Carol Upadhya
Carol Upadhya, a social anthropologist, studies a range of social transformations in contemporary India, including processes of spatial and social mobility,the globalisation of cities and provincial towns and the urbanisation of rural landscapes; speculative land and real estate markets and their implications for local communities; and skilling, labour migration, and employment. She recently completed an ethnographic monograph on the Indian software industry, Reengineering India: Work, Capital, and Class in an Offshore Economy (Oxford University Press, 2016).Prof. Upadhya earlier co-directed the Provincial Globalisation research programme.She has received research grants from the National Science Foundation (USA), Azim Premji Foundation, Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), WOTRO Science for Global Development of the NWO, Netherlands, and the Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (Netherlands). She has been a visiting scholar at Central European University, Budapest, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Goettingen, Germany, and the International Institute of Asian Studies, Amsterdam. Upadhya is anEditorial Advisorfor the journal Contributions to Indian Sociology.Prior to joining NIAS, Prof. Upadhya taught in the PG Department of Sociology at SNDT Women’s University in Mumbai.
Research Interest:
Carol Upadhya's recent research has focused on international migration, transnationalism, and regional diasporas; labour and capital in the software industry; urbanisation and the globalisation of cities; and land rights.
Prof Carol Upadhya has been awarded the 2016 Research Grant by Azim Premji University.
Book Chapters
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Upadhya, Carol . 2021. “Cultures of work in India's new economy”. In Critical themes in Indian sociology, Critical themes in Indian sociology, New Delhi : Sage.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2020. “A love for land: transregional property investments in Andhra”. In Provincial globalization in India: transregional mobilities and development politics, Provincial globalization in India: transregional mobilities and development politics, London: Routledge.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2018. “Capitalizing on the Future: Negotiating Planned Urbanization in South India”. In Urban Asias: Essays on Futurity Past and Present, Urban Asias: Essays on Futurity Past and Present, JOVIS Verlag. https://www.jovis.de/en/books/details/product/urban-asias.html.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2018. “Ghurye, Govind Sadashiv (1893–1983)”. In The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd. https://www.wiley.com/en-ai/The+International+Encyclopedia+of+Anthropology,+12+Volume+Set-p-9780470657225.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2014. “Employment, exclusion and ‘merit’ in the Indian IT industry”. In The Problem of Caste: Essays from Economic and Political Weekly., The Problem of Caste: Essays from Economic and Political Weekly., , 141-151.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2013. “Shrink-wrapped souls: Managing the self in India’s new economy”. In Enterprise culture in neoliberal India: Studies in youth, class, work and media. , Enterprise culture in neoliberal India: Studies in youth, class, work and media. , , 93-108. http://eprints.nias.res.in/725/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2013. “Return of the ‘Global Indian’: Software professionals and the worlding of Bangalore”. In Nationalizing transnational mobility in Asia. Duke University Press, Durham, Nationalizing transnational mobility in Asia. Duke University Press, Durham, , 141-161. http://eprints.nias.res.in/724/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2011. “Software and the 'New' middle class in the 'New India'”. In Elite and everyman: The cultural politics of the Indian middle class, Elite and everyman: The cultural politics of the Indian middle class, eds. Amita Baviskar and Ray, Raka . New Delhi: Routledge, 167–192. http://eprints.nias.res.in/278/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2011. “Colonial anthropology, law, and adivasi struggles: The case of Jharkhand”. In Doing sociology in India, Doing sociology in India, ed. Sujata Patel. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 266–289. http://eprints.nias.res.in/277/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2009. “India's `New Middle Class' and the Globalising City: Software Professionals in Bangalore, India”. In The New Middle Classes: Globalizing Lifestyles, Consumerism and Environmental Concern, The New Middle Classes: Globalizing Lifestyles, Consumerism and Environmental Concern, eds. Lars Meier and Lange, Hellmuth . Netherlands: Springer, 253–268. http://eprints.nias.res.in/286/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2008. “Management of Culture and Managing through Culture in the Indian Software Outsourcing Industry”. In In an Outpost of the Global Economy: Work and Workers in India's Information Technology Industry, In an Outpost of the Global Economy: Work and Workers in India's Information Technology Industry, eds. Carol Upadhya and Vasavi, AR . London: Routledge, 101–135. http://eprints.nias.res.in/102/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2008. “Management of Culture and Managing through Culture in the Indian Software Outsourcing Industry”. In In an Outpost of the Global Economy: Work and Workers in India's Information Technology Industry, In an Outpost of the Global Economy: Work and Workers in India's Information Technology Industry, eds. Carol Upadhya and Vasavi, AR . London: Routledge, 101–135. http://eprints.nias.res.in/102/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2008. “Rewriting the Code: Software Professionals and the Reconstitution of Indian Middle Class Identity”. In Patterns of middle class consumption in India and China, Patterns of middle class consumption in India and China, eds. Christophe Jaffrelot and Van der Veer, Peter . New Delhi: Sage, 55–87. http://eprints.nias.res.in/113/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2007. “The idea of Indian society: G.S.Ghurye and the making of Indian Sociology”. In Anthropology in the East: Funders of Indian sociology and anthropology, Anthropology in the East: Funders of Indian sociology and anthropology, eds. Patricia Uberoi, Sundar, Nandini , and Deshpande, Satish . Permanent Black, 194–255. http://eprints.nias.res.in/404/.
