Anand Ranjan (Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH)-Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellow)

Thesis title: 'Onlife' Hinduism: Pilgrimage and Everyday Religious Experiences in Gaya, India

Biography

Background

Anand Ranjan is a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) award holder from the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities.

Qualifications

 

Winter School on “Performing Religions: Theory and Practice” (February 2020)

Jointly organized by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, University of Groningen and Frobenius Institute, Goethe University of Frankfurt

 

Summer University course on “Disruptive Narratives: Re-Constructing the Truth in the Age of Multimodal Propaganda” (2021)

Central European University, Budapest, Hungry 

 

Course on “Why Religion Matters: Religious Literacy, Culture and Diversity” (2021)

The Open University, UK

 

B.A. (Hons.) in Spanish Language, Literature and Cultural Studies (2015)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

 

M.A. in Spanish Language, Literature and Cultural Studies (2017)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

 

M.A. in Sociology (2019)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

 

M.Phil. in Social Systems (2022)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities-Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellow (2023-Present)
  • SGSAH Doctoral Researcher Committee (DRC) Representative, The University of Edinburgh
  • Prof D W D Shaw Scholarship (2022-2023), School of Divinity, The University of Edinburgh, UK
  • BASAS Graduate and Early Career (GEC) Researcher of the Month (May 2023)
  • PhD Affiliate, Centre for Data, Culture, and Society, The University of Edinburgh
  • Doctoral Researcher Committee, Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities (SGSAH)
  • Member of the British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS)
  • Member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR)
  • Resident Assistant at Gilmore Place, University Student Accommodation, University of Edinburgh (2022-23)

Areas of interest for supervision

 

 

Research summary

Anand's PhD examines the link between religion, digital technology, and ethnonationalism in India. Drawing on the idea of the ‘Onlife’ (Floridi, 2014) experience, it explores whether the intersection of online and offline spaces (onlife) can promote inclusion and recognition of the previously silenced and marginalised voices (Dalit [untouchable caste as classified by the Government of India], LGBTQIA+, Female) within Hinduism. In digital space, online and offline religious spheres constantly integrate and create a new combined experience called ‘onlife’. The pilgrimage practices at Gaya (Bihar, India) will provide an empirical understanding of an emergent form of Onlife Hinduism. Employing the idea of ‘onlife’, the PhD aims to study the intersection between pilgrimage, digital technology, and politics in India. Through the lens of the Gaya pilgrimage, this study will explore how the notion of the Hindu pilgrimage has evolved, surrounding the rise of Hindu nationalist politics (Hindutva) in onlife spaces. It will also examine the media practices (sharing, posting, liking, commenting etc.) of digital Hindutva (Hindu nationalists) activists and how they build and maintain the momentum of Hindu nationalist ideology in onlife spaces.

Current research interests

Hinduism, Pilgrimage, New Digital Technology, Hindu-Nationalism, Digital media Information and Communication Technology, Spirituality, Environment Artificial Intelligence and Religion

Affiliated research centres

Current project grants

AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership with the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) (Oct 2023-Present)
Prof. DWD Shaw Scholarship (Sept 2022- Sept 2023)

Conference details

18th EASA Biennial Conference 2024, Barcelona, Spain

Paper Title: Digital Footprints on Sacred Ground: The Intersection of Pilgrimage and Technology

19th International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES)-World Anthropological Union (WAU) World Anthropology Congress 2023

Paper Title: Navigating 'Onlife': Ethnographic Challenges in the Online-Offline Spectrum

British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) Annual Conference 2023, University of Cambridge, UK

Paper Title: 'Rethinking Hindu Ritual in the face of Climate Change'

British Association for South Asian Studies Annual Conference 2023, University of Leeds, UK

Paper Title: “Onlife” Ethnography- Navigating through the dilemma of online and offline modes of ethnography "

European Association of Social Anthropologists Biennial Conference, July 2022, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.

Paper title: - Emergence of Digital Hinduism: Post-COVID-19 India

Invited speaker

18th EASA Biennial Conference 2024, Barcelona, Spain

Paper Title: Digital Footprints on Sacred Ground: The Intersection of Pilgrimage and Technology

19th International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES)-World Anthropological Union (WAU) World Anthropology Congress 2023

Paper Title: Navigating 'Onlife': Ethnographic Challenges in the Online-Offline Spectrum

British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) Annual Conference 2023, University of Cambridge, UK

Paper Title: 'Rethinking Hindu Ritual in the face of Climate Change'

British Association for South Asian Studies Annual Conference 2023, University of Leeds, UK

Paper Title: "'Onlife' Ethnography- Navigating through the dilemma of online and offline modes of ethnography "

European Association of Social Anthropologists Biennial Conference, July 2022, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.

Paper Title: Emergence of Digital Hinduism: Post-COVID-19 India

Organiser

Convened a Panel titled “Digital Anthropology: Perspectives about Technology Gender and Mental Health in Connect Age” in the 19th IUAES-WAU World Anthropology Congress 2023 on Marginalities, Uncertainties, and World Anthropologies: Enlivening Past and Envisioning Future, University of Delhi, Delhi, India (14-20 October 2023). 

Volunteer at 18th EASA Biennial Conference 2024, Barcelona, Spain

Ranjan, A. (2023). Pandemic and Domestic Violence: Prevalence of the Virus of Patriarchy. In Ravinder Singh (ed.) Social Impact of COVID-19 in India: From Sociological, Economic, Policy and Legal Perspective.

Mondal, S. & Ranjan, A. (2023). The dynamics of marriage payments among Christian communities in Southern India. In Dennis Hiebert (ed.) Routledge International Handbook of Sociology and Christianity. 

Ranjan, A. (2022). Book Review: Understanding Religion Through Artificial Intelligence: Bonding and Belief, 2021, by Justine E. Lane. Reading Religion, open book review website published by the American Academy of Religion (AAR). https://readingreligion.org/9781350103559/

Mondal, S. & Ranjan, A. (2021). Covid-19 and Multi-Layered Vulnerabilities of Migrant Labourers. In Abdul Matin, P.C. Joshi & B.I. Laskar (eds.), Covid Crisis: Social Science Perspectives (pp.164-174). New Delhi: ABS Books.

Ranjan, A. (2021). Book Review: Rethinking Revolution: Soyabean, Choupals, and the Changing Countryside in Central India, 2016, by Richa Kumar. Explorations, E-journal of the Indian Sociological Society. Vol. 5, Issue 1. pp: 223-228.http://app.insoso.org/insosojournal/Issues/Vol5(1)Apr21

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