1600, the Silk Road, and global medieval connectivity. Her research bridges legal, religious, and economic dimensions of pre-modern societies. Hansen’s work includes groundbreaking books such as The Year 1000 (2020), redefining globalization’s origins, and The Silk Road: A New History (2012), integrating archaeological and textual sources. She led the Luce Foundation-funded Silk Road Project (1995–1998), unifying Turfan artifacts. Her articles span legal pluralism in Silk Road cities, Liao dynasty material culture, and Viking exploration’s global impacts. Awards include American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship (2021) and Collège de France lectureship (2019). Hansen collaborates internationally, editing volumes on textiles as money and Song-Yuan studies. Her research emphasizes interdisciplinary methods, blending history with archaeology and art.

• Chinese History to 1600
• Global Medieval History
• History of the Silk Road
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Sangeeta Kamat is a Grace Lee Boggs Faculty Fellow at the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research, and Program Coordinator for International Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a joint affiliation with the Department of Educational Policy, Research & Administration (EPRA). Her academic journey includes a B.A. from Sophia College (Bombay, India, 1985), an M.A. from the Tata Institute of Social Science (1988), and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh (1998). Kamat’s research focuses on globalization’s impact on education systems, critical theory applications in policy analysis, gender dynamics in educational access, and South Asian sociopolitical contexts. She critiques neoliberal educational reforms, multinational edu-businesses, and NGO roles in development. Her work often intersects with questions of equity, power structures, and postcolonial theory. Her recent publications (2018–2023) emphasize privatization trends in education for marginalized populations, NGO discourse in neoliberal frameworks, and global development architectures. Earlier work (2000–2014) explored World Bank policies, urbanization’s educational implications, and postcolonial contradictions. She has consistently challenged hegemonic narratives in development and education through interdisciplinary lenses. Kamat’s grants and advising activities are reflected in her focus areas, though specific details are not provided in the text. She contributes to laboratories/teams focused on racial justice, youth engagement, and international educational equity through her center’s initiatives.

• Education Policy
• Globalization Studies
• Critical Theory
• +4 more

Heitor Pellegrina is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in trade and development economics with a particular focus on agriculture and environmental resources. He is affiliated with the Building Inclusive Growth (BIG) Lab and became a Kellogg faculty fellow in 2023. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Pellegrina spent six years as an assistant professor at New York University Abu Dhabi, where he coordinated DevLab seminars from 2021-2023 and co-organized the conference "The End of Globalization" in 2022. His research spans multiple countries including Brazil, India, Colombia, and parts of Africa, examining the intersection of trade policies, economic development, and environmental sustainability. Pellegrina holds a PhD in economics from Brown University (2017) and both bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of São Paulo, Brazil (2009 and 2011 respectively). His research program addresses critical questions at the intersection of international trade, agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability. Recent work examines how weather shocks affect farm size distribution, the relationship between economic development and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and the global impacts of trade policies on deforestation patterns. His publications appear in top journals including the Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Development Economics, and Journal of International Economics. PhD, Brown University, 2017 M.Sc., University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2011 B.Sc., University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2009 Pellegrina teaches undergraduate courses in Economic Growth and graduate courses in Quantitative International Trade and Development Economics. His research methodology combines empirical analysis of large datasets with theoretical modeling to address questions of economic development and trade policy. He has organized academic events including the Development Economics Working Group at Notre Dame and previously coordinated DevLab seminars at NYU Abu Dhabi.

• Trade Economics
• Development Economics
• Agricultural Economics
• +3 more

Catherine Wessinger is the Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions at Loyola University New Orleans, where she teaches in the Department of Religious Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences. She serves as co-director of the Loyola Himalaya Adventure: Summer Study in Dharamsala, India program and director of the Religion and Media Minor. Her educational background includes: Ph.D. in History of Religions from the University of Iowa (1985) Dr. Wessinger's research spans several interconnected fields within religious studies. She is particularly known for her expertise in women in religions, new religious movements, millennialism, and religion and violence. Her work often examines the intersection of gender and religion, with special attention to women's leadership in both mainstream and marginal religious traditions. She has conducted extensive research on Tibetan and Indian religions, as well as the Branch Davidian movement and other new religious movements that have experienced conflict with authorities. Her publications reveal a consistent focus on understanding religious movements that exist outside mainstream religious traditions, with particular attention to how these groups interact with society and authority structures. Over her career, she has traced the evolution of millennialist thought across different cultures and historical periods, while also documenting women's leadership roles in religious movements that have often provided more opportunities for female religious authority than mainstream traditions. Dr. Wessinger serves as co-general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions published by University of California Press, and is editor of the Women in Religions series at New York University Press. She is also co-director of the Women in the World's Religions and Spirituality Project , part of the World Religions and Spirituality Project online encyclopedia. Her advising work has been particularly notable in her oral history project with surviving Branch Davidians, which produced three autobiographies. She continues this work through her YouTube channel, documenting first-hand accounts from Branch Davidian survivors. Her current research includes writing books on the Branch Davidian-Federal Agents Conflict and Women in New Religious Movements for the Cambridge Elements Series.

