Susan Visvanathan facts for kids
Susan Visvanathan (born in 1957) is an Indian expert who studies how people live in groups (a sociologist) and how different cultures work (a social anthropologist). She also writes stories and novels. She is well known for her work on how different religions talk to each other and how religion fits into society. Her first book, Christians of Kerala: History, Belief and Ritual among the Yakoba, was a very important book in understanding religion in society.
She used to be a professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. She also led the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at JNU.
Early Life and Education
Susan Visvanathan went to Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. She studied sociology, which is the study of how people live and interact in groups. She earned her advanced degrees (M.Phil. and PhD) in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics at Delhi University. A famous sociologist named Veena Das guided her studies.
Career Highlights
Susan Visvanathan started her teaching career in 1983 at Hindu College, University of Delhi. She became the head of the Sociology Department there from 1989 to 1997.
In 1997, she joined the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She taught there until she retired in 2022 as a professor of Sociology. At JNU, she taught courses about the sociology of religion, how history and culture are connected (historical anthropology), important ideas in social theory, and gender studies. She was also the chairperson of her department at JNU from 2010 to 2012.
She has been a visiting professor at universities in Paris, Berlin, and the United States. She also worked as a consultant for organizations like the World Council of Churches and Oxford University Press.
Besides her academic work, Susan Visvanathan writes fiction, including short stories and novels. She often uses her knowledge of sociology and theory to create vivid stories.
Books
Susan Visvanathan has written many books on sociology and anthropology:
- The Christians of Kerala: History, Belief and Ritual among the Yakoba (1993)
- An Ethnography of Mysticism: The Journeys of a French Monk in India (1998)
- Structure and Transformation: Theory and Society in India (2000)
- Friendship, Interiority and Mysticism: Essays in Dialogue (2007)
- Children of Nature: The Life and Legacy of Ramana Maharshi (2010)
- Culture and Society (2014)
- Wisdom of Community: Essays on History, Social Transformation and Culture (2022)
Fiction Books
She has also written several fiction books:
- Something Barely Remembered (2000)
- The Visiting Moon (2002)
- Phosphorus and Stone (2007)
- The Seine at Noon (2007)
- Nelycinda and Other Stories (2012)
About Her Fiction Writing
A literary critic named Bruce King wrote about Susan Visvanathan's fiction in his book Rewriting India: Eight Authors. He said that her stories are not about her own life but are based on her sociological studies, stories she has heard, and her imagination from her travels.
King noted that her fiction avoids being predictable. He wrote that the "unpredictable quality and structure" of her stories make her an "interesting writer."
