Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
Nimisha Thakur, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been awarded a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. This fellowship, granted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, supports scholars completing dissertations that examine ethics and religion in significant ways. Recipients receive a 12-month award of $31,000 to support their final year of dissertation writing.
Thakur is among 22 scholars in the United States to receive this prestigious award, which is described by the foundation as the largest and most esteemed for Ph.D. candidates in the humanities and social sciences focusing on ethical and religious values.
The fellowship, funded by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation since its inception in 1981, has supported nearly 1,300 doctoral candidates. Past recipients have become noted faculty members at institutions worldwide, leaders in their fields of study, and even Pulitzer Prize winners.
Thakur’s dissertation titled “River Song: Riverine Ethics and Autonomy on the Brahmaputra Floodplains” examines how ethical actions shape the lives of people inhabiting Assam's Brahmaputra River floodplains as they navigate socio-economic, political, and environmental challenges.
Beginning her preliminary research in 2017, Thakur followed the flows of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries across upper and central Assam. "This helped me understand how a mobile approach to land and life allows local communities across the Brahmaputra floodplains to deal with uncertainties posed by climate change and infrastructures upstream," she explained. Thakur focuses on how place-based ethics and ancestral values emerge in narratives about future riverine communities living on small river islands along the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River.
From 2021-22, Thakur delved into these communities' relationships with the river through songs, stories, and daily interactions while residing in the region. She also interviewed activists and community leaders to gain insights into development infrastructures impacting community access to land and resources. Additionally, she conducted research at various archives throughout India.
“Nimisha’s research is fascinating, timely and important,” stated Daniel Olson-Bang, director of professional and career development at Syracuse University’s Graduate School. “I’m so pleased that such a deserving researcher will have this opportunity.”
Thakur’s work has been supported by several fellowships including an American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Dissertation Fellowship from 2021-22 as well as funding from Syracuse University's Department of Anthropology, Moynihan South Asia Center at Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, and Education Model Program on Water-Energy Research under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Traineeship Program.
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