Prof. Vandana Swami

Professor

Department of Liberal Arts

Interests

Labour Migration
Livelihoods
Agricultural practices
Agrarian modernisation

Faculty Details

Education

1991

University of Delhi, Hindu College
India
BA (Hons.)

1993

University of Delhi,
Hindu College
MA Political Science

1999

State University of New York
Binghamton
MA Sociology

2010

State University of New York
Binghamton
PhD

Experience

2021 to 2023 - Associate Professor, School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

2014 to 2021- Assistant Professor, School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

2012 to 2014- Visiting Assistant, Professor and Chairperson, Center for Development Management, Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, Rajasthan

2010 to 2011- Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Western Connecticut State University (WCSU), Danbury, Connecticut, USA

Research Interest

Labour migration and questions of development in India. My research explores the unrecognized contribution of labour migration to India’s industrial and economic advancement, looking at the social and historical conditions in which migration becomes a livelihood choice and its complex and contradictory impacts upon the lives of migrant workers.
Agrarian modernization and social change. I examine at the transformations that ensue when tribal communities adopt modern agrarian practices - such as the use of genetically modified seeds - in their cultivation patterns.
Political economy of colonialism in India. Taking a critical perspective on colonial modernization, I have studied the processes of the establishment of the first railway network in 19th century India.

Awards & Fellowships

2009-2010, Nesar Ahmed Memorial Scholarship, under the aegis of the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems and Civilizations, Binghamton University, New York
2009, International Student and Scholar Offices Grant-in-aid Award for a non-US student Binghamton University, New York
2007, Dissertation Year Fellowship Award, Department of Sociology, Binghamton University, New York
2007, Spring Teaching Assistant Fellowship, Binghamton University, New York
2005, Independent Fellowship awarded by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi and SARAI, New Delhi, to carry out research work on the history of railways in India.

Publications

“Labor Migration, Agrarian crises and Livelihood transformations in the making of a world city: Bangalore in critical perspective” in Denis O'Hearn and Paul S. Ciccantell (eds.) 2021. Migration, Racism and Labour Exploitation in the World-System. New York: Routledge.
“How Turmeric became tribal south Rajasthan’s ‘saviour spice’
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/agriculture/how-turmeric-became-tribal-south-rajasthan-s-saviour-spice--69232. Published in Down To Earth. February 10, 2020
Op-ed: Will COVID-19 teach us to respect and value labour more?
https://citizenmatters.in/op-ed-will-covid-19-teach-us-to-respect-and-value-labour-more-17826
Published in Citizen Matters, April 28, 2020
“Potato Chips and Child Exploitation: A Story of Innocence Lost in Labour” https://thewire.in/labour/potato-chips-farming-gujarat-child-labour-exploitation. Published in The Wire, July 4, 2019

Contact Details

E-mail id: vandana.s@srmap.edu.in