Katyayani Dalmia

Katyayani Dalmia is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies (ISEK) of the University of Zurich. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from The New School for Social Research, New York, preceded by studies in History and Sociology at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

• Research Interests: Embodiment, Colorism, Kinship, Gender, Caste, Communalism, Urban Life
• Research Area: Lucknow, India, South Asia

Her doctoral dissertation, based on eighteen months of ethnographic research in Lucknow, India, explores the relationship between bodily traits (skin color, body size, facial features, diet) and social identities (caste, class, religion, gender). She teaches courses in Anthropology, gender and feminism, and body and colorism.

Currently, she investigates how Lucknow's etiquette and professional conduct norms, which discourage overt communal distinctions, conflict with social/bodily distancing practices. Her work bridges urban studies, cultural anthropology, and critical race theory.