Salwa Hoque
Current position: Director, Majority World Initiative, and Resident Fellow (Postdoctoral Research Scholar), at the Information Society Project, Yale Law School
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU
Graduating Class: 2017
Thesis: “The Complexities of Secularism in Bangladesh”
People often ask me: “Why South Asia Studies? How is that useful? What career can you have with this degree?” These questions were particularly challenging when I had to explain my choice to pursue this line of study prior to joining the program. The answers to such questions are not simple. [Read more ...]
Mohua Sultana
Current position: Research Coordinator; Laal NYC
Graduating Class: 2023
Thesis: “Culturally-Specific Sex Education: An Analysis of Why Comprehensive Sex Education Is Needed in Bangladeshi Muslim Communities in Bangladesh and the Diaspora”
Columbia’s South Asian Studies Master's program provided me with a deep understanding of the complexities within the South Asian region, especially Bangladesh. While I am Bangladeshi American, this comprehensive knowledge became a crucial asset for me in communicating and collaborating with the Bengali community. [Read more ...]
Lily Zirlin
Current position: Cataloger, Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art; Sotheby’s
Graduating Class: 2022
Thesis: “The Art of Influence: The Influential Families that Painted the Indian Modern Art World”
Having an expertise in South Asia — the region’s literature, economics, history, religion, culture and politics — is vital to “read” images and understand the visual languages that South Asian artists speak. [Read more ...]