Overview
I am a PhD Candidate in the History Department at Duke. I study connected histories of food, famine, and humanitarianism in Modern South Asia. My dissertation, entitled "Giving for Eating: Famine, Humanitarianism, and Nutrition Science in Bengal and North India, 1837-1975,” examines transformations in philanthropy/charity and eating/feeding in the context of famine and famine relief in 19th and 20th century South Asia. Research for this project has taken me all over India, Bangladesh, and to colonial archives in the UK. I combine my professional interest in food history with my personal interests in cooking, especially with regards to fermentation experiments. My research has been supported by grants from Fulbright-Hays, Fulbright-Nehru, FLAS, American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. I have an MA in European History (Villanova University) and a BA in Economics and English Literature.