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Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth

Dr. Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth from the Department of History at University of Delhi in India, did a short-term fellowship at the Department Human Geography in September till October 2015.

SASNET asked Nisha five questions after her leave: 

Who are you?

Dr. Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth, Independent Scholar

What did you do at Lund University?

I was on a short term postdoctoral fellowship with the Department of Human Geography. My research in Lund University, based on my doctoral research on the social history of Indian circus, dealt with the ethico-legal aspects on animal-human relations and questions regarding performance, labor and rights of children.

What did your time at Lund University bring to your research?

I attended some very good seminars and met fine academics not only in Sweden but also in Denmark and Norway. Other than the customary SASNET lecture in Lund University, I also delivered talks at the Human Geography Department and Division of Art History and Visual Studies of Lund University, and the Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies in Linnaeus University. From all these spaces I got insightful feedback.

What is currently on your research agenda?

I received my doctorate from the Department of History, University of Delhi in 2015. My doctoral thesis was on the history of circus and circus performances in twentieth century Kerala. A monograph, The Jumping Devils: A Tale of Circus Bodies has been published in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Occasional Paper Series. I am currently working on my book on Indian circus to be published by the Oxford University Press, India.

What was your latest research publication about?

It is a paper titled “Ban and Benevolence: Circus, Animals and Indian State”, forthcoming in the Indian Economic and Social History Review. 

 


SASNET South Asian short-term fellowship

In early 2015, SASNET announced the results of applications for short-term (1-2 months) PhD or post-doc fellowship stays at Lund University, financed by SASNET, during the academic year 2015­­–2016. The positions were open to PhD candidates in their final year, recent PhDs, and post-docs who have been students at universities in South Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).