The IIS is pleased to welcome Catherine Larouche, who will be part of our research community for the 2018-2019 academic year. Catherine is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto. She completed her PhD in sociocultural anthropology at McGill University in 2018. Her research interests include the anthropology of philanthropy and humanitarian aid; the study of NGOs, civil society and the state; and Islam and politics in the South Asian context. Her work examines new configurations of Islamic charitable work in Uttar Pradesh, India, with a particular focus on how formal Islamic organizations imagine religious charity as a mode of social and political action. Her current book manuscript project situates this research into a broader discussion on the ways in which secular governance shapes religious modes of social welfare, and on the effects of global changing roles of state and non-state actors in welfare provision.
In Winter 2019 Catherine will be presenting her work and leading reading sessions that intersect with the themes of her work and the ongoing conversations at the IIS.