Dr. Suchitra Samanta also discussed her experiences in two very
different and consecutive research projects, on Muslim women and
education in India, and on Asian/American women in U.S. community
colleges. As a cultural anthropologist, Dr. Samanta's research methods
are largely qualitative, and require in-person interaction with human
subjects over a period of time. This interaction can involve
discrepancies of power, and a need for reflexive awareness on the part
of the researcher and his or her position relative to the research
participant. When the ‘data’ sought is a personal narrative or a life
history, how to frame research questions to a participant; how to,
ethically, present such narratives in work to be published; and how to
include (in published work) possible power inequities involved in a
research interaction requires researchers to be aware of diverse factors
impacting privacy and confidentiality. Dr. Samanta also discussed her
experiences conducting research tell the story of her mother's life as a
doctor in British
India.
Dr. Suchitra Samanta is an Associate
Professor,
Collegiate Faculty in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program in the
Department of Sociology. She teaches courses on feminist activism,
global and transnational gender inequity issues, feminist theory, and on
the ‘Asian American Experience. Dr. Samanta has a B.A. in Literature
from Kolkata University, and Master’s degree in Drama and doctoral
degree in Cultural Anthropology both from the University of Virginia.