Books
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Upadhya, Carol , Mario Rutten, and Leah Koskimaki. 2018. Provincial Globalization in India: Transregional Mobilities and Development Politics. Routledge India. https://www.routledge.com/Provincial-Globalization-in-India-Transregional-Mobilities-and-Development/Upadhya-Rutten-Koskimaki/p/book/9781138069626.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2016. Reengineering India: Work, capital, and class in an offshore economy. Delhi: Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reengineering-india-9780199461486?cc=in&lang=en&.
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Upadhya, Carol , and AR Vasavi, eds. 2008. In an outpost of the global economy: Work and workers in India's information technology industry. New Delhi: Routledge. http://eprints.nias.res.in/111/.
Films
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C, Vanaja , Carol Upadhya, and Sanam Roohi. 2021. Return of the Non-Resident (Ethnographic and Documentary Films). India: Provincial Globalisation Programme (NIAS).
Journal Articles
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Upadhya, Carol . 2020. “Assembling Amaravati: speculative accumulation in a new Indian city”. Economy and Society. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2019.1690257.
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Upadhya, Carol , and Leah Koskimaki. 2017. “Reconsidering the Region in India (Special Issue)”. Journal of South Asian Development 12 (2 ).
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Upadhya, Carol . 2017. “Afterword: Middle Class Activism and Bangalore's Environmental Predicament”. International Development Policy Revue Internationale de Politique de Developpement 8(2). http://poldev.revues.org/2488.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2017. “Amaravati and the New Andhra: Reterritorialization of a Region”. Journal of South Asian Development 12(2): 177-202. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0973174117712324?journalCode=sada.
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Koskimaki, Leah , and Carol Upadhya. 2017. “Introduction: Reconsidering the Region in India: Mobilities, Actors and Development Politics”. Journal of South Asian Development 12 (2 ): 89-111. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0973174117712826.
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Goldman, Michael , Vinay Gidwani, and Carol Upadhya. 2017. “Bangalore's 'Great Transformation' - The Problem”. Seminar 694: 12-16. http://india-seminar.com/semframe.html.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2016. “Engineering equality? Education and im/mobility in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India”. Contemporary South Asia: 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2016.1203863.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2016. “Mario Rutten (1958-2015)- Obituaries”. Economic and Political Weekly 51(5): 96. http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/5/obituaries/mario-rutten-1958-2015.html.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2014. “Book Review: India's middle class: New forms of urban leisure, consumption and prosperity by Christiane Brosius. New Delhi: Routledge, 2010.” eds. Patrick Neveling, Strümpell, Christian , and Münster, Daniel . Contribution to Indian Sociology 48: 148–151. http://eprints.nias.res.in/645/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2013. “Book Review: Mapping migration within and from India: mobilities and networks”. Migration Studies 1: 247–252. http://eprints.nias.res.in/394/.
