Leela Fernandes is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers
University - New Brunswick. Her most recent book, India’s New Middle
Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform (2006)
examines the political implications that the rise of the Indian middle
class has had for Indian democracy and the politics of globalization.
She is also the author of Producing Workers: The Politics of Gender,
Class and Culture in the Calcutta Jute Mills (1997) and
Transforming Feminist Practice (2003). Her research focuses on
questions of cultural politics, gender and political economy. She has
published articles on labor, gender, cultural politics, nationalism,
human rights and globalization and has received fellowships from the
MacArthur Foundation, American Institute for Indian Studies, the
American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research
Council.
Leela
Fernandes is currently working on two research projects. The first
project on religion and politics in India focuses on developing a
historical and philosophical understanding of the relationship
between religion, social movements and the state. The second project
represents a series of theoretical essays that examines the relationship
between ethics, politics and knowledge.
She is also currently the South Asia Editor of the journal Critical Asian Studies.
