Post-doctoral Researcher
Dr Mini Chandran Kurian is a post-doctoral researcher whose work explores intangible cultural heritage, migration, cultural reproduction in transnational families, and notions of identity and belonging. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh, and a master’s degree in Ethnicity and Multiculturalism from the University of Bristol. Her academic publications include ‘Diasporic longing and sounds of belonging’ (Bloomsbury), ‘The “unseen heart” of refugee education: the narratives of Sri Lankan refugee teachers in India’ for the Network for International Policies & Co-operation in Education and Training (NORRAG), and ‘“Unsettling and comforting at the same time”: duty, domesticity and duality in transnational families’ (under review). A former journalist, Mini has also conducted a ‘Cultural Mapping of Intangible Cultural Heritage’ project across several states in India, and Sri Lanka. As the founder of a publishing firm named ‘Jill and the Beanstalk’, she has authored and designed several works of non-fiction including ‘Folk Yatra’, featuring hereditary folk arts under threat of erasure in South Asia. Previously, Mini designed and taught an experiential learning module titled ‘Cultural Communication & Creative Expression’ for students of New Media at the National University of Singapore, underlining the role of art as persuasion in disseminating ideas and ideology.