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Upadhya, Carol , and Mario Rutten. 2012. “Migration, transnational flows and development in India: A regional perspective”. Economic and Political Weekly XLVII: 54–62. http://eprints.nias.res.in/317/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2011. “Book Review of Global `body shopping': an Indian labor system in the information technology industry by Biao Xiang, Princeton: PUP, 2009.”. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 17: 921–922. http://eprints.nias.res.in/268/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2010. “Book Review of Employee identity in Indian call centres: The notion of professionalism Ernesto Noronha, Premilla D'Cruz, 2009. Response Books (Sage), New Delhi, 2009”. IIMB Management Review xx: 1–2. http://eprints.nias.res.in/143/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2009. “Imagining India: Software and the ideology of liberalisation”. South African Review of Sociology 40: 76–93. http://eprints.nias.res.in/287/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2008. “Ethnographies of the Global Information Economy: Research Strategies and Methods”. Economic and Political Weekly 43: 64–72. http://eprints.nias.res.in/94/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2007. “Employment, Exclusion and 'Merit' in the Indian IT Industry”. Economic and Political Weekly 42: 1863–1868. http://eprints.nias.res.in/92/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2005. “Community Rights in Land in Jharkhand”. Economic and Political Weekly 40: 4435–4442. http://eprints.nias.res.in/54/.
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Upadhya, Carol . 2004. “A New Transnational Capitalist Class?: Capital Flows, Business Networks and Entrepreneurs in the Indian Software Industry”. Economic and Political Weekly 39: 5141–5151. http://eprints.nias.res.in/53/.
Miscellaneous
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Upadhya, Carol , and AR Vasavi. 2006. “Work, Culture and Sociality in the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry: A Sociological Study”. http://eprints.nias.res.in/107/.
Reports
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Upadhya, Carol , and Supriya Roychowdhury. 2021. Urban Migration, Skilling and Employment in the New Service Economy (NIAS/SSc/UMP/U/PB/01/2021). Bengaluru : NIAS.
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Roychowdhury, Supriya , and Carol Upadhya. 2020. India's Changing Cityscapes: Work, Migration and Liveihoods (NIAS/SSc/UMS/RR/01/2020). Bengaluru : ISEC & NIAS.
- Seminar on the Anthropology of Circulation and Value
- Anthropology of Capitalism
- South Asia: Regions, Mobilities,
- Connections Seminar in Social-Cultural Anthropology
- Sociology of India
- Anthropology of the State
'Provincial Globalisation: The Impact of Reverse Transnational Flows in India’s Regional Towns', a five-year international collaborative research programme with the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, funded by WOTRO, the Netherlands. Co-Director of research project, 'The Great Transformation: Urban Land Markets, Livelihoods and the Growing Ecological Crisis in Asia’s Cities'. Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC), University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (with Profs Michael Goldman and Vinay Gidwani).
‘World-City’ Planning in Andhra Pradesh: A New Model for Urbanisation?. Research on the development of the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh and attendant socio-economic changes, funded by the Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore (2016 - 2019).
Speculative Urbanism: Land, Livelihoods, and Finance Capital. Collaborative project with University of Minnesota and University of California at Los Angeles. Comparative study of urban development in Bangalore and Jakarta; funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA (2017-20).
India’s Changing Cityscapes: Work, Migration and Livelihoods. Two-year collaborative research programme with Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. Study of migrant labour in construction industry and service sector in Karnataka cites, funded by ICSSR (2017-19).
Conference Papers and Invited Lectures
‘Reimagining the urban: The present and the past’ (with Smriti Haricharan), INTACH NIAS Webinar Series, Back and Forth in Time: Lectures on the South Indian Past, June 24, 2020.
‘Becoming Urban: Caste and Land on the Periphery of Bangalore’. Making of Social Science (MOSS) Seminar, French Institute of Pondicherry, February 13, 2020.
‘Speculative Development: State Planning, Vernacular Capitalism and Land in Amaravati’. Work-in-Progress talk, South Asia Center, University of Pennsylvania, May 22, 2019.
‘Mobilizing the Youth? Peripatetic Labor in India’s New Service Economy’. CASI, University of Pennsylvania, May 1, 2019.
‘Speculating on Bangalore’s Urbanism: Land Transitions at the City’s Edge’, with Hemangini Gupta, Sachinkumar Rathod and Priyanka Krishna. Urban ARC, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru, January 10-12, 2019.
