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Biography

Contact Details:

K - 309, New Academic Block (NAB), Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Diamond Harbour Road, Joka Kolkata -700104

Academics

Academic Background:

Ph.D. Cultural Anthropology 
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, USA 
Dissertation: Laboring to Create Magic: The New Worker in the Emerging Retail Industries of Kolkata 
Dissertation Committee Chair: Dr. Kaushik Ghosh 
Members: Prof. Kamran Ali, Prof. Kathleen Stewart, Prof. Hannah Wojciehowski, Dr. Sofian Merabet 

Research Training Programme (RTP) 
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC), India 
Thesis: The Dismantled Museum: A Critical Reading of Bouvard and Pecuchet by Gustave Flaubert 
Supervisor: Prof. Sibaji Bandyopadhyay 

M. A. Comparative Literature 
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Western Ontario, Canada 
Thesis: Narrating Famines: An Insight into Modernity and Nationalist Myths 
Supervisor: Prof. Diana Brydon 

M. A. Comparative Literature 
Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, India (Rank - First Class First) 
Thesis: The Hyphenated Conundrum: Facets of the Jewish-Canadian Identity in Two Novels of Mordecai Richler 
Supervisor: Dr. Suchorita Chattopadhyay 

B.A. Comparative Literature 
Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, India, (Rank -First Class Third) 
Major (Honors) in Comparative Literature. Minors in Mathematics, Bengali and English

Courses Taught:

Re-thinking Skills: Theory, Practice and Policy in Post-colonial India (2017)

Awards:

Professional Development and Research Grants

December 2016- March 2017:  Fellowship grant from the German Historical Institute in London (GHIL), to study the historical contestations over skill development in the state-sponsored Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in India.

2014-2017: Max Weber Stiftung and the German Historical Institute, London (€ 26,400 per year)  

Spring 2014: Travel Grant, South Asia Institute, University of Texas at Austin ($500)

Fall 2013: Professional Development Award (PDA), University of Texas at Austin ($ 400)

Fall 2012: Professional Development Award (PDA), University of Texas at Austin ($400)

Summer 2012: Dissertation Research and Travel Grant, South Asia Institute, University of Texas at Austin ($2000)

Fall 2010: Professional Development Award (PDA), University of Texas at Austin ($ 300)

Summer 2009: Liberal Arts Graduate Research Grant (LAGR), University of Texas at Austin ($2000)

Summer 2009: Pre-Dissertation Research and Travel Grant, South Asia Institute, University of Texas at Austin ($2000)

Summer 2008: Pre-Dissertation Research and Travel Grant, South Asia Institute, University of Texas at Austin ($2000)

Fall 2007: Professional Development Award (PDA), University of Texas at Austin ($300) Summer 2003, Mary Routledge Fellowship: University of Western Ontario (CAD 500)

Dissertation Fieldwork Research Grant

Fall 2010: Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, The Wenner-Gren Foundation ($19,960)

Dissertation Writing Fellowships

Fall 2013 & Spring 2014: Named University of Texas at Austin Dissertation Writing Fellowship ($ 20,000 for two semesters)

Fall 2011 & Spring 2012: Continuing Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin ($18,000 for two semesters)

Fall 2011: Graduate Dean’s Prestigious Fellowship Supplement, University of Texas At Austin ($1,000)

Fall 2012:  Rhonda L. Andrews Memorial Award, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin ($2,000)

University Fellowships and Scholarships

Fall 2009: Liberal Arts Graduate Fellowship (LAGF), University of Texas at Austin ($1000)

Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003 & Spring 2004: Graduate Tuition Scholarship: University of Western Ontario (CAD 3000 per semester)

Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003 & Spring 2004: International Graduate Student Scholarship: University of Western Ontario (CAD 3500 per semester)

Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003 & Spring 2004: Special University Scholarship: University of Western Ontario (CAD 3000 per semester)

Teaching Award

Graduate Student Teaching Award: Nominated for the year 2002-2003 by the Society of Graduate Students, the Graduate Teaching Assistants Union and the Faculty of Graduate Studies, The University of Western Ontario, Canada

University Examination Awards

2002:  Prof. Gopal Halder Memorial Medal: Jadavpur University, India

2002: Hirendranath Datta Memorial Medal: Jadavpur University, India

2002: Nripendra Ch. Bandyopadhyay Book Prize: Jadavpur University, India

2000: B.N. Sen Memorial Award: Jadavpur University Alumni Association (INR 500), India

Experience

Work Experience:

2014 – 2017 Post-Doctoral Fellow
Funded by the Max Weber Stiftung and the German Historical Institute, London. Academic affiliation with the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), Georg-August-Universitӓt Gӧttingen (University of Gӧttingen), Germany
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Ahuja
Project Title: Transforming Work: Training Programs and Retail Worker-Identity in Contemporary Kolkata.

TEACHING EXPERIENCES
Instructor, Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), Georg-August-Universitӓt Gӧttingen (Spring 2016). Course Title: History of Modern Education in India
Graduate Instructor, Department of Anthropology: University of Texas at Austin (Summer 2014). Course Title: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Research

Journal Publications: