NOMOSH-Kar (It’s the Bengali way of pronouncing Namaskar).

My name is Sergio Mukherjee, a PhD Candidate in the Political Science Department at Penn.  I am currently conducting my field-work in the state of West Bengal, and look forward to sharing some of my experiences, impressions, challenges and delights with you.  I thank CASI and Aparna Wilder in advance for their wonderful support.

The working title of my dissertation is:  From the Planning Board to the Blackboard – Local Capacity,Education and Development in Brazil and India.  It is a work that sits in dialogue with the larger fields of comparative social policy, development studies and comparative political economy, while paying close attention to how local levels of government make use—or misuse—of new responsibilities as well as resources in the promotion of literacy and educational initiatives.

Until next time! “Deka hobe” (We’ll see you in Bengali)

–Sergio