‘Rural Real Estate: Agrarian Land as a Financial Asset’. Sixth Network of Rural and Agrarian Studies International Conference, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, September 20-22, 2018.
Invited speaker, plenary session on 'The Urban Transformation of India', All India Sociological Conference, University of Lucknow, November 9 - 12, 2017: 'Globalising the Provincial: Translocal Circulations and Urban Change in Regional Towns'.
‘South Asia and the World’: Roundtable Discussion, School of Public Policy and the South Asia Research Group, Central European University, Budapest,December 2, 2016.
‘Capital Dreaming: Speculative Capitalism and Spectacular Urbanism in Amaravati (India)’, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University, Budapest, November 28, 2016.
Speaker on Keynote Panel, International Conference on ‘Development in Question: Challenges for the 21st Century’, Cornell University, Ithaca NY (USA), October 6-8, 2016.
‘Capital Dreaming: Speculative Planning and Spectacular Urbanism in Amaravati’. Seminar presentation, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, June 14, 2016.
‘Speculative Planning and Spectacular Urbanism in Andhra’s New Capital Region’. School of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, April 4, 2016.
Conference on Mobilities and Temporalities: Rethinking Migrant Trajectories and Transnational Lifestyles in the Asian Context, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, February 25-26, 2016. Presented paper, ‘Materialising Mobility: Migrant Property Investments in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India’.
Seminar on Migration, ‘Heimat’, Homelands, Central University of Hyderabad, Departments of Sociology, Regional Studies, and Women’s Studies, February 11-12, 2016. Presented paper, ‘Amaravathi and the New Andhra: Reterritorialisation and Transnational Circuits of Accumulation.
‘Amaravathi and the New Andhra: Globalising the Provincial?’ Public Lecture in ‘India and the World’ Series, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, November 4, 2015.
‘Speculating on Development: Provincial and Transnational Circuits of Accumulation in Andhra’s New Capital Region’. Presentation at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, October 6, 2015.
‘Speculating on Development: Provincial and Transnational Circuits of Accumulation in Andhra’s New Capital Region’. Presentation at TISS, Mumbai, October 14, 2015.
‘Reterritorialising Andhra: Provincial Capital and Transnational Circuits of Accumulation in India’. Seminar at Sussex Asia Centre, University of Sussex, June 4, 2015.
Workshop on Speculation: New Vistas on Capitalism, Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics, May 28-29, 2015. Presented paper, ‘Speculating on Development: Land, Provincial Capital, and the Visionary State in India’.
‘Engineering Mobility? Education, Social Aspirations, and (In)equalitiesin Coastal Andhra Pradesh’. Presentation for Educational Records Research Unit, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, March 19, 2015.
‘Speculating on Development: Transnational Circuits of Accumulation in Coastal Andhra’.Faculty Seminar, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, March 17, 2015.
Conference on Skill Development and Social Transformation in India, Oxford Department of International Development, January 12-13, 2015. Paper presentation: ‘Quality and Inequality: Engineering Education, IT Skills, and the Problem of “Employability”’.
‘Provincial Globalisation: Remapping the Region in India’. Lecture for course on Production of Knowledge: Cultural Politics of Spatiality, Centre for Contemporary Studies, Indian Institute of Science, November 22, 2014..
NIAS-Exeter Interdisciplinary Symposium on Intangible Histories, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, September 19, 2014. Presentation: ‘Valuing Real Estate: Speculation in Land and Urban Transitions in South India’.
‘What’s New about the “New India”? Capital and Class after Liberalization’, 22nd Annual Wertheim Lecture, University of Amsterdam, June 5, 2013.
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Carol Upadhya and Supriya RoyChowdhury, "The Urban Service Workforce Will Be the Next Casualty of the COVID-19 Lockdown", The Wire, 22 May 2020
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Carol Upadhya, "Skill training has become a numbers game", Deccan Herald, Insight section,10 May 2020, p. 4.
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Shruthi H M Sastry and Carol Upadhya, "Karnataka: Huge skill gap could hamper industry revival",Deccan Herald,10 May 2020, p.1.