Priyanka Srivastava
Associate Professor
Location
606 Herter Hall
Education
- Ph.D. University of Cincinnati, History, 2012
- M. Phil. Jawaharlal Nehru University, History, 1997
- M.A. Allahabad University, History, 1994
Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor of History and Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2012-
- Visiting Lecturer, Department of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2011-2012
Research Interests
- Histories of class
- Labor and Urbanism
- Class and Gender
- Politics of Reproduction
- Working Class and Associational Culture in Colonial India
Teaching
- Economic History of Colonial South Asia
- City, Industry and Labor in Modern India
- British Empire
- Labor and Gender in Colonial and Contemporary South Asia
- University of Massachusetts, 2012-present
- Recipient of the Teaching for Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equity Faculty Fellowship Award, May 2017-April 2018. Institute for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development, UMass Amherst.
- Recipient of the Flex Grant for Teaching/Professional Development, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016
- Nominated for the Lilly Teaching Fellowship, Spring 2016.Institute for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development, UMass Amherst.
Courses
- HIST 250 SA: Introduction to South Asian History and Culture (Gen Ed survey course)
- HIST 397 GGH: Gandhi: Myth, Perspective, and Politics (honors seminar)
- ECON 397 MI: City, Industry, and Labor in Modern India (upper-level lecture course)
- HIST 297 BB: Bollywood and British Empire
- HIST 491 E: Women and Gender in South Asia (upper-level seminar course)
- HIST 693 F: Empire and Nation (graduate seminar taught with undergrad seminar)
- HIST 693 RE: Race, Sex, and Empire (grad course taught with undergrad honors seminar)
- ECON 896: Gender and Development (two-semester independent study with one doctoral student)
- HIST 597: Special Topics (independent study taught with one student)
- HIST 396: History of Religions in India (undergraduate independent study taught with one student)
- HONORS 296 RISH: Women and Gender in India (honors independent study taught with one student
- UMASS 298Y: Summer Practicum Internship (Faculty internship adviser for one student)
Doctoral Committees
- Shahram Azhar (Economics): Ph.D. exam and dissertation
- Pratistha Joshi (Economics): Ph.D. exam and dissertation
- Destiney Linker (History): Ph.D. exam and dissertation
Research
Grants, Awards, and Fellowships
- Massachusetts Society of Professors Faculty Research Support Grant, Spring 2017
- College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Research Presentation Grant, Fall 2016
- College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Research Presentation Grant, October 2015
- College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Faculty Research Grant, Spring 2015
- Massachusetts Society of Professors Research Support Fund, Spring 2015
- Mellon Mutual Mentoring Team Grant, U Mass Amherst, 2013
- Mellon Mutual Mentoring Micro Grant, U Mass Amherst, 2013
- College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Travel Grant, U Mass Amherst 2013
- Research Support Grant, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, U Mass Amherst, 2012
- Nominated for the Ohio Valley Best Dissertation Prize, 2012
- Charles Phelps Taft Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-09
- Charles Phelps Taft Graduate Travel Award, 2008
- Zane Miller Award for Research in Urban History, 2008
- Charles Phelps Taft Dissertation Fellowship, 2007-08
- Travel-Study Grant of the English-Speaking Union of Cincinnati, 2007 for Research in London
- Charles Phelps Taft Graduate Enrichment Award, 2007
- Charles Phelps Taft Graduate Enhancement Award, Winter Quarter 2007
- Graduate Teaching Assistantship, University of Cincinnati, 2004-7
Publications
- Book: The Well-Being of the Labor Force in Colonial Bombay: Discourses and Practices (In-Production, Palgrave Macmillan, UK, scheduled publication date—December 2017)
- Book Chapter: “Limited Emancipation?: Working Class Maternities and Feminist Body Politics in Late Colonial Bombay,” in Swapna Banerjee, Padma Anagol, and Paula Banerjee, ed., Interrogating Feminisms: Recovery, Agency, and Activism (Delhi: Oxford University Press—prospective publisher): Accepted for publication with revisions.
