Shaunna Rodrigues specializes in Political Theory with research interests in the theory and history of liberal imperialism, anticolonial thought, constitutionalism, and postcolonial democracy in South Asia. Her current research focuses on minority strands of anticolonial thought, informed by anti-caste and Islamic traditions, and their impact on public life in a diverse postcolonial democracy like India.

She holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Stephens College, New Delhi, an M.A. in Political Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University, New York. She is currently working on her first book which is tentatively titled Justifying Constitutionalism: Worldmaking, Anticolonial Progress, and Self-Respect in India. 

Some of Rodrigues’ recent publications include “The Place of Political Membership: Abul Kalam Azad’s Critique of Borders and Nations” in The Journal of Comparative Studies in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, December 2021; 41 (3) : 378 – 388; “Excluded Areas as the Limits of the Political: The Murky Boundaries of Scheduled Areas in India,” in The International Journal of Human Rights, December 2021; “Self-Respect as a Primary Political Ideal: Ambedkar’s Challenge to Political Theory,” in Aakash Singh Rathore eds. B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021; and “Abul Kalam Azad and the Right to an Islamic Justification of the Indian Constitution” in M. Backer and A. Roy eds. Dimensions of Constitutional Democracy: India and Germany, Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Courses Taught:
Anticolonialism, Constitutionalism and Democracy in South Asia (Fall 2023)  (MDES3622UN)