profile
Rishika Mukhopadhyay
Postdoctoral Researcher
Environment and Sustainability Institute
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
Overview
I am a human geographer with an MA (2013) and MPhil (2015) degree from the University of Delhi. My MPhil thesis engages with the concept of intangibility and politics in heritage conservation, identity and placemaking concerning heritage, production of space and urban redevelopment through heritage discourse.
Before joining Exeter to do PhD in 2017 I worked in the social science research sector for two years in Delhi and Gujarat. My doctoral research is funded by VC's International Excellence Scholarship.
After submitting my thesis in August 2021, I am now working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), Penryn, Cornwall on a Cornwall Council funded project.
Broad research specialisms
My PhD research sits at the intersection of Critical Heritage Studies, Craft Geographies, Southern Urbanisms, Art and Activism, Postcapitalist futures and Decolonial thinking/practice
Publication:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6722-4987
Qualifications
MPhil, Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, 2016
MA, Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, 2013
BSc, Geography, University of Calcutta, 2011
Links
Research group links
Research
Research projects
Current Project: Independent Review of Cornwall Plan
I am working on an independent review of Cornwall Plan 2020-2050 with professor Jane Wills and Dr Rachel Turner. The review aims to give insight into the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Cornwall Plan among key local governance partners. We are interested in understanding the process of policymaking, consensus building and implementation of plans in local and regional sustainable development governance. The report will be shared with local partners to realise a co-governance model. Through this project, I am interested to explore the academic debate about local governance and decision making, sustainability policy and practice, and alternative approaches based on doughnut economics.
PhD Project: Rishika's dissertation (submitted August 2021), 'Heritagising Urban Craft Practices: Thinking with Chitpur Road, Kolkata' focuses on the four craft clusters along Chitpur Road, Kolkata. It seeks to understand how different articulations of heritage manifest over space and how heritage meaning is produced. Through this process, Rishika examines the political-economic aspect of craft along the road and how postcolonial urban condition has shaped the practices. The thesis puts forward a critique of the existing colonial and neoliberal heritage framework and proposes ways to decolonise the field of knowledge and practice.
Supervisor: Nicola Thomas , Caitlin Desilvey and David C Harvey
Funding: International Excellence Scholarship, UoE
External Engagement and Impact
Association for Critical Heritage Studies-Committee member of Intangible Cultural Heritage Chapter, https://www.criticalheritagestudies.org/chapters/
Chitpur Craft Collective, member: https://www.chitpurcraftcollective.com/