1st Edition
Dalit Academic Journeys Stories of Caste, Exclusion and Assertion in Indian Higher Education
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the academic journeys of Dalit students and their lived experiences of systemic exclusion in Indian higher education. It explains their educational journeys beyond caste-based discrimination, specifically analyzing the power dynamics, resilience, and resistance in their institutional life.
The volume
— Describes institutional culture, practices and contexts that contribute to a negative environment for Dalit students, and what changes would be required to create a positive campus climate for them;
— Provides a comparative analysis with the U.S. higher education contexts while drawing theoretical frameworks from critical race theory in educational settings, social reproduction theory, and diversity research;
— Discusses the significance of developing anti-casteist, democratic, and inclusive university spaces in India, with an emphasis on how Indian university campuses can be transformed through diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives, and indispensable support programs to assist Dalit and other vulnerable students
Nuanced and accessible, this book will be of interest to students, teachers, and researchers of education, higher education, sociology, exclusion studies, and Dalit studies. It will also be useful for policymakers; social activists; NGOs; research centres; and those working in the areas of higher education, reservations, public policy, caste, anti-caste, and exclusion studies.
Foreword by Sukhadeo Thorat. Preface.1. Introduction 2. Autobiography: My Higher Education Journey 3. Caste and Diversity in Higher Education Context 4. Contextualizing Dalit Identity 5. Academic Journey: Aspiration, Struggle and Caste 6. Campus Climate and Institutional Support 7. Counter Narratives and Resilience 8. Discussion, Recommendations and Conclusion
Biography
Bharat Rathod has completed a doctoral degree in International Education at the College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst). His research interest comprises caste, Dalit students, higher education in India, diversity framework, and qualitative research methods. His research articles are published in Journal of Exclusion Studies and Journal of Social Inclusion Studies. Over the last decade, Bharat has been associated with youth mentoring activities to promote higher education among the unrepresentative communities in India. He has been associated with community development initiatives in Gujarat and involved civil society organizations in India and the United States. He has been coordinating the ‘Anti-caste Campaign’ at UMass Amherst, to add caste as a protected category in the anti-discriminatory framework of UMass Amherst.
