Oral History Interview, Sharmilla Rudrappa (1497)

Abstract

Sharmila Rudrappa is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas-Austin and a distinguished scholar on South Asian and Asian American scholars, focusing her studies on issues of gender and immigration. She has one published book, Ethnic Routes to Becoming American: Indian Immigrants and the Cultures of Citizenship, and is working on a second book to come out in late 2015. Her book explores the relationship between ethnicity and the private and pubic spheres, specifically in how Indian immigrants face these issues. Before becoming a sociologist, Dr. Rudrappa studied horticulture in India and came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete her Master of Science in conservation biology, done in 1994. She continued her studies at UW-Madison and completed a Ph.D. in Sociology in 2001 before taking a position at UT-Austin. She was a Teaching Assistant during her time at Madison, including for the infamous Biology of Women (Women’s Studies 103) class. Dr. Rudrappa’s current research focuses on reproductive justice and women’s treatment in India.