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SOP - JOBIAL

The personal statement outlines the author's academic background, including a BA and MA in History, and their aspiration to pursue doctoral research focused on environmental history in the Indian subcontinent. The author emphasizes their passion for teaching and commitment to uplifting underprivileged students while expressing a desire to study under esteemed faculty at Binghamton University. The research aims to explore the socio-ecological dynamics of coastal and riverine ecosystems in the context of rising sea levels and anthropogenic impacts.

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JOYDEEP BHOWMICK
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4 views

SOP - JOBIAL

The personal statement outlines the author's academic background, including a BA and MA in History, and their aspiration to pursue doctoral research focused on environmental history in the Indian subcontinent. The author emphasizes their passion for teaching and commitment to uplifting underprivileged students while expressing a desire to study under esteemed faculty at Binghamton University. The research aims to explore the socio-ecological dynamics of coastal and riverine ecosystems in the context of rising sea levels and anthropogenic impacts.

Uploaded by

JOYDEEP BHOWMICK
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Page 1 of 2

Personal Statement
I am from Poozhanadu, a village in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. I have done my Bachelor’s
(BA (Hons) History) from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi and Master’s (MA
History) from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. I was the topper (100% marks) of
the Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Examination. Above all, I have been qualified for the
prestigious Junior Research Fellowship of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Through my doctoral research I would like to shed light on……..(a line about the topic of
your research).
The Indian subcontinent enjoys a prominent place in the Indian Ocean World. The peninsula
has been having overseas contacts since the early centuries Before the Common Era,
particularly with Arabs, Romans, etc. Although much has been written about the Indian ocean
trade, an environmental approach to the coast as well as the fisheries has not received
adequate attention and that to the inland fisheries is even lower. As the sea level is rising, the
coasts undergoing severe erosion and the shorelines changing, primarily due to anthropogenic
activities, it is high time we should look at the coastal and riverine ecologies, fisheries as well
as the place of the fishing communities in the coastal and freshwater ecosystems.
Lots of studies have been done on the water bodies as well as the water management systems
in South Asia, particularly by scholars like Rohan D’Souza, Sunil Amrith, David Mosse,
Daniel Haines, Elizabeth Whitcombe, Sudipta Sen, Arupjyoti Saikia and so on. However,
while focusing on the socio-political and symbolic significance of the rivers, the irrigation
projects and the flood-control measures, these works do not duly address the question of
……………
Therefore, my proposed research intends to examine how the…………….(a paragraph). I
would like to find answers to the following questions in the course of my doctoral research:
(A couple of research questions)
My affinity with nature goes back to my childhood in a village located near the
Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve and it never faded, even though I moved to Delhi for my
higher studies; rather it acquired an academic rigour. My academic interactions in JNU,
particularly those with Dr. Indivar Kamtekar and Prof. Kumkum Roy fine-tuned my handling
of the primary sources. My Seminar Paper “Fishing, Fishers and Fisheries in the Madras
Presidency in the Early Twentieth Century”, written under the supervision of Dr. Kamtekar,
has been published in The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (UGC approved peer-
reviewed journal, ISSN (0047-8555)). My other Seminar Paper “Agriculture and Gardening
in the Early Medieval Period: A Close Scrutiny of the Krishi-Parashara and the Upavana-
Vinoda”, supervised by Prof. Roy, explored the practice of agriculture as well as the art of
gardening during the early medieval period on the basis of explication of the two aforesaid
Sanskrit treatises. The paper points out that although these two texts discuss about related
themes, they deal with diverse social and ecological contexts and had entirely different
objectives. The Krishi-Parashara intended to increase the yields of subsistence crops,
whereas, the Upavana-Vinoda aimed at creating a wonderland for the urban elites.
Page 2 of 2

Teaching has been my passion since my school days. During the 3 years in St. Stephen’s
College, I taught the underprivileged kids of a slum in GTB Nagar, as part of the project
‘Vidyajoti’, organized by the Social Service League of the College, in collaboration with
‘Teach For India’ (a nationwide non-profit movement). I continued my teaching life even
after I shifted to JNU by volunteering to bequeath knowledge to the children of a slum in
Munirka, as part of the project ‘Udaan’, organized by the National Service Scheme (Ministry
of Youth Affairs and Sports). I wish to contribute towards the intellectual upliftment of those
students who are deprived of access to quality education throughout the rest of my life.
I aspire to be a professor and an environmental historian of South Asia and I hope my
doctoral research in Binghamton University will facilitate my journey towards achieving that
dream. I would like to delve deeper into the intricacies of the environment and environmental
sciences in modern India and give adequate attention to the non-human actors in history. My
research interests overlap with that of Prof. Arnab Dey who specializes in the environmental
history of South Asia and Prof. Fa-ti Fan who works on the history of science and
environmental history of China. Moreover, the Department of History has scholars like
Bradley Skopyk, Alex Chase-Levenson, etc. who have made significant contributions to the
discipline of environmental history. I will be highly obliged if you could grant me an
opportunity to be guided by the faculty of Binghamton University in my endless journey of
exploring the environments. Thank you.

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