Anthropological Generations: A Post-Independence Ethnography of Academic Anthropology and Sociology in India by Nurolhoda Bandeh-Ahmadi A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Professor Andrew Shryock, Chair Professor Emerita Gillian Feeley-Harnik Professor Bruce Mannheim Professor George Steinmetz Professor Ajantha Subramanian, Harvard University Nurolhoda Bandeh-Ahmadi
[email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0657-0402 © Nurolhoda Bandeh-Ahmadi 2018 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the past decade, there have been many times when I doubted whether this dissertation would ever come into existence. I am first and foremost indebted to four people, mentors, who have supported me through the entirety of what has been quite a ride, and made it possible for me to even get to this point of writing acknowledgments. They are Andrew Shryock, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, and Bruce Mannheim—the members of my committee at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan—and Laura Nader, my undergraduate mentor at the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Their brilliance and wisdom as scholars has only been surpassed by their kindness, understanding, and patience as teachers. If anyone reads these acknowledgments in an effort to determine “who I worked with,” those are the names you are probably looking for. That said, the support of countless more people has been invaluable in making this dissertation happen. I am also particularly indebted to Ajantha Subramanian, at the Harvard University Department of Anthropology, and George Steinmetz, at the University of Michigan Department of Sociology, for their support, advice, and feedback.