Degrees
Samantha Agarwal holds a doctorate in sociology from Johns Hopkins University (2023). Her writing and research focus on neoliberalism, social movements in India and the rise of authoritarian ethnonationalism globally. She is currently working on a book project based on her PhD dissertation which examines the intersection of India’s longstanding caste inequalities and the Hindu supremacist movement. Prior to becoming an academic, Agarwal spent five years in Central India accompanying frontline communities in struggles against forcible land dispossession and for indigenous forests rights. At JHU with TRU-UE she helped lead a successful unionization effort of graduate student workers. She is also a co-founder of The Cornerstone Project, a volunteer-run collective which provides training on the fundamentals of movement building and organizing for power. At SLU she will be teaching courses such as Social Justice and the City, Power & Strategy and more.
Recent News
- PhD and MA in Sociology, Johns Hopkins University. BA in Political Science and Environmental Policy, Ohio State University.
Selected Publications
- “Bivalent Hegemony: How Hindu Nationalists Appeal to Caste-Oppressed People in Communist-Ruled Kerala.” Politics and Society, vol. 52, no. 3, 2024.
- “Indebted by Dispossession: The Long-term Impacts of a Special Economic Zone on Caste Inequality in Rural Telangana.” Journal of Agrarian Change, vol. 2, no. 3, 2021, pp. 459-484.
- “Dalits and Dispossession: A Comparison.” Journal of Contemporary Asia, vol. 50, no. 5, 2020, pp. 696-722. (co-authored with Michael Levien).
- “India’s Failed Agricultural Revolution.” Jacobin. July 8, 2024. (co-authored with Michael Levien)
- “Here’s How the Hindu Supremacist Movement Is Infiltrating US Politics.” Truthout. February 2, 2024.
Areas of Interest
- Ethnonationalism,
- Political Parties
- Social Movements
- Caste and Race
- Global Capitalism
Grants
- Provost’s Research Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University. 2022. $6,000.
- Provost’s Research Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University. 2021. $6,000.
- American Institute of Indian Studies: Junior Research Fellowship. 2022. $20,000.
- Social Science Research Council: International Dissertation Fieldwork Fellowship. 2020. $25,000.
- Foreign Language and Areas Studies Summer Fellowship, 2020. $2,500.
- Foreign Language and Areas Studies Academic Year Fellowship, 2017-2018. $15,000.
- Foreign Language and Areas Studies Academic Year Fellowship, 2016-2017. $15,000.
Awards
- Winner, 2024 Graduate Student Paper Award for the American Sociology Association’s Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities.
- Winner, 2024 Outstanding Article Award for the American Sociology Association’s Section on Marxist Sociology.
- Honorable mention, 2024 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Article Award for the American Sociology Association’s Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements
- Winner, 2021 Albert Szymanski-T.R. Young Marxist Sociology/Critical Sociology Graduate Student Paper Award.
Boards and Organizations
- The Cornerstone Project: https://cornerstoneproject.net/
