Pradeep Jeganathan Explained

Pradeep Jeganathan is a Sri Lankan academic, anthropologist, and writer. He is known for his work on South Asian studies with an emphasis on nationalism, ethnicity, and violence.

Life and career

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Pradeep Jeganathan received his education from Royal College, Colombo. After earning a joint degree in electrical engineering, computer science, and creative writing from MIT, USA for his undergraduate studies, Jeganathan continued his education at Harvard, where he studied social anthropology for a while before earning a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Chicago.^[1]

The University of Minnesota at Minneapolis,^{[2] [3] [4]} and Shiv Nadar University, Delhi^{[5] [6] [7]} were among the institutions where he had held professor positions.^{[8] [9]}

Jagannathan also worked as a senior consultant social anthropologist at the Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies in Colombo.^[10]

Works

Pradeep Jaganathan's major works are on 'violence'. He drives a term 'the shadow of violence'. He sheds light on the day-to-day realities of living in times of extreme violence by examining the lived experiences of people in conflict zones.^[11] His anthropological research provides a complex knowledge of the ways in which violence affects identities, social institutions, and interpersonal relationships.

His ethnographical writings like 'Checkpoint: anthropology, identity, and the state',^{[12] [13]} 'Authorizing history, ordering land: the conquest of Anuradhapura',^[14] 'A space for violence: Anthropology, politics and the location of a Sinhala practice of masculinity',^{[15] [16]} 'On the Anticipation of Violence: Modernity and Identity in Southern Sri Lanka',^[17] ‘Violence’ as an Analytical Problem: Sri Lankanist Anthropology After July’83'^{[18] [19]} are among the credible work of anthropology.

Pradeep focuses his studies on nationalism and ethnic issues, particularly as they relate to Sri Lanka. Within the larger context of nationalist politics, he investigates the construction, contestation, and negotiation of ethnic identities. His research offers insights into how ethnic distinctions are upheld and challenged, particularly in post-colonial nations.^{[20] [21] [22]}

Jeganathan uses anthropology to examine conflict and violence. He sheds light on the day-to-day realities of living in times of extreme violence by examining the lived experiences of people in conflict zones. His anthropological research provides knowledge of the ways in which violence affects identities, social institutions, and interpersonal relationships.^{[11] [12] [23]}

Pradeep is also a writer^[24] and has written short stories which came out as a book 'At the Water's Edge'.^[25] Jeganathan has been writing for Economic and Political Weekly,^[26] Colombo Telegraph^[27] and Spectrum.

Publications

Editor

• Subaltern Studies XI: Community, Gender and Violence; Orient Black Swan (2001) ISBN 9788178240336^{[28] [29]}
• Community, Gender, and Violence; Ed Partha Chatterjee and Pradeep Jeganathan, Columbia University Press, 2001, ISBN 9780231123150^[29]

Fiction

• At the Water's Edge; South Focus Press (2004) ISBN 0974883905^{[30] [31]}

Book chapters

• "Checkpoint: anthropology, identity, and the state" in Das, Veena & Poole, Deborah; Anthropology in the Margins of the State, 2004; School of American Research Press, James Currey, School for Advanced Research Press, ISBN 1930618409 ^{[32] [33]}
• "On the anticipation of violence: modernity and identity in Southern Sri Lanka" in Arce and Long; Anthropology, Development and Modernities: Exploring Discourse, Counter-Tendencies and Violence, 1999; Routledge (London), ISBN 0415204992^{[34] [35]}

Other

• Unmaking the Nation: The Politics of Identity and History in Modern Sri Lanka; The Journal of Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press ^[36]

