معرفی
Sowmya Maheswaran is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate at Humboldt University Berlin, affiliated with the Institute for European Ethnology (IfEE) and the Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research (BIM). She currently works as a research associate in the project 'Transforming Solidarities. Practices and Infrastructures in the Migration Society' at Humboldt University, Berlin University Alliance.
Her educational background includes a Master of Arts in Ethnology from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (2020), a Second Bachelor of Arts in Ethnology (2019), and a First Bachelor of Arts in Educational Sciences/Pedagogy (2017).
Her research focuses on global cultures of resistance, transnational organization, and political subjectivation in contexts of violence and displacement. Specifically, she examines postcolonial negotiations of racism, nationalism, and migration/flight, particularly in war and post-war situations. Her PhD research takes an ethnographic approach to Tamil movements and struggles in Sri Lanka and the diaspora. Additionally, she collaborates with Timo Dorsch on research concerning logics of violence and global capitalism through infrastructure and development projects in Mexico and Sri Lanka. Her methodological approach emphasizes critical ethnography as a tool for understanding political subjectivity in marginalized communities.
Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on Sri Lankan politics, migration, and resistance movements, with particular emphasis on Tamil experiences. Her work spans academic journals, policy-oriented publications, and journalistic outlets, showing her commitment to both scholarly and public-facing scholarship that bridges academic research with real-world political concerns.
- Hans-Böckler Foundation Doctoral Scholarship
As a Research Fellow, she has been actively involved in research projects since 2021, including her current role as a research associate. Her work bridges academic research with political consultancy and journalism, particularly on human rights topics and Sri Lanka. She has served as a freelance research and political consultant on human rights topics since 2020, and as a freelance journalist since 2019, primarily focusing on Sri Lanka. Her research contributes to understanding how marginalized communities organize resistance and build solidarity across borders under conditions of violence and displacement.
