Prof. Anjana Mishra is assistant teaching professor in the Department of Politics & International Relations, School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University (FIU), Miami. She joined FIU as an adjunct professor in 1998. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Lucknow and NSN Degree College, Lucknow, India. At FIU, she teaches courses on South Asia, development studies, and global issues. Dr. Mishra’s research interests include issues related to the Asian Indian diaspora, gender, development, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She is currently editing a book, Politics and Culture in the Developing World. Dr. Mishra is active in the South Florida community and is a member of the Miami Dade County Asian Advisory Board; she is also the secretary, executive board member, and founding member of the Miami Association of Indian Americans for Culture and Arts.
Prof. Mishra’s interdisciplinary project for the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Award involves a survey exploring the impact of globalization and COVID-19 on the empowerment of chikan artisans – Urdu-speaking, Muslim women – living in the city of Lucknow. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study is assessing the improvement, decline, or status quo in the empowerment of these women in the face of threat from machine-made Chinese chikan fabric and the more recent challenge presented by the loss of wages and health issues arising from the pandemic-related lockdown.