Dr. Isha Jha
Assistant Professor
Dr. Isha Jha is an Assistant Professor at Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences. She has been awarded doctoral degree (PhD) from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences , Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, India. Her doctoral research explores agencies and practices of self-care and its interlinkages with transformation in the political economy in the post-reform period in India. Her research interests are in the area of Post liberalization India; twin movement; Economic Sociology focusing on Sociology of work, informal markets, precarity; Middle class with special focus on the non-elite middle class and; Cultural economies.
Dr. Isha Jha holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Sociology from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She has qualified the UGC-Junior Research Fellowship as well as the National Eligibility test. Dr. Isha Jha’s academic work has been published in reputed national and international journals and books; exploring the post-reform period, the non-elite middle class working in new economic systems exposed to varying precarities and vulnerabilities, the rising agencies and practices of self-care in India, and the tribal Gaddis in Dharamshala. Dr. Isha Jha is a trained ethnographer and her expertise are in qualitative methods.
In addition, Dr. Isha Jha has the ability to work with foresight and competence, both individually as well as in a team. She has shouldered several leadership positions in her academic journey and has actively engaged in extra-curricular activities apart from her academic responsibilities.
Qualifications
B.A (Hons) Sociology
Miranda House, University of Delhi
M.A Sociology
Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
Ph.D.
Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi Himachal Pradesh
- Post-reform India, Middle class in India, Agencies and Practices of self-care, Cultural economies, Sociology of work
National Conference Papers
- Jha, I. (2018). ‘Pampering the Self: Agencies and Practices of Self-Care in Post-Reform India’ in Rethinking ‘Progress’ In Global North: Continuity and Contestations. G.D Goenka University, Gurugram, India.
- Jha, Isha. (2019). ‘The ‘New’ Culture: An Ethnographic Study of Self-Care in Post-Reform India’ in Global Frameworks in Local Context: Challenges and Way Forward. Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, India.
- Jha, Isha. (2019). ‘Rise and Shine: A Critical Study of ‘Cultural Shops’ in the Hill Town of Dharamshala’ in the 45th Indian Sociological Society Conference on Environment, Culture and Development – Discourses and Intersections, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
International Conference Papers
- Jha, I. (2023). ‘The Non-Elite Middle Class in Post-Reform India. Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives?’ in European Sociological Association RN22 & ISA TG04 Midterm Conference. Danish Sociological Association, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark.
National Journal Papers
- Jha, I., and Singh, U. (2023). ‘‘Yoga ‘Walmart’ in the Himalayas: A Case of Wellness Centres in Dharamshala’, Litinfinite 5(1): 1 – 14.
International Journal Papers
- Upadhyay, SP and Jha, I. (2023). ‘Twin Movement: State, Market and the Non-Elite Middle Class in Post-Reform India’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 1 – 17.
- Singh, U., Upadhyay, SP., and Jha, I. (2022). ‘City Profile: The co-production of space in a tourist city: A case of Dharamshala’. Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning. Elsevier.
Books / Chapter Published
- Jha, I., and Singh, U. (2022). ‘Gaddis of the Himalayas in an Urban ‘Paradox’: A Case Study of Reversal of Economic and Social Marginalization’ In Salaria, M (ed.) Social Exclusion, Economic Marginalization and Tribal Issues: Global Scenario. New Delhi: Mittal Publication.
- Junior Research Fellowship, University Grant Commission, Government of India (2015).
- National Eligibility Test for Assistant Professor-Sociology, University Grant Commission, Government of India (2013, 2014).