PhD Candidate Debamita Guha, "Archives as Spaces of Queer Resistance and Activism in India"

CHR Summer Doctoral Fellow Talk

Tuesday, February 10, 2026 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST
Horizon Hall 6325 and zoom

Debamita Guha (PhD Candidate, Sociology and Anthropology) is a Graduate Research Assistant at the Global South Research Hub under the Center for Social Science Research (CSSR), George Mason University. She has previously completed a Master's in Sociology and an M.Phil. in Development Studies from India. Her research focuses on the impact of neoliberalism and forces of globalization on queer activism in India through a critique of development perspective. She explores activist praxes in queer spaces and LGBTQ+ rights organizations in urban India using qualitative research methods.

Project: "Archives as Spaces of Queer Resistance and Activism in India"

This research intends to map the trajectory of the queer movement in India and in turn the queer history of India through the presence (or lack thereof) of queer archives. Looking into four archives, the project will interrogate how urban spaces have contributed to the development of queer experiences and have facilitated queer activism within the country. Analyzing this archival material, the project will locate queer history and activism in India, through changes in urban landscapes and neighborhoods and transformations of spaces of activism, the impact of LGBTQ+ movements of the Global North and of international donor/ aid agencies on activisms in the Global South, mobilities of agency-activist networks, and spatial and material effects on the lived experiences of queer persons. The project will emphasize the significance of documenting queer struggles to counter archival neglect, archives thereby metamorphosing into spaces of queer resistance.