About me

Welcome! I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Yale University.  

My work focuses on nationalism, language and self-determination, with a regional focus in South Asia. I am on the job market in the 2024-2025 academic year.

In my dissertation project, I study how elites use state machinery to influence citizens' everyday linguistic choices in multilingual contexts, aiming to assimilate non-dominant language groups into the nation. I argue that the "everyday imposition" of a dominant language through routine procedural interactions with the state is a powerful tool of nationalization, as it elevates the status of the state's dominant language. I analyze these dynamics in India and investigate how citizens and politicians from non-dominant language groups in Southern India respond to such efforts.

I also conduct research on everyday manifestations of nationalism in the politics of food and dietary practices, as well as in the politics surrounding film and fandom. Additionally, I analyze how everyday nationalism can shape gender attitudes and perceptions.

My research has been generously supported by the American Political Science Association (APSA) Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, and grants from the Yale MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, South Asian Studies Council and Georg Walter Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy.

I hold a BA in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Master’s degrees from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and the Department of Politics, New York University. 

Email: deepika.padmanabhan@yale.edu