Tapoja Chaudhuri

I am an environmental anthropologist, with a special focus on anthropology of development, anthropology of state, and South Asia studies. I received my BA in Sociology from Presidency College in Kolkata and my MA and M.Phil. in Sociology from University in Delhi, in India. I came to Seattle in 2003 as an international graduate student to join the environmental anthropology Ph.D. tract at the Department of Anthropology, University of Washington. For my Ph.D. research I focused on the social processes through which state bureaucrats, local community members, and biodiversity professionals collaborate with each other to conduct ecotourism programs in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in southern India. I graduated from UW in 2009. Since then I have taught anthropology, environmental studies, and South Asia studies at the University of Washington, the City University of New York, Haverford College, Montgomery College, and Seattle University. Along with my academic work, I have also worked as a volunteer and project coordinator in two non-profit organizations working in the sphere of international development such as Asha for Education (Seattle chapter) and Association for India’s Development (New York chapter). I have also worked as both an on-site and video/audio based professional interpreter in Bengali/Bangla for medical, legal, and social service sectors for a couple of US based professional interpretation companies. Currently I live and work in Seattle.