The Brandeis-India Fellows Program offers limited funding for the development of creative projects aimed at building ties between Brandeis University and Indian alumni, partners, and organizations.

In April 2017, the Brandeis-India Fellows Program selected six fellows to represent Brandeis in India during summer 2017 and academic year 2017-18. Below you will find a list of the Fellows and a description of each of their projects:

Talia Bornstein
B.A. student in English, Class of 2019

Talia will be spending this fall semester abroad in Pune, India, on Global Alliance’s Contemporary India program. She first traveled to India for a few weeks as part of a gap year program before starting college. This captivating but brief visit inspired her to become a South Asian Studies minor, and left her determined to return for a more in-depth experience. Talia is eager to explore this culture she has been learning about at Brandeis, and is looking forward to engaging with Indian society, hands-on. As a Fellow, Talia will be actively involved with the Pune community, learning about Indian society both personally and professionally; she will live with an Indian family, and will be interning with Deep Griha Society, a center working to empower marginalized youth. Talia hopes this will lead to many more opportunities to travel, live, and learn in India.

Celia Burke
M.A. student in Anthropology, Class of 2018

Celia will be conducting research that explores art, political identity, censorship, and state power in Kolkata and Delhi, India. She will work with artists, particularly those who identify as political or whose work has become politicized. She will examine physical, visual manifestations of political action, memory, and resistance, the individuals and communities who build these visual works, and the integration—or distance—of these works in/from the everyday lives of citizens living in Kolkata and Delhi. She will document artists’ creative processes, daily lives, and perspectives on their position and relationship with their local communities, political groups, and state and national government institutions. She will also document the practical considerations artists in India make of social, material, and political concerns. Celia hopes that this project will inform further research into the relationship between art, politics, and state power in India.

Emma Russell
B.S. student in Biology, Class of 2019

Emma will be attending the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore as a part of the Brandeis-India Science Scholars study abroad program. To continue her studies as a Biology major with a Pre-Med focus, she will attend classes at the world-class science research university while also learning about the more specific medical issues in the area. Emma will also look to conduct research in microbiology or immunology at the university. She hopes to help advance research in areas addressing pathogen-host interactions, like those seen with HIV, enteroviruses, or rotoviruses.

Athena Xiao
B.S. student in Computer Science, Class of 2018

Athena will study abroad at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in the spring of 2018. She will continue her study in computer science by taking high elective courses offered by IISci. At the same time, she will take advantage of great research resources by becoming involved in world-famous scientific labs in IISci. As a member of Brandeis Encourages Women in Science and Engineering (BeWiSE), she is always eager to advocate for female students studying in STEM fields. She would like to share her experience as a female computer science student studying abroad in India. She also wants to encourage more Brandeis students to study abroad in India and make good use of advanced scientific research resources in IISci.