• Women in Religions
• New Religious Movements
• Religion and Media
• +6 more

Jim Sykes is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on ethnomusicology, sound studies, and the cultural histories of the Indian Ocean world. He specializes in examining sonic practices across Afro-Asiatic seascapes, colonial surveillance systems, and postcolonial music theory. His work bridges disciplines like anthropology, history, and cultural studies, emphasizing decolonial methodologies. Recent scholarship explores governmental acoustic surveillance in maritime contexts, the politics of area studies, and the role of music in labor and value systems. He has contributed to rethinking sound studies through global south perspectives, including projects on sonic cartography and indigenous acoustic knowledge systems. Sykes has published extensively on topics such as Sri Lankan post-war musical generosity, Dalit liberation theology through Tamil folk music, and colonial sound regulations in British Ceylon. His interdisciplinary approach addresses intersections between sound, power, and cultural memory in contexts ranging from Southeast Asia to the Indian Ocean trade networks.

• Ethnomusicology
• Indian Ocean Studies
• Sound Studies
• +3 more

Christina Klein is a Professor of English and American Studies at Boston College, serving as Director of the Ph.D. Program, American Studies Program, and Literature Core Program. She holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. Her research focuses on Korean cinema, transnational genres, and Cold War cultural encounters between Asia and the U.S. Expertise: Korean Cinema, Transnational Genres, Cold War Cultural History Affiliations: Harvard's Institute of Korean Studies (Research Associate), Asian Studies Program Steering Committee Her work analyzes films like Bong Joon-ho’s works and explores how Hollywood genres are reworked through Korean contexts. Recent publications include Cold War Cosmopolitanism (2020) and Cold War Orientalism (2020). She has contributed to journals like American Quarterly and Cinema Journal .

• Korean Cinema
• Cold War Studies
• Transnational Genres
• +3 more

Navroz K. Dubash is a Professor at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs and High Meadows Environmental Institute. His career spans 25 years of climate policy research and advisory roles, including founding the Sustainable Futures Collaborative in India and serving as IPCC Coordinating Lead Author. Climate governance in development contexts Energy transitions and air quality Indian federalism in climate policy Global climate legal frameworks His recent research focuses on non-incremental climate strategies, co-benefits in low-carbon transitions, and institutional design for climate resilience. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and serves as Co-Editor in Chief of Climate Policy . India's climate policy evolution Global South climate advocacy Climate-Development synergies Multi-objective policy analysis As chair of SFC's Advisory Council and former Indian government advisor, he bridges academic research with real-world climate strategy implementation.

• Climate Policy
• Environmental Governance
• Energy Transitions
• +5 more

Chiara Cannella serves as Interim Dean and Professor of Teacher Education at Fort Lewis College, where she has been faculty since 2010. Based in the Teacher Education Department, she is a leading scholar in culturally responsive and anti-bias education, with expertise spanning sociocultural research, American Indian education, and social justice frameworks. Her educational background includes: Ph.D. in Anthropology and Education, University of Arizona (2009) M.A. in Anthropology and Education, University of Arizona (2004) B.A. in English Language & Literature, University of Michigan (1996) Dr. Cannella's research centers on education for marginalized students and identity construction through critical sociocultural lenses. She investigates how teacher leadership programs shape professional identity, examines academic identity formation among marginalized youth, and develops counter-hegemonic research methodologies. Her work consistently connects classroom practice to broader social justice movements through community-based partnerships and humanizing pedagogical approaches. Analysis of her publications (2008-2015) reveals persistent focus on resistance-based educational frameworks, particularly in contexts of political pressure like Tucson's ethnic studies ban. Her scholarship bridges anthropology and education through qualitative methodologies that center student and teacher agency, with recurring themes of civic identity development, community resistance to disinvestment, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. Dr. Cannella actively translates research into practice through: Professional development for regional school districts on supporting marginalized students Co-founding the Southwest Colorado Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Working Group Service on the Durango 9-R Achievement Gap Task Force Committee work for American Educational Research Association's Division G Consulting engagements with tribal education programs including presentations at Northeastern State University Her collaborative approach extends to research partnerships documented in co-authored works with scholars like Luis Moll and Julio Cammarota, emphasizing community cultural wealth models and sociocultural perspectives on educational relationships.

• Culturally responsive education
• Anti-bias education
• Sociocultural research on education
• +12 more