ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENT AWARDED FIRST WISCH GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP

Nethra Samarawickrema, a first year PhD student in Anthropology, has been awarded the first Wisch Graduate Fellowship.  She is interested in urban issues that connect port-cities across South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. 

“I also explore how postcolonial port cities incorporate their colonial heritage into local urban life,” she says. Nethra comes to Stanford with an M.A. in Anthropology from Dalhousie University where her thesis investigated postcolonial spatial formations, heritage practices, and gentrification in Galle Fort, a former colonial city in Sri Lanka.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Politics from Ithaca College.

The graduate fellowship is a gift of Steven (’83) and Debra Wisch.  Steven Wisch is very familiar with South Asia and has lived and worked extensively in Asia.  He is a co-Founder and Managing Partner of an Indian private equity fund called India Equity Partners (IEP), and a Co-Founder and Senior Advisor of an Indian real estate development fund called IREO.   

“In speaking with Dean Saller, we immediately felt a connection with what the Center for South Asia is offering and saw that a gift of a graduate fellowship would positively impact scholarship in India and other South Asian countries,” says Wisch.  “We are pleased that this fellowship will facilitate the research of Nethra and other graduate students at Stanford for many years to come.”

South Asia is of critical importance in today’s economy and South Asian communities are a significant presence in many parts of the United States and the world. 

“This fellowship will provide a great opportunity for a graduate student to advance his or her understanding of and appreciation for South Asian culture,” said Thomas Blom Hansen, Director, Center for South Asia and Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor in South Asian Studies.  “We are very grateful to Steven and Debra Wisch for their wonderful gift.”