Education

2024
Ph.D. | Centre for Religious Studies (CERES), Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

2016
M.A. History (Ancient) | Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

2014
B.A. History (Honours) | Department of History, Miranda House, University of Delhi, India

Other Academic Training:

2017
Summer University  | Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Course: Jews & Christians between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean: Coexistence & Conflict          

2015
Summer School | University of Exeter, UK

Course: King Arthur: Investigating the Myth and the Legend         

2014
Summer School | King’s College London, UK

Course: Media, Gender & Culture    

2013
Heritage Education Programme Training Workshop | India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), New Delhi, India

Experience

Since August 2024
Research Associate at the Transcultural Humanities Program, Institute of Art History, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany

2023 — 2024
Guest Lecturer at the Transcultural Humanities Program, Institute of Art History, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany

2018 — 2022
DAAD Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Religious Studies, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

2017 — 2018
Curriculum Developer & Teacher at Poornodaya Vidyanikethan (a pioneer Waldorf-inspired institute), Kerala, India

Other Work Experiences:

2019 — 2024
Academic Reviewer at Research School Plus, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

2013 (May – July)
Intern at Global Community Development Programme, Cairo, Egypt. Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (AIESEC) and Entrepreneurial Action and Us (ENACTUS)

2024
‘Beyond East vs. West: Exploring the Dynamics of Architectural Practices in Malabar, ca. 15^th–17^th Centuries’, European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy (28^th–31^st August).                             

2023
‘Malabar’s Architectural Tapestry: Navigating Historical Traditions of Building’, Public Lecture, College of Arts, University of Glasgow, UK (2^nd November).

2023
‘Transcultural Building Traditions: Early Modern Transformations in South India’, European Conference for South Asian Studies (ECSAS), University of Turin, Italy (26^th–29^th July).

2023
‘Transcultural Traditions of Building: Early Modern Synagogues of Malabar, South India’, European Association for Jewish Studies Congress (EAJS), Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main (16^th–20^th July).

2022
‘Technologies and Motifs in 16^th century Kerala: Preliminary Observations’, ‘Transculturality’ in Humanities and Social Sciences, Ruhr University Bochum (30^th March).

2022
‘Contextualising Building Traditions: Sacred Spaces in Malabar’, Guest Lecture, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Glasgow, UK (8^th February).  

2021
‘Translating Sacred Spaces in premodern and early modern Kerala (South India)’, International DAAD Interdisciplinary Colloquium, Fachhochschule Dortmund, University of Applied Sciences and Arts in collaboration with DAAD Freundeskreis (10^th June).

2021
‘Symbiotic Sacred Spaces’, Doctoral Colloquium, Department for Asian and Islamic Art History, Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Bonn (25^th January).

2020
‘Placing Kerala within the Indian Ocean World: Investigating Transcultural Sacred Spaces’, Indian Ocean World Archaeology Conference, University of Exeter, UK (10^th–11^th January).

2019
‘Translating Sacred Spaces: An indexical study of premodern and early modern Kerala, South India’, Discourses and Practices of Space Sharing, Humboldt University, Berlin (5^th–7^th December).

2019
‘Boundaries as Bridges: Interreligious Encounters in Premodern and Early Modern Kerala, South India’, Images in Religious Persuasion: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Centre for Religious Studies, Ruhr University Bochum (1^st–2^nd October).

2019
‘Entangled Identities: Investigating “Jewish-Christian” Sacred Spaces vis-à-vis that of the Contemporary Religious Communities in Early Modern Kerala, South India’, Jewish-Christian Relations from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean: Evidence from Material Culture, Centre for Religious Studies, Ruhr University Bochum (26^th-28^th March).

Academic Workshops & Sessions Organised

2024
‘Europe-South Asia Relations in the Medieval and Modern Periods’, session in the 30^th European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy. Co-organised with Dr. Sophie Hüglin (Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen), Dr. Sila Tripati (CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa), and Dr. Mark W. Hauser (Northwestern University, Illinois) | 28^th-31^st August.

2024
‘South Asia & the Indian Ocean World: Cultural Confluences’, session in the International Medieval Congress (IMC), University of Leeds, UK | 1^st-4^th July.

2022
‘Transculturality’ in Humanities and Social Sciences, CERES Early Career Researchers Program, Ruhr University Bochum | 30^th March.

2019
Material Culture, CERES Doctoral Colloquia, Ruhr University Bochum | 19^th September.

2019 
Building Research Databases, CERES Computer Café Series (with Dr. Frederik Elwart), Ruhr University Bochum | 10^th July.

