My name is Charitra S. Pabbaraju and I am a second year MPhil Student in Development Studies at the University of Oxford at the Department of International Development, and my general research interests are in ethnic and gender violence, State repression, and transnational (mainland & diasporic) South Asian comparative politics.  Additionally, I have secondary interests in Central and Western Africa,  Northern Ireland, and human rights. This year, I am hoping to apply to PhD programs in comparative politics to conduct research and teach about these topics.

 I received my BA in Political Science and English & Creative Writing at Emory University, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude. There, I was a Robert W. Woodruff Dean's Achievement Scholar, and graduated as the Elliot Levitas Awardee as the "top graduating student in Political Science and International Affairs," and named the Burt and Betty Shear Award Winner as one of two students at Emory College of Arts and Science to "most likely make a difference in the universe."

Currently, I serve as the Graduate Student Intern for the Signal Program at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, where I have been coding qualitative interviews on mass atrocity early action/early warning tools, particularly as they are deployed in Nigeria. Additionally, I have facilitated and managed projects for the Oppression-Resistance Lab, predominantly based at Emory University, with presences at the University of Washington and the University of New Mexico.

My undergraduate thesis explored interethnic conflict and cooperation amongst Indians on violence against women following the Shaheen Bagh communal protests and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. I was able to give more than ten talks related to this project, and am excited to be presenting this project at the American Political Science Association (APSA) for the first time this year! My ongoing MPhil thesis explores contesting State narratives of repression in Uttarakhand, India through the lens of bureaucratic actors engaging in dispossession via conservation.  For this project, I will be engaging in fieldwork this summer for the first time!

I am also passionate about grassroots journalism and have worked for grassroots newspapers such as the Mainline Zine as a "liberated," public-facing, and accessible form of social research. What sets me apart from other PhD Candidates is my deep experience in the field of journalism, which has taught me how to build relationships when conducting qualitative research, and about the ethical challenges when engaging in interviews (for example: do we view interviews for their content, or their power dynamics?). For my work in journalism, I was named the National Winner in Editorial Writing by the Society of Professional Journalists for their Mark of Excellence Awards in 2020. I have taught free sessions in op-ed and article writing to the Atlanta community for more than four years, and continue to do so in my spare time. Everyone has a voice. Everyone, at their core,  asks big questions, researches the world around them,  and deserves to share their story.

My other passions include poetry (as my second major was in poetry an undergraduate!), making art and painting, alternative rock and r&b, and sipping on a good cup of tea.