- Book Review: Chaudhuri, Soma. Witches, Tea Plantations, and Lives of Migrant Laborers in India: Tempest in Teapot. Lexington Books, 2013. Contemporary Sociology, Vol 44, No. 6, November 2015.
- Book Review: Kapur, Jyotsana. The Politics of Time and Youth in Brand India: Bargaining with Capital. Anthem Press, 2013. Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 74/ Issue 01, February 2015.
- Book Review: McCallum, Jamie K. Global Unions, Local Power: The New Spirit of Transnational Labor Organizing. Cornell University Press, 2013. Enterprise and Society, Vol 15/Issue 04, December 2014.
Manuscripts in Preparation
- “Liberal Discourses and Urban Subaltern Women: Critical Perspectives” (Article for the International Labor and Working-Class History)
Presentations: Conferences and Colloquia
- “Childbirth, Childcare, and Working Class Mothers of Colonial Bombay.” 17th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, June 3, 2017.
- “Welfare Rhetoric and Maternal Bodies: Protective Legislation Debates in Colonial Bombay.” 45th Annual Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, 22 October, 2016.
- “Creating a Healthy and “Decent” Working Class in Colonial Bombay.” Eighth Biennial Conference of the Urban History Association, Loyola University, Chicago, 15 October, 2016.
- “Childbirth, Childcare, and Paid Work: Critical Perspectives.” Five Colleges Women’s Studies Research Center, Mount Holyoke College, 27 April, 2016.
- “Industrial Labor and the Politics of Voluntary Action in Colonial Bombay.” 44th Annual Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, 23 October 2015.
- "Temporalities of Work and Gender in the Cotton Textile Industry of Colonial Bombay." Annual Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Chicago, March 26-29, 2015.
- “Creating Mothers of the Nation: Women Millworkers and the Campaigns for Maternity Benefits in Early Twentieth Century Bombay.” Five Colleges Inter-Asian Political Cultures Faculty Seminar, Amherst College, Amherst, September 17, 2014.
- Panel Discussant Comments: Legacies of Britain’s Colonization of India. New England Historical Association, Springfield College, Springfield, April 26, 2014.
- “Creating a Contended and ‘Decent’ Working Class: The Politics of Voluntary Activism in Colonial Bombay.” Five Colleges History Seminar, Amherst College, March 13, 2014.
- “Defining Dwelling Spaces: The ‘Rationality’ of Industrial Housing in Post-Plague Bombay.” Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, Jan 2, 2014.
- Panel Discussant Comments: Mapping Women’s and Gender History: A Generational Conversation. 42nd Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, October 19, 2013.
- “Making Women Mill Workers Productive: Infant Welfare and Maternity Benefit in early Twentieth Century Bombay,” Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, Chicago, January 5-8, 2012.
- “Social Service, Civic Ethic, and Labor Welfare in Colonial Bombay,” 39th Annual Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, October 14-17, 2010.
- “Obscuring Inequalities: The Politics of Sanitation and Health in Colonial Bombay,” Association for Asian Studies, Philadelphia, March 25-28, 2010.
- “Creating a Decent and Healthy Industrial Labor Force: Health, Sanitation, and Welfare in Colonial Bombay 1896-1950,” Taft Symposium, Cincinnati, May 5-8, 2009.
- “Making Subaltern Visible: Maternal and Infant Health Campaigns in Colonial Bombay, 1900-1947,” Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, October 17-19, 2008.
- “Discourses on Prostitution and Sexual Morality in Colonial India,” Queen City Colloquium, University of Cincinnati, June 2, 2006.
Internal Presentations/Guest Lectures
- Presentation at the 5 at 4 Faculty Research Presentation Event, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst, March 28, 2017.
- “South Asian Immigrants in the United States.” Guest Lecture in Asian Studies 397 B: Bridging Asia and Asian American Colloquium, September 28, 2016 and September 23, 2015.
- Discussant and Moderator, Religion and Film Series: 1947 Earth by Deepa Mehta. April 6, 2016.
- “Birth Control and Sexuality in India.” Guest Lecture in Hist. 190: Sex in History, November 11, 2015.
