PROFILE

Chandan Gowda

Email: chandan.gowda@apu.edu.in

Chandan Gowda's research interests include social theory, Indian normative traditions, caste, and Kannada literature and cinema. In addition to his academic publications, he has written for newspapers and published translations of Kannada fiction and non-fiction in English. Before moving to APU, he was Associate Professor of Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion, National Law School of India, Bengaluru, between 2008 and 2011. He is presently completing a book on the cultural politics of development in old Mysore state.

Academic Qualifications

PhD, Sociology, University of Michigan (2007)
PhD Certificate, Cultural Studies, University of Pittsburgh (1998)
MA, Sociology, University of Hyderabad (1996)
BA, Social Science, St. Joseph's College of Arts and Science, Bengaluru (1994) Diploma, French, Alliance Francaise, Bengaluru (1993)

Areas of Interest

Social Theory; Cultural Sociology; History of Development Thought; South Asian History and Culture; Caste; Indian Normative Traditions; and Kannada Literature and Cinema

Video

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Publications and Writings

Books

• A Life in the World: UR Ananthamurthy in conversation with Chandan Gowda (Harper Collins-India, October, 2019).
• Editor, Sahitya Sahavasa (Lectures by UR Ananthamurthy), Shimoga: Aharnishi Prakashana (Forthcoming, August 2019).
• Co-Editor, The Essential UR Ananthamurthy Reader, New Delhi, Aleph Book Company (Forthcoming, 2020).
• Translator and Editor, The Post Office of Abachooru: Short Stories of KP Purnachandra Tejasvi (HarperCollins-India), 2020. Forthcoming.
• Editor, The Way I See It: A Gauri Lankesh Reader (DC Books and Navayana, 2017). (This book has been translated into Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu).
• Translator, Bara (A Kannada novella by UR Ananthamurthy), New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2016. Shortlisted for the 2018 Raymond Crossword Translation Award.
• Editor, Theatres of Democracy: Between the Epic and the Everyday - Selected Essays of Shiv Visvanathan, HarperCollins-India, 2016.
• Industrialize or Perish: The Origins of the Developmental Imagination in India (Book under Progress)

Articles

• “Bengaluru in History (in French),” Critique, Special Issue: Capital Cities in India (Guest Editor), Divya Dwivedi (Forthcoming)
• “Mela,” The Handbook of Indian Keywords (Editors) Peter Ronald de Souza and Rukmini Bhaya Nair (Forthcoming).
• “Four Narrations,” People called Bengaluru (Editor) Mamta Sagar, Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology and the People Place Project LLP, Mumbai (Forthcoming).
• “Old Mysore: A Milieu for an Artist,” The Regional Modernism of K. Venkatappa (Editors) Deeptha Achar and N. Pushpamala, Routletdge India (Forthcoming, January 2019).
• “Understanding a Cultural Icon: A Preliminary Essay,” Dr. Rajkumar (Ed) Rukkoji, Bangalore (forthcoming, November, 2018).
• “Institutional Dimensions of ‘Access’ and 'Justice,’” State of the Indian Judiciary (Editors) Harish Narasappa and Shruti Vidyasagar, 2016, Lucknow: Eastern Book Company.
• “The Making of the Development Man: An Experiment in Recovery,” Jindal Journal of Public Policy, 2015.
• "The Making of the Development Man: An Experiment in Recovery," Jindal Journal of Public Policy (Volume 3, Number 1, Jan 2016).
• “A Writer’s Horizon,” Seminar, February, 2015, No. 666, Pp. 65-68..
• "Empire and Developmentalism in Colonial India," Sociology and Empire: The Imperial Entanglements of a Discipline (Ed.) George Steinmetz. Durham: Duke University Press. 2013.
• "Global Cities," Handbook of International Relations, (Editors) B.S. Chimni and Siddharth Mallavarapu, Pearson Books. 2012.
• "Many Lohias? Appropriations of Lohia in Karnataka," Special Issue on Ram Manohar Lohia, Economic and Political Weekly (Guest Ed) Yogendra Yadav, Volume 45, Number 40, October 2, 2010.(Translated into Hindi, Kannada and Marathi).
• "'Advance Mysore!': The Cultural Logic of a Developmental State," Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 45, Number 29, July 17, 2010
• Editor, Seminar, Special Issue, “Karnataka Vignettes,” August 2010.
• "Editor's Introduction," Seminar, Special Issue, "Karnataka Vignettes," August 2010
• "New Practices of Affirmative Action," Seminar, October 2009, No. 602 (Special Issue: India's Religious Minorities, Guest Editor: Surinder Jodhka).
• "Thin Encounters with Knowledge," Seminar, May 2009, No. 597 (Special Issue: Knowledge in Question, Guest Editor: Shiv Visvanathan).
• "Inclusive Imagination: A Comment on Religion and Culture in India." 2008. Religion and the Arts. Special Issue on the Inter-Religious Imagination (Ed.) Richard Kearney (Reprinted in Traversing the Heart: Journeys of the Inter-Religious Imagination (Eds) Richard Kearney and Eileen Rizo-Patron, Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2010)

