The Colonial Present
International Development Studies is focusing more on the impact, damage, and legacies of colonialism, not just in the global South, but in the global North as well. At the forefront of this conversation are scholars like Ajay Parasram, who studies "The Colonial Present" and who brings important critical dialogue on colonialism into the heart of research and teaching in International Development Studies. Ajay Parasram is a transnational, multigenerational byproduct of empire and this is central to my research and teaching. Working broadly around the theme of the colonial present, I study structural forms of violence (e.g. race, caste, class, patriarchy) rooted or exacerbated through imperial encounters that have been sanitized of their colonial histories and normalized in the present day. Dr. Parasram is crossed appointed between the Departments of International Development Studies, History, and Political Science and he is interested in working with graduate students interested in similar and related themes. He is a Founding Fellow at the MacEachen Institute of Public Policy and Governance (2019 – 2021) and served as the Chair and Program Chair of the Global Development Section of the International Studies Association (2019 – 2020). He teaches courses on the colonial foundations of development studies and the state, M.K. Gandhi, postcolonial politics, and activism Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter: @ProfessorHuish