PhD Candidate Sociocultural Anthropology

she/her/hers

Matriculated September 2020

Research Interests

South Asia, marriage and family, consumption and class, market, media, and gender.

About

Pritika is interested in the intersections between romantic love, marriage, family, and gender in North India. She examines the changes in marriage and family in India since the late 1990s by looking at Indian weddings. Her research questions explore the differences between weddings 25 years ago and today to understand how the new generation thinks of marriage and family vis-à-vis their parents. In particular, Pritika is investigating the new ways of family involvement in Indian weddings today, especially with the rise in the number of professionals such as wedding planners in the markets who undertake tasks that were previously performed by family members. Furthermore, she focuses on how personal subjectivities and ways of expressing romantic love and kinship are influenced by social institutions like the media and the market. For Pritika, her research is not only a tool of knowledge production but also one that promotes self-understanding.

Prior to joining Boston University in 2020, Pritika completed her B.A. in Anthropology and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA (2016-2020). Her undergraduate honors thesis titled, ‘Wedding Bells and Tradition Sells: The Neoliberal Wedding Industry in New Delhi,’ focused on the recent economic and structural changes in the wedding industry in New Delhi and explored how individuals and families interact with these markets through their consumption to determine their sense of self-worth, and seek acceptance, belonging, and inclusion.

Awards & Grants

  • Long-term Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF). (awarded Spring 2023).
  • Marlene Mayo Graduate Paper Prize 2021 (49th Annual Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies Conference, October 23-24 at Villanova University, PA). (2022)
  • Center for Innovation in Social Science Travel Award, Boston University. (2022)
  • Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (2022).
  • Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant. (2021).
  • Boston University Dean’s Fellowship. (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2022). 

Publications

View all profiles