Meet Our New Faculty | Dr. Debangana Chatterjee

Can you tell us more about yourself/your background?

I hail from West Bengal’s Hooghly district and pursued my BA (Hons.) from the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University (Kolkata). I earned my undergraduate degree in Political Science in 2013 as a second-rank holder at the university. I later moved to Delhi and earned my MA in Politics from the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University. I enrolled myself for PhD at the Centre for International Politics Organisation and Disarmament (CIPOD), Jawaharlal Nehru University immediately after, and was a recipient of the ICSSR short-term doctoral fellowship during my doctoral research. My doctoral thesis, which focused on the specific cultural practices of female genital cutting (FGC) and Islamic veiling, explored how the international discourses of representation portray women’s bodies, and how these reflect upon the locally construed Indian discourse.

Before joining NLSIU, I worked as an Assistant Professor for more than a year and a half at the Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Education (CeRSSE), Jain (Deemed-to-be University) in Bengaluru. Beyond academics, I have been writing on pertinent socio-political issues, especially matters related to gender. I believe writing and expressing on media platforms, and engaging with a larger audience, is a prerequisite for a social sciences researcher. I have always been keen on nurturing the critical mind in me and I am adequately opinionated.

Personal interests: Possessing good oratory skills, thanks to participating in extempore and recitation events at school and collegiate levels, I enjoy my occasional role as a moderator in talk shows and seminars. In a personal sphere, I love exploring the culinary arts. I often joke that in an alternate dimension, I might be a chef or a food blogger. Experiments in the kitchen aside, I love making friends with the neighbourhood dogs, who invariably become my extended family wherever I go.

What are your main areas of interest and teaching? How did your interest in these areas begin?

Gender, culture, and international politics are the main areas of my interest. Since my foundational years, as I started questioning the ‘norm’, I was privileged to be able to break some of them. Indeed, my family as well as the institutions which I was part of, provided a conducive environment and encouraged the spirit of questioning. While I
specialise in International Politics, my first tryst with the discipline began by asking- “where are the women?” and the quest continues, the question valid even now.

As a full-time faculty member and, previously, as a student-tutor (during my PhD), I picked courses on political philosophy to teach, believing strongly that it would help me imbibe human-centric values and critical rigour in my students. The courses included topics ranging from Natural Law and the evolution of the human rights discourse to the contemporary nuances of bio-politics, and feminist and developmental discourses. Apart from political philosophy, while teaching research methodology, I explore novel approaches to research, with a special interest in feminist methodology.

Your thoughts on starting your teaching journey at NLSIU:

NLSIU, a breeding ground of legal experts, historically has been shaping and critically contributing to the future of the Indian judiciary. The opportunity that awaits faculty members and students alike at NLSIU, provides platforms for multidimensional and holistic academic pursuits, and, above all, an interdisciplinary approach to social science endeavours at an intersection with law. I believe NLSIU will not just present a platform to showcase my academic rigour but also provide me opportunities to commit to needful social causes and engagements.

Allowing adequate conversations with allied disciplines, I envision myself inculcating critical thinking among students, especially in an interwoven domain of ‘personal’, ‘political’, and ‘international’. Shaping young minds by making them socially aware and deeply embedded in constitutional values is the need of the hour. As much as focusing on the curriculum is important, I believe my duty as a teacher is also to stimulate the formation of coherent sets of ideas in my students. The conventional lecture methods of teaching can be innovated by incorporating exciting ways of learning through the modes of audio-visual screenings including relevant films and documentaries, interactive sessions, role plays, and online summits. Apart from this, I shall be keen on creating small reading circles for deep learner-centric engagements and the development of analytical approaches.

Which one book/podcast/published piece would you recommend to our students and why?

I recommend Pratiksha Baxi’s Public Secrets of Law: Rape Trials in India. It is a must-read for students across disciplines for its ardent attempt at humanising the survivors. The book throws light on how the access, delivery, and processes of the justice system are not only gendered but also phallocentric. Though an oxymoron, especially dealing with cases of sexual violence, the hush tonality of the courtrooms amounts to them becoming a public secret – known yet unspoken. The book critiques the socio-legal language of the courtroom proceedings that makes the long road to justice even more arduous.

Could you highlight some of your key projects or publications?

• My doctoral research explores how the international discourses of representation get formulated by portraying women’s bodies as the site of control and how these reflect upon the locally construed Indian discourse by highlighting the socio-legal narratives surrounding these practices. My upcoming book, titled ‘Lives of Circumcised and Veiled Women: A Global-Indian Interplay of Discourses and Narratives’ is based on this research and is scheduled to be published in August 2023 by Routledge (Taylor & Francis, London/New Delhi).
• In May 2023, I successfully concluded a short-duration research project (2022-23), under the aegis of ICSSR- Southern Regional Centre (SRC), titled ‘Pandemic and the Peripheralisation of Sex Workers: Narratives, Agency, and the Saga of Survival from Bengaluru’, gauging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on home-based sex workers in Bengaluru and identifying the policy lacunae.
• My latest article titled ‘Sanctions in Ukraine War: The Racial Tilting of International Politics’ is published in Economic and Political Weekly. It explores the politics of sanctions and their racial tilting in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.
• My upcoming book chapter titled ‘Afghan Women and the Burqa Trope: Mapping Agency in Liminality’ is expected to be published by the end of 2023 in an edited volume titled ‘Silence, Voice and the In-between’ by Routledge (Taylor & Francis, London). The chapter navigates through the saga of the Taliban takeover and international apathy, based on the narratives of 15 Afghan women (collected through online interviews).

To view more of her publications, please visit Debangana’s faculty page.