Radhika Gupta is an assistant professor of Cultural Anthropology & Global Sociology. She received her PhD in sociocultural anthropology from Oxford University in 2011. Her research interests are wide-ranging and include the study of borderlands, politics of security, anthropology of religion (with a focus on Islam), tourism, environmental humanities and critical theory. Her research focuses on South Asia. Radhika has also worked in international development organizations (2000-2007) on social inclusion with a focus on community-based water management, environmental justice and indigenous peoples rights across South and Southeast Asia.

More information about Radhika Gupta

Research

My research lies at the intersection of the anthropology of borderlands, transnational Islam and postcolonial politics in South Asia. My first book, Freedom in Captivity: Negotiations of Belonging along Kashmir’s Frontier (Cambridge University Press) is an ethnography of the affective attachments, political imaginaries and ethical claims-making of Shia Muslims living along the heavily militarised India-Pakistan border. It examines how borderland dwellers negotiate regimes of state security and their geopolitical location in everyday life.  

I am currently working on three (smaller) projects: 1) Border curations at the nexus of tourism and the politics of state security 2) Transnational Islamic charitable networks and social welfare 3) Heritage and Climate governance in the Himalayas.

At Leiden University, I have taught courses in the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Curriculum vitae

Education

• DPhil Sociocultural Anthropology (2011), University of Oxford
• MSc Development Studies (2000), London School of Economics and Political Science
• MPhil and M.A Sociology (1999), Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics

Work Experience

• Research Fellow (2013-2017), Centre for Modern Indian Studies, Goettingen University, Germany
• Post-doctoral Research Fellow (2011-2013), Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germant
• Coordinator, Equity and Rights (2004-2007), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal

Publications