About
Rishika is a cultural geographer with research expertise in the field of Critical Heritage Studies, Southern Urbanism and Craft Economy from a postcolonial-decolonial thinking/practice. Her work spans across two broad research strands; a. meaning, production and politics of living heritage including craft, sound and smell of southern cities b. community-based economies in postindustrial and postcolonial contexts.
Methodologically she experiments with participatory research methods, art interventions along with ethnography. For example, see the following co-curated exhibitions and street festivals:
- with Chitpur Craft Collective
- Chitpur Art Trail story map for Kolkata Festival 2019
- Sound/smell exhibition in Kolkata
Before joining Southampton, she was involved in an independent review of Cornwall Plan 2020-2050 with professor Jane Wills and Dr Rachel Turner. The review aims to give insight into the challenges and opportunities of implementing the Cornwall Plan among key local governance partners. We are interested in understanding the process of policymaking, consensus building and implementation of plans in local and regional sustainable development governance. Building on this work we received a British Academy grant for shared understanding of sustainable future. See the reports from this work below:
- Localising and decentralising goal-based governance for sustainability in England
- Research into partnerships and collaborative working for the delivery of the Cornwall Plan
See the full list of her publications/media coverage/engagement work here . My most recent publication are:
Mukhopadhyay, R. 2023. ‘Relational care and ordinary repair in diverse craft economies’. Asia Pacific Viewpoint. https://doi.org/10.1111/apv.12390
Mukhopadhyay, R. 2023. ‘A Postcolonial Reading of a Diverse Craft Economy’, Rethinking Marxism, 35(1): 88-107. DOI 10.1080/08935696.2022.2159743