Dr. Debjani Chakrabarti Receives Summer Fellowship 2020 at Brandeis University

BSC Sociology Faculty member will Participate in Schusterman Center’s

Summer Institute for Israel Studies

Dr. Debjani Chakrabarti, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bluefield State College has been awarded a Summer Fellowship 2020 with the opportunity to participate in the Schusterman Center’s Summer Institute for Israel Studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. 

 Dr. Chakrabarti was invited to join a select group of academics from the U.S. and across the world who, over the last 16 years, have used the Summer Institute to enhance their knowledge of Israel Studies to develop existing courses, refine courses and/or introduce new courses based on her involvement and immersion in Israel studies as a Summer Fellow. Through the Fellowship, she will have access to exclusive reading materials as well as multimedia archives that she can use for her classes. Dr. Chakrabarti will participate in Fellows’ workshops in a variety of subjects that constitute Israel Studies.

 Dr. Chakrabarti’s Summer Fellowship begins at Brandeis University on June 10, 2020. She will then depart with other fellows and scholars for Israel on Sunday, June 21 and The program concludes on Wednesday, July 1 in Israel.  At Brandeis, she will attend and participate in three seminars a day as well as frequent evening Fellowship programs and activities. The Israel travel portion of the fellowship includes a broad array of seminars, study sessions, professional tours, visit to the theater, museums and other cultural centers in Israel, touring the Supreme Court, city walks and a “meet the press” forum.

BSC faculty members Dr. Sudhakar Jamkhandi and Dr. Colin Cavell submitted letters of recommendation, supporting Dr. Chakrabarti’s application for the Summer Fellowship.  “As a fellow social scientist, I am confident Dr. Chakrabarti will apply her critical skills, acuity of perception, and commitment to truth in her chosen path of advancement,” Dr. Cavell said.

Dr. Jamkhandi also saluted his BSC faculty colleague, saying, “Investing in oneself through educational opportunities allows one to share more with others.  Dr. Chakrabarti will surely enrich her students’ world views as a result of this fellowship at Brandeis and in Israel.”

 “I am thrilled and grateful for this unique opportunity to immerse myself in the Summer Fellowship 2020 in Israel Studies,” she noted.   “These kinds of opportunities to embed one’s self in Jewish studies with a summer visit to Israel are extremely limited.  As a participant, I will embed myself in hands-on-work and experiences, learn, develop research topics, and integrate and broaden my syllabi incorporating aspects of Jewish studies based on my knowledge and learning about Israel.”

“In the future, I also plan to take part in a study abroad program where I can take my students to Israel for their own cultural, sociological and ethnographic studies,” she continued.  Dr. Chakrabarti will benefit professionally through this fellowship and her trip to Israel, and she will share her knowledge and experiences with her students at Bluefield State and the community through organizing community forums.