Maxwell School News

Shannon Novak, professor of anthropology, has contributed to “Embodying Biodiversity: Sensory Conservation as Refuge and Sovereignty” (University of Arizona Press, 2024). The book was edited by Terese Gagnon ’18 M.A. (Anth)/’21 Ph.D. (Anth), a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, has edited and contributed to this collection, which exposes how legacies of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism co-produce and exacerbate the climate crisis, create disproportionate impacts on those who contributed the least to climate change, and influence global and local responses. (Routledge, 2024).

Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs, says India Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn't been able to live up to his jobs promises due to stagnating exports, the slow implementation of labor reforms and insufficient education and training for new workers. 

The Maxwell School professor talked about the effects of climate change and importance of geographical knowledge during her remarks for the Voices from the Global South series.

Dean David M. Van Slyke met with alumni, partners and dignitaries including India's minister of education, Shri Dharmendra Predhan, during a recent visit that celebrated the Maxwell School's centennial and its 70-plus year partnership with the country. 

“The installation of [Nobel Laureate Muhammad] Yunus as interim head is what Bangladesh needs at this time. His first speech called to ensure the protection of all religious and ethnic minorities, prevent violence and strengthen  democratic processes to keep rebuilding Bangladesh,” writes Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.

“This is a massive flooding event...and the floods were quite rapid in their onset. There are over 5 million people who are marooned or stranded and devasted across 11 districts, 23 reported deaths now but those figures will rise and relief cannot reach many people,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment. 

“The country’s democratic revolution is being targeted by both external and internal sources of misinformation and propaganda,” writes Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.

“This revolution movement was led by very young students, the youthful generation. And they have called upon Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus to be the chief advisor of this interim, caretaker government. And they've called for peaceful transition,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.

“While it [India] has acquired some economic and political heft in global affairs on account of its large economy, it must rapidly raise the economic fortunes of the average Indian. Its current demographic situation makes this necessary. It is crucial that the country find productive employment for its young and rapidly expanding labor force in a way that fulfills the aspirations of these new workers,” writes Devashish Mitra, professor of economics.

Devashish Mitra, professor of economics, says that some wealth distribution “might not be a bad idea.” But, he adds, “it is a politically contentious issue, and there might be political problems in enacting any kind of means to redistribute wealth.’’

Christian Bevilacqua ’24, a geography major, and Ciara Young ’24, an international relations and anthropology major, are among the five Syracuse University students who were selected. 

“Import Competition, Labor Market Regulations, and Firm Outsourcing,” co-authored by Professor of Economics Devashish Mitra, was published in the Journal of Development Economics.

"Why Don't South Asians in the U.S. Count As 'Asian'?: Global and Local Factors Shaping Anti-South Asian Racism in the United States," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Prema Kurien, was published in Sociological Inquiry.

The relationship between the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the government and people of India dates back more than 70 years, with thousands of senior officials taking advantage of Executive Education’s training and degree programs, and others study through some of the most prestigious fellowships offered.

"The recent set of labour reforms are also an encouraging development. Numerous labour regulations have been consolidated into four codes, eliminating contradictions among them," writes Devashish Mitra, professor and chair of economics. 

Women in Bangladesh suffer disproportionately during floods, as Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, has documented in a study, in part because they bear the brunt of responsibility for managing water and food for their household, as well as taking care of their children.

Mona Bhan, professor of anthropology and Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies, co-edited and was a contributing author to the “The Palgrave Handbook of New Directions in Kashmir Studies” (Palgrave, 2023).

Talk of a BRICS common currency is “really a reflection of a desire among some segments of the world to have some counterweight to the U.S., the U.S. economy, the dollar,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. But “I think most of this is just in fantasy land, because I don’t see any world in which it is really going to emerge in the way some people might hope.”