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LMSAI Symposium Preview: The Next Generation of South Asian Scholars

LMSAI Symposium Preview: The Next Generation of South Asian Scholars

Vidya Subramanian, this year’s Mittal Institute Raghunathan Family Fellow, is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research interests lie at the intersection of technologies and societies. Vidya’s current research investigates the changing nature of citizenship in the technological society we now inhabit. Focusing on India, her research is loosely framed by two large issues: the first is on the colonization of the everyday so-called real world by the digital; and the second focuses on how power permeates and is implicated in such technologies. She is mentored by Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. Vidya will be a panelist during a discussion on the “Next Generation of Scholars” at the Mittal Institute’s Annual Symposium on May 19, which will focus on the theme “The Making of Modern South Asia.”

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

Tianjia (Tina) Liu joined the Mittal Institute as a Graduate Student Associate in the 2021-2022 academic year and is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Tina’s research focuses on using satellite data and atmospheric modeling to quantify the impacts of fires on air quality and public health in India, Indonesia, and globally. She has recently published 2 papers with another in review on the topic of crop residue burning and the impact on air quality degradation. Prior to joining the Mittal Institute, Tina received her B.A. in Environmental Science from Columbia University, and her research has primarily been focused on fires and air quality since her undergraduate days.

Charting Her Own Course: Sheila Jasanoff on Constructing the Science and Technology Studies Program

Charting Her Own Course: Sheila Jasanoff on Constructing the Science and Technology Studies Program

Sheila Jasanoff, the Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Steering Committee member of LMSAI, is a pioneer of the Science and Technology studies field, who says she worked at the “forefront of making things visible that were not yet visible to others.” It is in recognition of these decades of dedication that Jasanoff was recently honored with the prestigious Holberg Prize, an international award from the government of Norway bestowed upon an outstanding scholar in arts and humanities, social sciences, law and theology.

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

Dr. Yaqoob Khan Bangash is a historian of Modern South Asia and a current Fulbright Fellow at the Mittal Institute. His current research interests lie in the emergence of Pakistan as a post-colonial state, with broader interests in decolonisation, modern state formation, formation of identities, and the emergence of ethnic and identity based conflicts. He also regularly writes for The News, Daily Times, The Express Tribune and other newsmedia. He spoke with the Mittal Institute about the current political crisis in Pakistan, and explored what implications it might have for the larger world.

At Harvard Law, Strengthening Spaces for South Asians

At Harvard Law, Strengthening Spaces for South Asians

The Harvard South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) is dedicated to the advancement and visibility of the South Asian community at Harvard Law School. They strengthen dialogue and connections through a variety of formats: discussions, lectures, panels, film screenings and social events. The Mittal Institute spoke with co-presidents Rosie Kaur and Vandana Apte about SALSA and its role on campus.

Fellowship for South Asian Artists Provides Unique Research Opportunity at Harvard

Fellowship for South Asian Artists Provides Unique Research Opportunity at Harvard

The Mittal Institute’s Visiting Artist Fellowship (VAF) is part of a thriving Arts Program at the Institute that seeks to expand opportunities to connect South Asia’s rich and varied artistic culture to the Harvard community, as well as enhancing the arts in South Asia through access to Harvard’s vast resources. As part of this program, the VAF provides a unique opportunity for outstanding mid-career visual artists from South Asia to come to the Harvard campus. We spoke with the Institute’s Arts Program Manager, Sneha Shrestha, to learn more about the VAF program, what makes a successful candidate, and how she hopes the program will grow in the future.

The Mittal Institute Awards Largest Class of Faculty Research Grant Recipients

The Mittal Institute Awards Largest Class of Faculty Research Grant Recipients

Each year, the Mittal Institute supports faculty research projects with grants ranging up to $25,000. Harvard faculty members are eligible for grants that bring together faculty from different fields and regions whose scholarship relates to South Asia. Traditionally the Mittal Institute has prioritized interdisciplinary research, as well as tried to catalyze connectivity between scholars at Harvard and those in South Asia. Meet this year’s grant recipients.

Unearthing Partition’s Narrative: The Work of Dr. Jennifer Leaning

Unearthing Partition’s Narrative: The Work of Dr. Jennifer Leaning

An expert in public health and rights-based responses to humanitarian crises, Dr. Jennifer Leaning has spent her nearly 50-year career at the intersection of war and disaster, atrocities and conflict. Despite witnessing some of the darkest instances of human behavior, it is a ‘kindness of strangers’ motif that motivates her work. She applies this approach to the Mittal Institute’s 1947 Partition Project, which she has led since its inception in 2016.

Hemakshi Meghani: Nurturing Principled Political Leaders Through the Indian School of Democracy

Hemakshi Meghani: Nurturing Principled Political Leaders Through the Indian School of Democracy

Hemakshi Meghani, co-founder of the Indian School of Democracy (ISD), is a Harvard Kennedy School graduate, where she studied as a World Bank Graduate Scholar. She began her journey as a Teach for India Fellow before working with Boston Consulting Group and two startups in the education and sociopolitical consulting space. Hemakshi is passionate about politics, bottom-up social reform, and making democracy work for every citizen of the country, and she shared some insights into her experience building ISD.