Introduction
Priyesh read for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Warwick. He also completed a Graduate Diploma in Sanskrit and Hindu Studies in Gujarat before beginning an MSc at UCL in Social and Cultural Anthropology. There, his Master's thesis focused on comparative notions of national and religious identity among young urban Hindus in London and Lisbon.
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Currently, he is writing a 30,000-word thesis under the guidance of Professor David Gellner at the University of Oxford on Hindu organisations in the UK. He aims to conduct doctoral research on Hinduism in diaspora, particularly the UK and Europe.
Education Overview
MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, University of Oxford
October 2018-Present
Contemporary India, Indian history, Anthropology of South Asia, Indian democracy, thesis on Hindu organisations in the UK
MSc Social and Cultural Anthropology, University College London (UCL)
October 2017-September 2018
Anthropological Theory, Methods, Themes, Anthropology of Islam in Diaspora, Anthropology of India
Postgraduate Diploma in Sanskrit and Hindu Studies, Somnath University
October 2015-June 2016
Introductory Sanskrit, Hindu texts and traditions, Ethnographic research in places of pilgrimage, Advanced Gujarati
BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)Â University of Warwick
October 2013-June 2017
Socratic and Aristotelean Thought, Ethics, Applied Ethics, Political Philosophy, Rawslian Liberalism Political Geography, Capitalism and Religion, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics, World Economic History, thesis on Secularism in India
Conferences
St. Antony’s College Trinity Conference, University of Oxford
May 2019
Conference: Ages of Disorder: Opportunities and Challenges
Paper title: How has the BAPS Swaminarayan community grown and established itself in the UK?
St. Antony’s College Hilary Research Symposium, University of Oxford
February 2019
How can Critical Discourse Analysis assist an understanding of the Sabarimala Mandir controversy in South India?
Annual Conference of the British Association for the Study of Religions, Queen’s University, Belfast
September 2018
Conference title: Borders and Boundaries: ‘Religion’ on the Periphery
Paper title: Being a young Gujarati Hindu in London and Lisbon
16th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions, University of Bern, Switzerland
June 2018
Conference title: Multiple Religious Identities – Individuals, Communities, Traditions
Paper title: Are Muslims living in the West really ‘Western’?
‘Exploring Alternative Narratives of the British Empire’, University of Warwick
June 2017
Paper title: ‘Putting the ‘Great’ in Britain: Nationalist Narratives in British Currency
British Conference of Undergraduate Research, University of Bournemouth
April 2017
Paper title: ‘Can We Die Well? A critical evaluation of Seneca’s philosophy and its everyday application’
International Conference of Undergraduate Research, University of Warwick
September 2016
Paper title: ‘Who Cares About Religion? The Power of Religious Literacy in the 21st Century’
Talks Delivered
Diwali in London, Trafalgar Square, London
October 2018
Topic: Insights from the Mundaka Upanishad
‘Anthropology of Hinduism’ Reading and Research Group, UCL
October 2017-March 2018
A group I set up with support from Professor Martin Holbraad. Delivered the following talks:
–‘The Idea of Hinduism’
–‘Can there be an anthropology of Hinduism?’
–‘Lived Hinduism: Ethnographic Insights from comparative research in India’
‘Our Faith at Work’ seminar series, Bates Wells Braithwaite LLP London
December 2017
Topic: ‘The History and Roles of Mandirs in Hinduism’
Indian Religion and Philosophy Group, University of Warwick
October 2016-March 2017
A discussion forum which I set up with guidance from Professor Keith Ansell-Pearson. Delivered the following lectures:
– ‘An Introduction to Indian Philosophy’
–‘Modern Relevance of the Upanishads’
–‘The Bhagavad Gita: A Story, A Journey, A State’