Roopa '23 is studying English and Biology. She is interested in diasporic South Asian histories, transnational solidarities, land-based resistance, and community-building centered in radical care and liberation. At Brown, Roopa is a writing fellow, active member of Decolonization at Brown (DAB), and walking tour guide at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice (CSSJ). Roopa enjoys spending her free time running on the East Bay Bike Path and practicing guitar in anticipation of the day when her punk rock band finds a drummer.

Project:

Progressive South Asian American political narratives often orient South Asian American identity to shared experiences of British colonialism and racialization in the US, without always interrogating how South Asian Americans—as immigrants to Turtle Island—actively participate in settler colonialism. I will pursue a community-engaged and collaborative ethnography of progressive South Asian American political organizations to explore articulations of South Asian American identity and engagements with settler colonialism and racial capitalism. I will be building relationships with organizations by collaborating on projects and supporting actions throughout the summer. My final product will synthesize research and oral histories I collect throughout these collaborations, generating an educational toolkit oriented toward needs of partner organizations.

Mentor: Kevin Escudero