ICSSR-UNIL Scholars Exchange Grant, 2016 – 2017
Waterscapes -or landscapes like rivers, estuaries, deltas, mixing land and water- are characterized by dynamism and uncertainty.
To further the understanding of cultural, social and political interactions with waters, Political Ecology of Water scholars (Karen Bakker, Erik Swyngedouw, Jamie Linton, Jessica Budds, Gabrielle Bouleau, Rutgerd Boelens, etc.) have developed what is known as the hydrosocial framework.
This Indo-Swiss project aimed to explore hydrosociality in the Ganges Lower Basin, with a geo-historical perspective.
This one-year exchange programme (2016-2017) involved research teams from IIT Kharagpur, Humanities Department (Ass. Prof. Jenia Mukherjee, Prof. Baghirath Behera) and University of Lausanne, Institute of Geography and Sustainability (Prof. Christian Kull, Flore Lafaye de Micheaux).
The main activities that took place were field visits, networking, preparing research outcomes such as conference talks (1 in UK, 2 in Switzerland, 2 in India), a joint paper, and 2 book chapters (forthcoming). These outcomes, as well as the hydrosocial framework, will be further disseminated through a course for faculty members at IIT Kharagpur (October 2017).