- “Politically Engaged Writing by Historians: Examples from India.” Guest Lecture in History Junior Writing Seminar: History Writing and Political Engagement. April 16, 2015.
- “The Caste System and the Religious Cultures of India.” Guest Lecture in WS 397: Feminism, Science and Religion Course, February 2, 2013.
- “Discourses on Paid Maternity Leaves in Colonial Bombay.” Meeting of the Beyond Reproduction Group of the UMass Interdisciplinary Seminar in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, February 25, 2013.
- “The Service Industry of India.” Invited Lecture in the UMass, Department of Economics, Undergraduate Club, November 29, 2012.
Service
Departments and Campus Committees
- Member of the Graduate Studies Committee, Department of History. 2016-17.
- Member of the Departmental Personnel Committee, Department of History. 2015-16.
- Member, Undergraduate Studies Committee, Department of History. 2013-14, 2014-15.
- Member, Programming Committee, Department of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. 2014-15.
- Member, Committee on Joint Appointments, Department of Economics. 2015-16.
- Member, Committee for Building Disciplinary Bridges, Department of Economics. 2013- 17
- Member of the Ad-Hoc Curriculum Sub-committee of the UMass Joint Task Force for Internationalization. 2013-2014.
- Member of the Mellon Mutual Mentoring Group for Supporting International Faculty. 2013-14.
- Member, Undergraduate Program Committee, Department of Economics. 2012-13.
Department, Campus, and Five Colleges Conference/Lecture (Organizer/Chair)
- Chair and Organizer, Economic History and Development Workshop Series, Department of Economics. 2016-17, 2017-18.
- Organizer and Moderator, Book Panel: Desis Divided: The Political Lives of South Asian Americans, Amherst College. April 28, 2017.
- Co-Chair and Organizer, Economic History and Development Workshop Series, Department of Economics. 2015-16.
- Chair, Organizer, and Moderator, Five Colleges History Seminar Series, 2014-15, 2015- 16.
- Co-organizer, Symposium: Sharing the Prize: Reconsidering the Economics of the Civil Rights Movement. UMass Amherst. March 23, 2016.
- Co-Organizer, Five Colleges Film Screening and Discussion with Director. Muzaffarnagar Baqui Hai (Muzaffarnagar Eventuaylly): A Film by Nakul Singh Sawhney. March 21, 2016, Hampshire College.
- Co-Organizer, Conference: The Politics of Migration: Gender, Sexuality, and Citizenship, Department of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. February 27, 2015.
- Co-Organizer, Film Screening and Discussion with Director. Red Ant Dream: A Film by Sanjay Kak. Dec. 2, 2013, UMass Amherst.
Professional Service
- Member of the Conference Committee, 17th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities. May 2015-May 2016.
- Faculty Presenter and Participant, Panel Discussion: How to Prepare for the Job Market. 17th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. June 2, 2017.
- Co-organizer, Plenary Session: Teaching Feminisms in the Neoliberal Academy, 17th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. June 3, 2017.
- Ad-Hoc Reviewer, Cultural and Social History: The Journal of the Social History Society, United Kingdom. Spring 2017.
- University Representative, Coordinating Council for Women in History. 2016-17.
- Organizer and Chair, Conference Panel: City Lives: The Politics and Poetics of Space in Modern Bombay, 44th Annual Conference on South Asia – University of Wisconsin-Madison. October 22, 2015.
- Co-Organizer, Festschrift in honor of Geraldine Forbes and Barbara Ramusack at the 42nd Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. October 17- 20, 2013.
- Organizer, Conference Panel: Mapping Women’s and Gender History: A Generational Conversation. 42nd Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. October 19, 2013.
Membership of Professional Associations
- American Historical Association.
- Association for Asian Studies
- Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
- Urban History Association
- Society for Advancing the History of South Asia.
- Coordinating Council for Women in History.
Language Skills
- Native speaker of Hindi.
- Reading Skills in Marathi.
- Fluent in conversational Bangla.
- Fluent in English, reading, writing, and conversational.