Aditya Sarkar

Fields of Study

• Comparative and Regional Studies
• Migration

Country

India

Why Fletcher?

One of the best things about Fletcher is that it is truly interdisciplinary. I know this is an oft-used (and abused) buzzword, but at a time when many academic programs seem to be focused on a narrower set of research methodologies, the curriculum and faculty at Fletcher encourage you to look at the world more broadly. Another great strength is the program’s real-world focus. Students are always encouraged to ask the question “so what?” about their own research. I had experienced these qualities as part of the master’s program, and had worked with exceptional professors who had become collaborators over time. As a result, I was keen to come back to Fletcher for the PhD.

On research

I was once having a debate with a friend about the role of the UN and the humanitarian system in the context of the Sudanese civil war. Something must be done, I insisted, pointing to the scale of the crisis. My friend agreed. But he also asked, “What are we missing by framing our choices as a binary – either responding to the emergency, or doing nothing?” I love research because it allows us to ask fundamental questions about the assumptions and categories we use to make sense of the world, and our role in it. The Fletcher School has created space for me to ask these big questions, while keeping me grounded.

My dissertation research focuses on the politics of access to land and housing among urbanizing and economically precarious populations in small towns in India, and touches on issues of state authority, patronage politics, precarious work, and the uneven evolution of capitalism in different parts of the world. Methodologically, it draws on traditions of labour studies, political science, and critical anthropology, and I am grateful that the faculty at Fletcher have allowed me the space to shape my research in the way I want, while continuing to offer guidance, and cautioning me against over-broad research questions.

A favorite class

Among my PhD classes, I particularly enjoyed three classes: Introduction to Research Methods, which was taught by Prof. Sulmaan Khan, Classics of International Relations with Prof. Dan Drezner, and the Ethnographic Methods Independent Study that I took with Prof. Alex de Waal.

Prof. Khan’s course taught the fundamentals of research methods, of course, but more critically, helped students frame their questions. Social scientists always say that half the battle of research is framing a good research question. But that is surprisingly difficult, and students are rarely taught to do this as part of their coursework. I did not expect to enjoy Prof. Drezner’s class, as I have never been fond of the core subject of International Relations (war and peace between nations), but it was fascinating to read whole books by authors, even when I found much to disagree with in them. Finally, the independent study with Prof. de Waal was a deep dive into ethnography – which is the primary methodology I intend to use in my dissertation. Ethnography has a long and tortured history; it is both complicit in colonialism, and is also the methodology which is most interested in the lives of the powerless and in pushing back against power. The course that Prof. de Waal helped me design was intended to familiarize me with these debates, while reading interesting examples of ethnography.

Education before Fletcher

• Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, The Fletcher School
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws, National Law School of India University

Experience before Fletcher

• Independent Researcher, Consulting with the World Bank and the International Labour Organization
• Research Manager, Conflict Research Program
• Lawyer, Linklaters LLP, London

Languages

Bengali, Hindi, English