Johanna Lessinger
I am a social anthropologist whose long-term academic interests are in South Asia, gender, class and class struggle. An early student field trip to Trinidad sparked my interest in both South Asia and in diasporic populations, since Trinidad has a large population of Indian origin. My Ph. D. research and subsequent work has been carried out in South India. Fortunately the cultural richness of the area's classical music, classical dance and vibrant filmmaking traditions are now accessible in New York as well. As a dedicated New Yorker I became interested in the waves of immigrants who have been reshaping American cities, changing ethnic balances, challenging racial hierarchies and fostering transnational identities.
This interest has translated into a second strand of research interest. As I teach my students in urban anthropology classes, New York is now a world city, central to global flows of people, ideas and capital. The same process of globalization has also transformed once-sleepy Indian cities and even small towns. It has also accentuated already-great social inequality within India. I have taught anthropology at John Jay since 2004 and am currently the Anthropology Majors coordinator, responsible for both recruiting and guiding students and for building the course offerings of what is still a new, small major. Among the courses I have taught are "sex and culture," "urban anthropology," "race,class, ethnicity and gender" and the department's capstone seminar. I am presently, along with colleagues, developing an ethnographic writing course.
This interest has translated into a second strand of research interest. As I teach my students in urban anthropology classes, New York is now a world city, central to global flows of people, ideas and capital. The same process of globalization has also transformed once-sleepy Indian cities and even small towns. It has also accentuated already-great social inequality within India. I have taught anthropology at John Jay since 2004 and am currently the Anthropology Majors coordinator, responsible for both recruiting and guiding students and for building the course offerings of what is still a new, small major. Among the courses I have taught are "sex and culture," "urban anthropology," "race,class, ethnicity and gender" and the department's capstone seminar. I am presently, along with colleagues, developing an ethnographic writing course.