Eroteme Volume 3

In Conversation with Prof. Sanjay Barbora (contd.)

the willingness to change our minds equip us with a secular agnosticism that enables us to offer more enduring explanations of the changing times we live in. It is easy to be cynical or needlessly laudatory about some of the changes we are seeing now. The use of Artificial Intelligence is a case in point. Our discipline – SSA – teaches us that AI is but one innovative platform upon which capitalism is relaunching itself in st the 21 century. As practitioners of our discipline, it is up to us to determine how we interpret AI’s impact on our lives. We could be its uncritical cheerleaders and end up working for the soul-crushing tech industry exemplified by companies like Palantir. Or we could bury our heads in the sand, pretend it does not exist, and end up irrelevant to how newer generations navigate this world. I believe someone who has taken their training in sociology and social anthropology seriously can avoid both extremes.

Now that you’re teaching at an American university, how has the experience been different from teaching in India? Are there any differences in classrooms, student interactions, or academic culture that stood out to you?

My university here, the University of California at Santa Cruz, is one of ten campuses in a publicly funded system. A large share of our funding comes from California taxpayers, so there is an inherent commitment to serving firstgeneration students, especially those who transfer from community colleges. Almost all students here, including undergraduates, work and pay their way through college. As a result, they tend to Read More on our website think carefully about the courses they choose.

This leads to more frequent interactions, as students in the US expect clarity on pedagogical matters. They want to know the rubric I will use to grade them on a particular theme, or how they can improve their answers. I also find the academic culture of interaction here refreshingly devoid of hierarchy. Students, though respectful of their teachers, will not hesitate to voice differences of opinion in class and will not allow faculty to get away with lazy prejudices. There is a generosity among equals in interactions between faculty and students here that I am learning from.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in pursuing research or higher studies abroad?

Always remember that you are one of many applicants for a PhD programme at any university abroad.

The expectations from applicants differ from one continent to another. For instance, British universities require a two- or three-page proposal outlining your research interests; this may not be the case for American universities. In most US universities, you are expected to write a persuasive statement of purpose that tells the admission committee about your intellectual growth, interests, and why you should be shortlisted.

My advice would be to start early. Identify your interests soon.

TISS Guwahati is good because it encourages you to write an MA thesis, in which you have to think through a research topic and conduct basic desk and empirical research. While doing your literature review, focus on at least two or three peer-reviewed journals that publish cutting-edge research on the subject you are interested in. This will give you a