Lifelong learners

It arose out of a casual conversation over tea in the alumni and development office: we wondered how many Woodstock graduates pursued their academic studies to a doctoral level, and to what extent Woodstock influenced their research Among our distinguished alumni, clearly Mark Kenoyer '70, Indus Valley civilisation researcher, and Bob Fleming, Jr. '54, ornithologist, would rank among such, and we could easily reel off a dozen more names. We realised that this would make up an interesting project for the Woodstock website, celebrating both the achievements and the long-term connections of our alumni in academia. Here are just three examples. We'd love to hear your story. If we receive enough contributions, we'll create a PhDs page and share them.

Sara Ahmed '81

Woodstock's unique location inspired my love for the environment, particularly the importance of water as a life-sustaining resource. I received my PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK (1991) on the politics of ritual purity and participation in the cleaning of the River Ganga at Varanasi. This was the time of the Ganga Action Plan and my research looked at the diverse social groups along the river-front whose lives intersected with the Ganga and who were being impacted by the technology of water pollution control. I returned to India to teach on gender, the environment and rural development at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) and later chaired the Gender and Water Alliance, a global network. While I continue to work on water issues, particularly in the context of climate change, agriculture and food security at the Canadian International Development Research Centre in New Delhi, I have sadly not been able to return to the Himalayas or the Ganga as much as I would have liked.

Brinda Dalal '84

What makes us who we are? Genetic imprints aside, we learn from early experiences collecting ferns, Drosophila, or Indus Valley artifacts. Raised in Woodstock's shimmering diversity, it was no surprise that I was drawn to anthropology. Following work with women on micro-credit and urban housing initiatives, I returned to Garhwal via Cambridge University, where my dissertation explored situational identities among nomads and how pastoralists view their economy and environment through the lens of social proximity. Decades later, I research urban nomads in the cafes, offices and homes of Silicon Valley. I help companies design new technologies based on people's observed needs and practices. Erasable paper, one such invention, won technology innovation awards from TIME magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Among mentors and Woodstock teachers, Victor Zorza's vision still fuels my life's work: to create technology platforms that expose us to others and develop mutual learning and intimacy.

Joyce Flueckiger '70

I graduated from Woodstock in 1970 and returned to the U.S. for college, where I received a BA in English. I rather unexpectedly received an opportunity to go to graduate school in South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin. where I thought I would simply study for an MA - to "put words to intuitions" that I had from growing up in India - and then go back to teaching English. But I was captivated by studying India academically and finished a Ph.D., writing my dissertation on Chhattisgarhi folklore. I am currently a professor of religion at Emory University, Atlanta, where I teach anthropology and performance studies of religion and Indian religions. Growing up in India and attending Woodstock has given me a situated identity from which to conduct ethnographic fieldwork. I often tell the people with whom I work that "India is my maika (mother's place) and American my sasural (in-laws' place), to which I always receive nods of understanding. Attending Woodstock helped to create an invaluable linguistic (Hindi) foundation, cultural intuitions, and a way of relating to those with whom I work on a familial basis. I'm often asked when I return to India whether I'm here for personal or professional reasons. My reply is that I come back for both: for my heart and for my work.