On 23rd of March 2023, Rahul Gandhi, key member of the opposition party in India was convicted on defamation charges. There has been much debate about what this means for Indian democracy, with perhaps not enough attention paid to the facts of the case, and placing it within the political and legal context of India. I analyse the verdict and its context to bring you up to speed. Click here to read.
Comparative urbanism in the GLM master’s program
How do we compare cities? What can we learn through comparative urbanism?
It is a truism that cities are unique – Amman is not Tokyo, and New Delhi is not Brasilia.
It is also a truism that cities have much in common – all cities face social inequality, all cities manage infrastructure (buses, water, electricity, waste management), all cities are adapting to the ecological transition, all cities have political and policy legacies that can constrain change, all cities have changing relationships with other levels of government, and all cities share learnings with each other (through regional governance, institutional networks of cities, fact- finding missions and more).
If you are interested in urban professional training, GLM (Governing the Large Metropolis master’s program) or the Urban School at Sciences Po, read my blog on our faculty that teach in our regional specialization!
Practical Strategies for Fieldwork
Are you doing qualitative or fieldwork-based research for your master’s or PhD? Click here for practical strategies for managing the information that you will collect on purpose or encounter by happenstance.
An introduction to FSI or Floor Space Index in Mumbai
I spoke to journalist Sabah Virani of Citizen Matters Mumbai about FSI and its role in Mumbai’s housing market and urban development. Read the article here. Read my history of FSI published in Urban Studies and a shorter article on policy change and FSI in EPW.
So you wrote a master’s thesis…
Congratulations, you have just finished and defended your master’s thesis! Click here for some ideas and encouragement to disseminate and valorize your research.
Financialising Floor Space in Mumbai, 1880-2015, Urban Studies
As an accompaniment to my paper published in Urban Studies in February 2022, I have written a blog on their website. If you want to learn more about urban policy in Mumbai, click here.
Transcribing Strategies for Qualitative Interviews
An important part of fieldwork is transcribing interviews and it can seem like an overwhelming task. Here are some strategies to start transcribing and keep on track with this essential part of data collection and analysis. Click here.
American politics and the Capitol Riot
In this short blog, I transcribe a short video of the first protestors who broke through the barricades on the way to the Capitol on January 6th 2021, the start of the so-called Capitol ‘riot’, ‘insurrection’, or ‘coup’. The polarized and emotionally charged politics in America, as well as the chaos of January 6th are in view. Click here.
Five Teaching Strategies for the First Week of Semester
The first class of the semester is important for both students and instructors as it sets the tone and clarifies expectations. Click here for five strategies for an interactive and dynamic first session.
Five Strategies to Revise your Paper, Article or Blog
Revising and editing your work is an essential part of writing. Revising is not just about editing or finding typos. Its about being strategic and ensuring that your writing really communicates what you intended without filler or distraction. Here are five strategies to revise your work.
Sukriti Issar 