The mid-term evaluation is organized in two parts and starts with a 2-hour public seminar, followed by a closed meeting.
The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the progress of the PhD project at a point when it is still possible to make small or substantial changes. In general, we want to know how the candidate is doing, how much work is done, and what is left.
About the PhD candidate and his research
I have a background in English Studies, Development Studies and Cultural Studies. I have interests in politics and religious studies with a focus on Hinduism and Hindu nationalism in India, especially with a focus on the interactions between religion, modernity, and globalisation; caste contestations, popular religious practices, and religious festivals. I also have interests in film and literature studies, with a focus on Taiwanese cinema and modern Malayalam literature. My PhD project is on the interplay between religion and politics in the context of a very popular 'subaltern' Hindu religious festival in Kerala, the Kodungallur Bharani.