Memberships

• European Association of Archaeologists (EAA)
• European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS)
• European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS)
• Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS)
• European Architectural History Network (EAHN)
• H-Net Network on Asian Studies and History (H-Asia)

2024                                    
Conference Grant | European Association of Archaeologists (EAA)
Funded by the Oscar Montelius Foundation, EAA

2023
Travel Grant | Public Lecture
Funded by the University of Glasgow, UK

2023
Conference Grant | European Conference for South Asian Studies (ECSAS)
Funded by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD)

2023
Conference Grant | European Association for Jewish Studies Congress
Funded by the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS)

2018 – 2022
Full Scholarship for Doctoral Research in Germany
Funded by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD)

2020
Field Research Grant to India (January – March)
Funded by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD)

2020
Conference Grant | Indian Ocean World Archaeology Conference
Funded by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD)

2019
Conference Grant | Discourses and Practices of Space Sharing
Funded by Humboldt University Berlin

2018
Scholarship for Intensive German Language Course (June – September)                                    Funded by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD)

2017
SUN International Summer University Grant
Funded by the Central European University and the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS)

2014
2^nd Prize at Inter-college Paper Presentations (paper co-presented with Rajashree Raju), TARIKH Annual Festival, Department of History, Miranda House, University of Delhi

2013
1^st Prize at Inter-college Paper Presentations, TARIKH Annual Festival, Department of History, Miranda House, University of Delhi

2012
2^nd Prize at Inter-college Paper Presentations, TARIKH Annual Festival, Department of History, Miranda House, University of Delhi

2012
Invitation to the Golden Key International Honour Society (for being in the top 15% of B.A. History Hons. Class), Miranda House, University of Delhi

2010
Best Student Award, Gurukul Grammar Senior Secondary School, Assam, India

2009
Anundoram Borooah Award for Merit, Conferred by the Government of Assam, India

forthcoming 
‘Approaching Historical Religious Architecture in Malabar: Reconsidering Frameworks of Inquiry’, Higher Education for the Future.

2024
‘Entangled Identities: Approaching Sacred Spaces of Premodern Kerala, South India’, in Bar Kribus, Zara Pogossian & Alexandra Cuffel (eds.), Material Encounters between Jews and Christians: From the Silk and Spice Routes to the Highlands of Ethiopia, Leeds: Arc Humanities Press.

2023
‘Renny Thomas, Science and Religion in India. Beyond Disenchantment’, Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft [Online], Vol. 18, URL: journals.openedition.org/zjr/2420; DOI: doi.org/10.4000/zjr.2420

2022
‘Symbiotic Sacred Spaces: an indexical study of premodern Malabar’, in Himanshu P. Ray, Salila Kulshreshtha & Uthara Suvrathan (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples: Materiality, Social History and Practice, London/New York: Routledge, pp. 407–432.

2020
‘Christianity in the First Five Centuries of its Existence: An Overview’, Hekamtho Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal, Vol. 5(2), pp. 62–73.

2019
‘Soldier, Priest, and God: A Life of Alexander the Great by F. S. Naiden’, Journal of Religion in Europe, Vol. 12(2), pp. 220–222.

2019
‘Sacred yet Shared Traditions in Kerala, South India: Illuminated neither by Candles nor by Diyas, but by a Nilavilakku’,  Marginalia  Religionswissenschaftliche Randbemerkungen [Online]. URL: marginalie.hypotheses.org/1295

1. Understanding Transculturality: Navigating Cross-Cultural Processes

This transdisciplinary seminar is designed to immerse students in the complex and multifaceted dynamics of cultural interactions. The course critically examines key concepts such as culture(s), cultural appropriation, invented traditions, orientalism, commodification of cultures, and heritage politics. Building on these foundational ideas, students will explore transculturality as both a theoretical and methodological framework, deepening their understanding of cultural dynamics.

Through a combination of historical and contemporary case studies, students will develop the analytical skills needed to dissect ongoing processes of cultural interaction, including influences, adaptations, and resistance. The course culminates in student presentations, where participants will apply their knowledge by analysing specific transcultural processes in diverse global contexts. This seminar is ideal for students interested in Transcultural Studies, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, History, and related fields.

Contents & Structure:

• Introduction: What are Cultures?
• Module 1: Approaching Cultures

• Cultural Appropriation
• Cultural Encounter

• Module 2: Creating Cultures

• Inventing Traditions
• Commodification of Cultures

• Module 3: (Re)presenting Cultures

• Orientalism
• Museums & Heritage

• Module 4: Theory & Concept

• Historical Overview of Transculturality
• Aspects & Approaches of Transculturality

• Student Presentations: mandatory for successful participation (BN)

1. Theories of Transculturality

This is an accompanying seminar course (Begleitseminar) designed to introduce students to both foundational and advanced theoretical frameworks within the field of Transcultural Humanities. The course engages with key theoretical constructs such as transculturation, contact zone, hybridity, postcolonialism, decoloniality, and subaltern studies, among others. Through close readings of seminal texts, students will explore the foundational literature that shapes the field, equipping them with the analytical frameworks necessary to understand complex processes of cultural interaction, negotiation, and resistance across different cultural contexts. This seminar is particularly well-suited for students interested in Transcultural Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Literary Theory, Postcolonial Studies, History, and related fields.

Contents & Structure:

• Cultures and Transculturality: Introduction & Overview
• The Concept of Transculturation | Fernando Ortiz
• Contact Zone | Mary L. Pratt
• Orientalism | Edward W. Said
• Hybridity, Third Space, Ambivalence | Homi K. Bhabha
• Subaltern | Gayatri C. Spivak
• Decoloniality, Resistance, Counternarratives | Paul Gilroy & Walter Mignolo
• Transculturation & Critical Globality | Monica Juneja