Book Reviews

• “Method to the Mad Singer,” Review of When Mirrors are Windows: A View of AK Ramanujan’s Poetics by Guillermo Rodriguez, Outlook, November 14, 2016.
• "Missing the Medieval," Review of The Medieval in Film: Representing a Contested Time on Indian Screen (1920s-1960s) by Urvi Mukhopadhyay, The Book Review, February 2015.
• “UR Ananthamurthy and the Pursuit of Vision,” The Book Review, October, 2014, Volume 38, Number 10.
• “A Fantastic Turn Towards the End,” Review of six novellas from various Indian published in the Oxford Novellas series, Outlook, September 1, 2014
• “Archiving Damage,” Review of Five Years of Saffron Rule in Karnataka (Ed) Ambrose Pinto, Frontline, May 2, 2014.
• "A Non-Take on Kannada Cinema," Review of Bipolar Identity: Region, Nation, and the Kannada Language Film, MK Raghavendra, The Book Review, June, 2012
• "Archiving from Above," Review of Bengaluru Bangalore Bengaluru: Imaginations and their Times (Eds) Narendar Pani, Sindhu Ramakrishna and Kishor Bhat, The Book Review. September, 2010
• Review of Peasant Movements in Post-Colonial India, by Debal K SinghaRoy, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004, Pp. 537-38, Contemporary Sociology , September, Volume 34, No. 5, 2005

Translations of Kannada Writings into English

• “Children of God,” A Kannada Poem by Huchhangi Prasad, Battling for India: A Citizen’s Reader (Editors) Githa Hariharan and Salim Yusufji, March, 2019, New Delhi: Speaking Tiger
• “The Retired Ones,” A Short Story by P. Lankesh, Out of Print, December, 2017 (CoTranslator)
• “The Girl from Pakistan,” An Essay by Gauri Lankesh, Op-Ed, The New York Times, September 25, 2017.
• "Placing North Karnataka,"(An Essay by Amaresh Nugadoni), Seminar (Special Issue) "Karnataka Vignettes," August, 2010.
• "Food Et Cetera," (An Essay by Rahmat Tarikere), Seminar (Special Issue), "Karnataka Vignettes," August, 2010.
• "An Indentured Spirit," (A Short Story by Poornachandra Tejasvi), Sirigannada: Contemporary Writings in Kannada (Ed.) Vivek Shanbag. New Delhi: Tranquebar Press 2010.
• "Reason," (A Short Story by Vivek Shanbag) Sirigannada: Contemporary Writings in Kannada (Ed.) Vivek Shanbag. New Delhi: Tranquebar Press, 2010.
• "The Honour of Areca," Community and Culture: Selected Writings of KV Subbanna. Heggodu: Akshara Prakashana. July, 2009.

Interviews

• “Ramanujan’s Poetry is Alive,” Interview with Guillermo Rodriguez, The Hindu Sunday Magazine, December 24, 2016.
• “Reducing Quantity to Increase Quality,” Interview with Mei Fong, The Hindu Sunday Magazine, September 3, 2016.
• “Spirituality United Gandhi and Ambedkar,” Interview with UR Ananthamurthy, Outlook, September 8, 2014.
• “I was for Shelley and against Leavis,” Interview with UR Ananthamurthy, The Hindu Literary Review, September 6, 2014.
• "Atmakathana/Autobiography," - Unpublished Interview with UR Ananthamurthy, 2012-2103.
• "An Inquiry into Modes of Existence," Unpublished Interview with Bruno Latour, Bengaluru, 2012.
• "The Idea of Karnataka," Interview with UR Ananthamurthy, Seminar "Karnataka Vignettes," August, 2010.
• "Village Deities," Interview with Siddalingaiah, Seminar "Karnataka Vignettes," August, 2010 (Translated from Kannada into English by me).
• "The Experience of Compassion," Interview with Ramachandra Gandhi, Indian philosopher, Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada political weekly, September 21, 2003 (Also published in The Hindu, November 18, 2007).
• Interview with UR Ananthamurthy

