Dr Sneha Roy is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. A socio-cultural anthropologist, she is a graduate of Delhi University, Durham, and Wales Trinity St. David. She is working on Hindu nationalism, gender, and ecology in the borderlands between India and Bangladesh.
Where did you grow up?
In a small town in Jamshedpur in India. It was cosmopolitan and really fun.
What kind of undergraduate were you?
At school I was focused on sports and dance. University was a different ball game. I could choose the subject I wanted to study: anthropology. That was a turning point in my life.
What’s the biggest misconception about your field?
That it’s easy because you’re dealing with people. Understanding people is sometimes more complex than Rocket Science.
Why did you move to the University of Edinburgh?
It’s one of the most inclusive schools where I could work around topics of religious nationalism, ecology, gender with an area focus on south Asia.
What do you read outside of your academic work?
Jane Austen (always) and Charles Dickens (current spree).
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who can be trusted with intimate emotions and experiences particularly of those who have had experienced violence of sorts.
