Ethnologist with a Political Perspective Focusing on South India
Internationally acclaimed for her expertise in the regional context of India, Professor Kalpana Ram has published on a broad spectrum of topics including religion and ritual, body health issues, and art and aesthetics. Since 2011, she has been teaching in the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University and she is currently working on a project focused on the specific contribution of aesthetics to Indian modernity. In her research, she is particularly interested in political perspectives of knowledge systems in connection with class, gender, property relations, the Indian caste system and popular religions.
With her interdisciplinary perspective on the phenomenology of the body, the history of non-European aesthetics and physical and mental health as social issues, Prof. Kalpana Ram has established herself as a South India specialist in ethnology and sociology, religious and cultural studies, as well as Asian & postcolonial studies. She has received several awards for her publications in various journals and scientific publications.
Visiting professor at the Institute of Ethnology
The Indian-born Australian has been a visiting researcher at various universities and research institutes, including Johns Hopkins University (US) and the Max Weber College for Cultural and Social Research in Erfurt. At the University of Leipzig, she would be associated with the Institute of Ethnology and the chair of Prof. Dr. Ursula Rao in particular.
The Leibniz Professorship is for a visiting professor who conducts research and teaches interdisciplinary classes for students and doctoral researchers. Prof. Dr. Axel Körner from University College London will take up the Leibniz Professorship in the winter semester 2020/21.
Latest information on regulations of the University of Leipzig concerning Covid-19 can be found here.