Shriya Patnaik

Shriya Patnaik is a PhD Researcher in International History and Politics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she holds an SNF Doc.CH Fellowship. She serves as a Guest Lecturer in the Department of History at Utkal University and is a Research Associate at the Pierre du Bois Foundation. She is affiliated with IHEID's Gender Centre and Global Migration Centre, and contributes to the United Nations' Centenary of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation project.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in History, Cornell University (Magna cum Laude Honours, 2014)
• Double MA/MSc in International History/Gender Studies, Columbia University-London School of Economics (Distinction, 2017)
• Exchange Program in History/Political Science, Oxford University's Mansfield College

Her research examines gender, colonial legacies, and subaltern agency in South Asia, focusing on:

• Historical discourses on prostitution, trafficking, and sex-worker rights in colonial/postcolonial India
• Matriarchal communities like the Mahari-Devadasis of Odisha through ethno-historical lenses
• Transnational feminist movements and human rights frameworks
• Intersections of caste, performative culture, and state power

Methodologically, she combines archival research across 11 global archives with oral histories and UN/ILO humanitarian conventions.

Awards and Fellowships:

• Swiss Academy Award (2023), SNSF Grants (2022-2024), Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (2020-2022)
• Pierre Du Bois Grant (2021), LSE Merit Scholarship (2016-2017), Cornell Dean's List (2011-2014)
• Columbia Alliance Fellowship (2015), Women's Leadership Award (2015)

She leads fieldwork with marginalized communities in India (e.g., Sonagachi sex workers) and collaborates with international research networks at Heidelberg University and the League of Nations archival project.