The Resistance Studies Initiative to Host Talk by Sociologist Pathania

Gaurav J. Pathania
Gaurav J. Pathania

Resistance Studies Initiative Fall Speaker Series will host Gaurav J. Pathania, a sociologist and visiting scholar at UMass Amherst, on Thursday, Oct. 31 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Commonwealth Honors College Events Hall East.

Pathania’s area of specialization includes identity movement and student politics. His current research projects applies insights from cultural sociology to understand social movements and critically examines contemporary student activism around issues of caste, race and regional identity. Along with several research papers and reviews, Pathania authored his first book, “The University as a Site of Resistance: Identity and Student Politics,” in 2018. The book conceptualizes the conditions for the emergence of cultural politics and resistance in Indian higher education. Gaurav earned his Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

The following researchers will also join the discussion: 

  • Stellan Vinthagen, Inaugural Endowed Chair of Nonviolent Action and Civil Resistance
  • Vamsi Vakulabharanam, associate professor of economics
  • Sangeeta Kamat, professor of education

The talk, co-sponsored by the Alliance for Critical Education (ACE), is free and open to the public.