Vani S. Kulkarni has a PhD in Sociology (with distinction) from the University of Pennsylvania, and has held research and teaching appointments at Harvard and Yale universities. She has also done consultancy work for United Nations’ organizations like the Asian Development Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development. Her research navigates the intricate crossroads of Global Health, Race and Caste, Gender, Identity and Inequality, Sociology of Trust, as well as Development, Democracy, and Education.
Currently, Vani’s research unfolds across two distinct domains—health and education—each immersed in the two rich, distinct political-cultural histories viz., India and the USA. Through ethnographic lenses, both the projects examine the enactment of democratic ideals—such as public participation and individual choice—in health and education, the two vital developmental spheres. Where is the public voice in public health? Why is genuine public involvement in health development alarmingly elusive amid pressing public health challenges? How do citizens navigate school choice within restrictive urban education systems? Furthermore, can educational innovations inadvertently exacerbate inequality and foster undemocratic practices? These are among questions that animate her current research agenda. Her research and teaching approaches stand out in three notable ways. First, they traverse national and cultural boundaries, enriching the discourse. Second, they emphasize the sociological lens on issues often dominated by development economics, medical, and political economy perspectives—addressing themes like decentralized democratic governance, global health, malnutrition, and disease. Finally, having served as a consultant for the United Nations and possessing the ability to bridge academic rigor with policy-making dialogues, her work holds implications for social policy, the methodological framework she uses is predominantly ethnographic and qualitative, yet she integrates quantitative trends into my exploration of development sociology.
Vani S. Kulkarni has publications in journals such as the *ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science*, *Anthropology and Medicine*, Social Science Research*, *Journal of International Affairs*, and *Contemporary South Asia*. She has co-authored the book *Diets, Malnutrition and Disease in India* with Oxford University Press. Additionally, her expertise is reflected in encyclopedia entries and working papers for renowned institutions, alongside opinion pieces in leading newspapers like *The Hindu*, *The Indian Express* and *The Mint*. She has taught both graduate and undergraduate students at Penn, Harvard, and Yale a diverse array of courses, including Introduction to Sociology, International and Global Health, Gender and Health in South Asia, Qualitative Methods in Health, Public Health in India, Social Problems, Social Capital & Democracy, Social Theory, Asian Americans in Contemporary US, and Race & Ethnic Relations.