Doctoral Candidate
History of Science, South Asia
Bio
I am a doctoral candidate in History with a Designated Emphasis in Science and Technology Studies. My research specialties traverse the history of science, technology and the environment in South Asia and the littoral Indian Ocean world from 1500-2000 CE. My dissertation contends that astronomy was the bedrock of early modern sovereignty in South Asia enabling control of multiple temporalities, crafting narratives of cosmic truth and configuring conceptions of the environment. My research reveals that in the transition from the Mughal to the British empire, astronomy's utility transformed from time-telling and astrology to meteorology and navigation. The project offers the first critical history of science, technology and empire for early modern South Asia by triangulating astronomical treatises, peasant poetry, art and architecture with administrative manuals, economic records, and official chronicles.
Research Interests
- Early Modern Science
- Colonial & Postcolonial Science
- History of the Exact Sciences
- History of Everyday Life
- Environmental History
- Comparative Empires
- History of the British Empire
- History of Gender & Sexuality
- History of Capitalism
- Global Intellectual History
- South Asian Studies
- Science & Technology Studies
Fellowships & Awards
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley, 2021
Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation, 2021
Doctoral Dissertation Research Award, Fulbright-Hays, 2020
International Dissertation Research Fellowship, Social Science Research Council, 2020
Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Award, Arabic, Berkeley, CA (2019-2020)
Critical Language Scholarship, Arabic, Jordan Language Academy, Amman, Jordan (2019)
Graduate Fellowship, Center for the Study of Human Values, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (2017) (declined)
Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Award, Persian, Seattle, WA (2016-17)
Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Award, Persian, Madison, WI (2016)
Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Award, Persian, Seattle, WA (2016) (declined)
