Project presentation A05
Ursula Rao (SFB 1199, Max-Planck Institute), Sreya Dutta Chowdhury (SFB 1199), Srividya Balasubramanian (SFB 1199)
The weekly colloquium of the Collaborative Research Centre provides a forum for presentations by external guests as well as by members of the SFB 1199 within a tailored thematic framework. The format helps to create a common ground for discussion between guests, the Collaborative Research Centre, as well as the wider academic public.
The session will be held in presence, but it is also possible to access it online. To join, please click the button below.
Biographical Note
Ursula Rao (SFB 1199 & Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, Germany)
Ursula Rao is director of the Department “Anthropology of Politics and Governance” at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle and honorary professor of anthropology at Leipzig University. Her current research focuses on e-governance and the social consequences of biometric technology in India. She has also written on urban space, Hindi- and English journalism and ritual theory. She is co-editor (together with Mark Maguire and Nils Zurawski) of “Bodies as Evidence. Power, Knowledge, Security” (Duke University Press, 2018).
Srividya Balasubramanian (SFB 1199, Leipzig, Germany)
Srividya Balasubramanian is a Graduate student at University of Leipzig’s Department of Anthropology working on the topic of large scale, state-led digitization projects in rural India. Her project is affiliated with the German Research Foundation (DFG), and part of a collaborative research cluster (SFB 1199) which looks at a systematic, multi-disciplinary approach to theorizing space under the global condition. In her dissertation, she investigates the socio-structural implications of building a comprehensive digital governance structure in India, focusing on new state-citizen contact points or kiosks where such services are made available for those living in rural and remote locations. She has an MA in Anthropology from the University of Leipzig where she researched on the practical implications of financial inclusion policies on the lives of the urban poor in Delhi.
Sreya Dutta Chowdhury (SFB 1199, Leipzig, Germany)
Sreya Dutta Chowdhury is part of the SFB 1199 and a PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology of Politics and Governance.