Popular Press

• Culture and Politics, Weekly Op-Ed Column, Bangalore Mirror (since October 20, 2014).
• “Missing Secularism in the New Education Policy,” Long Form Op-Editorial, The Mint, June 26, 2017. (Republished as “Is Secularism Missing in the New Education Policy?” in Hindustan Times, July 3, 2019).
• “Girish Karnad’s last work was an Unfinished Autobiography in English,” The Print, June 10, 2019 (Published in Kannada translation as “Atmakathanakavannu Avaru Konegu Baredu Mugisalilla,” Bahuroopi Girish Karnad (Editor) Jogi, Bengaluru: Bahuroopi Publishers).
• “Millennials don’t have a taste for Politics,” (co-authored with Vikas Kumar), Long Form Op-Editorial, The Mint, April 4, 2019.
• “After Karnataka,” Op-Ed, Indian Express, May 21, 2018.
• “Exit Polls in Karnataka,” The Print, May 14, 2018.
• “Is a Regional Party Needed in Karnataka?” The Print, April 6, 2018.
• “Terms of Separation,” Op-Ed, The Hindu, March 23, 2018.
• “Understanding the Debate on Lingayats,” The Print, March 20, 2018.
• “Shadow of the Glen,” Outlook, January 12, 2015
• “Do we need an Anti-Superstition Law?” Op-Ed, The Hindu, November 24, 2017.
• “Legislating Superstition: The Significance of the Karnataka Black Magic Bill,” The Print, November 16, 2017.
• “Russian Revolution Centenary: Missed Conversations with India need to take Place,” The Print, November 12, 2017.
• “In Karnataka, a ‘Tax Denial Satyagraha’ seeks an end to GST on Handmade Goods,” The Print, October 6, 2017.
• “She was never one to sit on the fence,” Scroll, September 10, 2017
• “Gauri Lankesh: She was on the side of Justice,” Hindustan Times, September 6, 2017.
• “The Kannada Flag Etc,” Lead Op-Ed, The Hindu, July 22, 2017.
• “All About Tipu Sultan,” Lead Op-Ed, The Hindu, November 9, 2016.
• “UR Ananthamurthy’s Many Lives,” The Mint Lounge, August 30, 2014.
• “Questionable Questions,” Outlook Magazine, March 17, 2014
• “The Fabric of the Future,” Outlook Magazine (Web Edition), February 20, 2014
• "Heard that Kannadiga Joke?" Outlook Magazine, June 3, 2013
• "Manifestos: Window to Party Strategies in Karnataka," The Times of India, May 2, 2013
• "The Erratic Stance of UPSC (in Kannada)," Praja Vani, March 23, 2013
• "Arise, Awake!" Outlook Magazine, November 12, 2012
• "The American Dream and the Truth of Reality (in Kannada)," Praja Vani Sunday Magazine, September 23, 2012
• "Whirlpools in the Marsh: Politics amidst Uncertainty (in Kannada)," Praja Vani Deepavali Special Issue, October, 2011
• "Barbers and Hairsytlists," The Hindu Sunday Magazine, August 21, 2011.
• "Visvesvaraya - Engineer of Modernity," Op-Ed, The Hindu, September 15, 2010
• "Caste Census: Senseless Separation," Op-Ed (co-authored), The Hindu, September 13, 2010.
• "Letter to the Group of Ministers on Caste Census," Op-Ed (co-authored), The Hindu, August 13, 2010.
• "The Country's Imminent Liabilities," Op-Ed (co-authored with Vikas Kumar), Deccan Herald, June 19, 2010
• "Lohia's Legacy in Karnataka," Op-Ed, Deccan Herald, March 23, 2010..
• "The Menace of Security," Agni, November 2-9, 2007. Volume 1, Number 6.
• "The Silent Revolution," NewIndian Express, October 7, 2007.
• "Vokkaligara Sangha: Need for Renewed Commitment," Deccan Herald, September 1, 2007.
• "The Passionate Philosopher," Op-Ed Article, New Indian Express, June 19, 2007.
• "Memoirs of a Public Intellectual," Review of Siddalingaiah's Autobiography, Ooru-Keri, Translated from Kannada by SR Ramakrishna, New Delhi: Indian Academy of Letters, 2004, The Sunday Express, December 19, 2004
• "Hidden Spheres of Politics," The Sunday Express, April, 14, 2004
• "The Challenges of Pluralism," Deccan Herald, July 10, 2002

Miscellaneous

• “Summoning an Icon: Sir M. Visvesvaraya,” Mysore Medley (Editors) Pamela Sanath and Lalita Rao, Bougainvilla Publishing House, 2018. Forthcoming.
• “Reading and Translating UR Ananthamurthy – In Conversation with K. Satchidanandan,” Guftugu, July 2017.
• Scriptwriter, "Charaka," Documentary film in English and Kannada on the Charaka Women's Co-operative Society, Bhimanakone, February, 2013, Duration: 11 mins.
• "Two Krumbiegel Moments," G.H. Krumbiegel: 'Whatever He Touched, He Adorned' Bengaluru: Max Mueller Bhavan. 2010.
• "Jati Ganati Sutta Mutta (Regarding the Caste Census)," Desha Kaala (A Kannada Literary Quarterly) (Ed) Vivek Shanbag, No. 23, October - December, 2010.
• "Machhu Longu Kannada Films," Newsletter of the Suchitra Film Society, July 2009.
• Co-Scriptwriter, "Dr. Rajkumar: An Analysis of a Phenomenon," an English documentary film on the Kannada actor, Rajkumar
• "R.K. Narayan: The Question of Community," Musings on Raja Rao and R.K. Narayan (Eds.) Avaneeja Rajesh and M.R. Rakshith, Bengaluru: Surana College, 2008.
• “The things we expect from Siddalingaiah. . .,” Article (in Kannada) in Battada Beladingalu, a Festschrift volume for the Kannada poet-activist, Dr. Siddalingaiah, (Ed) Lakshminarayana Nagavara, Bengaluru: Milind Prakashana.

Curriculum Vitae

CV - Chandan Gowda.pdf