Maxwell School News and Commentary

Shannon Novak, professor of anthropology, has contributed to “The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Anthropology” (Routledge, 2025). Her chapter, “Blood, mud, and mucking around with waste,” examines the materiality and logic of separation practices involved in the gendering of landscapes, bodies and subjectivities at a mother goddess (Mariamma) temple in the industrial outskirts of Toronto, Canada. 

Prema Kurien, professor of sociology, examines the political mobilization strategies of people of South Asian and Indian descent in the United States. She also traces how immigrants reshape the host society, both conforming to aspects of that society while also transforming it to meet their unique needs. (Oxford University Press, 2025)

“What happens to U.S. trade policy in the end might not finally matter so much for India’s exports. India’s own policies and institutions might be the real binding constraints,” says Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs.

Shannon Novak, professor of anthropology, has contributed to “Embodying Biodiversity: Sensory Conservation as Refuge and Sovereignty” (University of Arizona Press, 2024). The book was edited by Terese Gagnon ’18 M.A. (Anth)/’21 Ph.D. (Anth), a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, has edited and contributed to this collection, which exposes how legacies of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism co-produce and exacerbate the climate crisis, create disproportionate impacts on those who contributed the least to climate change, and influence global and local responses. (Routledge, 2024).

Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs, says India Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn't been able to live up to his jobs promises due to stagnating exports, the slow implementation of labor reforms and insufficient education and training for new workers. 

The Maxwell School professor talked about the effects of climate change and importance of geographical knowledge during her remarks for the Voices from the Global South series.

Dean David M. Van Slyke met with alumni, partners and dignitaries including India's minister of education, Shri Dharmendra Predhan, during a recent visit that celebrated the Maxwell School's centennial and its 70-plus year partnership with the country. 

“The installation of [Nobel Laureate Muhammad] Yunus as interim head is what Bangladesh needs at this time. His first speech called to ensure the protection of all religious and ethnic minorities, prevent violence and strengthen  democratic processes to keep rebuilding Bangladesh,” writes Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.

“This is a massive flooding event...and the floods were quite rapid in their onset. There are over 5 million people who are marooned or stranded and devasted across 11 districts, 23 reported deaths now but those figures will rise and relief cannot reach many people,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.