See also

• Anthropologist
• Anthropology in 2003
• Shiv Nadar University

Notes and References

1. Web site: Daniel . Smriti . 2011-10-26 . Pradeep Jeganathan: Savouring Fusion Flavours . 2024-07-09 . Smriti Daniel .
2. Web site: Orient BlackSwan . 2024-07-09 . www.orientblackswan.com.
3. Web site: Sri Lankan Tamil Profs in Anthropology . 2024-07-09 . www.cs.mcgill.ca.
4. Web site: Sri Lankan Tamil Profs in Anthropology . 2024-08-14 . www.cs.mcgill.ca.
5. Web site: Leading World Scholars Rally to JNU Professor's Defence . 2024-07-10 . The Wire .
6. Web site: Pradeep Jeganathan - AD Scientific Index 2024 . 2024-07-09 . www.adscientificindex.com.
7. Web site: CSSS organises GSP Annual Lecture by Pradeep Jeganathan Welcome to Jawaharlal Nehru University . 2024-08-14 . jnu.ac.in.
8. Web site: Staff . Scroll . 2016-03-15 . Full text: 139 academics condemn 'vicious media campaign' against JNU professor Nivedita Menon . 2024-07-10 . Scroll.in .
9. Web site: 2015-07-20 . Pradeep Jeganathan . 2024-07-09 . THE JUSTICE PROJECT South Asia .
10. https://idsa.in/taxonomy/term/924 Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA)
11. Bryant . Rebecca . 2020 . The Anthropology of the Future . Etnofoor . 32 . 1 . 11–22 . 26924847 . 0921-5158.
12. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 2004 . Checkpoint: anthropology, identity, and the state . Anthropology in the Margins of the State . 67–80.
13. Web site: Anthropology in the margins of the state / edited by Veena Das and Deborah Poole - Catalogue National Library of Australia . 2024-07-11 . catalogue.nla.gov.au .
14. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 1995 . Authorizing history, ordering land: the conquest of Anuradhapura . Unmaking the Nation: The Politics of Identity and History in Modern Sri Lanka . 106–136.
15. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 2001 . A space for violence: Anthropology, politics and the location of a Sinhala practice of masculinity . Subaltern Studies . 11 . 37–65.
16. Book: Community, gender and violence: the essays collected in this volume were presented at the Fifth Subaltern Studies Conference held in Colombo in June 1995 . 2003 . Permanent Black [u.a.] . 978-81-7824-033-6 . Chatterjee . Partha . 2. paperback impr . Subaltern studies / ed. by Ranajit Guha . Delhi.
17. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 2000 . On the Anticipation of Violence: Modernity and Identity in Southern Sri Lanka . Anthropology, Development and Modernities: Exploring Discourses, Counter-tendencies and Violence . 112–126. 978-0-415-20500-9 .
18. Burton . Antoinette . March 2003 . Archive of Bones: Anil's Ghost and the Ends of History . The Journal of Commonwealth Literature . 38 . 1 . 39–56 . 10.1177/0021989404381005 . 0021-9894.
19. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 1998 . 'Violence'as an Analytical Problem: Sri Lankanist Anthropology After July'83 . Nethra: Journal of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies . 2 . 4 . 7–47.
20. Jeganathan . Pradeep . 2009 . The Postnational, Inhabitation and the Work of Melancholia . Economic and Political Weekly . 44 . 10 . 54–57 . 40278780 . 0012-9976.
21. Web site: 2007-06-12 . Thoughts on Sri Lankan Muslims: Ethnic Identity within Cultural Diversity . 2024-07-09 . Groundviews .
22. Book: Jeganathan, Pradeep . After a Riot: Anthropological Locations of Violence in an Urban Sri Lankan Community . 1997 . University of Chicago .
23. Web site: Anthropology in the Margins of the State School for Advanced Research . 2024-07-09 .
24. Web site: Pradeep Jeganathan The Guardian . 2024-08-14 . www.theguardian.com.
25. Book: Jeganathan, Pradeep . At the Water's Edge . 2004 . South Focus Press . 978-0-9748839-0-8 .
26. Web site: Pradeep Jeganathan Economic and Political Weekly . 2024-07-09 . www.epw.in.
27. Web site: 2012-03-12 . Gendered Violence In The North And East Of Sri Lanka . 2024-07-09 . Colombo Telegraph .
28. Web site: Orient BlackSwan . 2024-07-10 . www.orientblackswan.com.
29. Book: Community, Gender, and Violence: Subaltern Studies XI . November 2001 . Columbia University Press . 978-0-231-12314-3 . Chatterjee . Partha . Jeganathan . Pradeep.
30. Book: Jeganathan, Pradeep . At the Water's Edge . 2004 . South Focus Press . 978-0-9748839-0-8 .
31. Web site: Feature . 2024-07-10 . archives.dailynews.lk.
32. Web site: Anthropology in the Margins of the State School for Advanced Research . 2024-07-11 .
33. Book: Das . Veena . Anthropology in the margins of the state . Poole . Deborah . 2004 . School of American Research Press . 978-1-930618-40-4 . 1st . Santa Fe, N.M, Oxford [England]. 18214222M .
34. Web site: Anthropology, Development and Modernities: Exploring Discourse, Counter-Tendencies and Violence . 2024-07-10 . Routledge & CRC Press .
35. Book: Anthropology, development, and modernities : exploring discourses, counter-tendencies, and violence . 2000 . London ; New York : Routledge . Internet Archive . 978-0-415-20499-6.
36. McGilvray . Dennis B. . November 1997 . Unmaking the Nation: The Politics of Identity and History in Modern Sri Lanka. Edited by Pradeep Jeganathan and Qadri Ismail. Colombo: Social Scientists' Association, 1995. 219 pp. . The Journal of Asian Studies . 56 . 4 . 1130–1132 . 10.2307/2658352 . 2658352 . 1752-0401.