About Me

I am a mixed-methods sociologist, specializing in ethnographic methods. My research interests include mass media discourse, gender, social movements, and activism in contemporary India.

Specifically, I ask why some incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) generate sweeping mass media, public, and political responses. What are the processes and effects of how GBV is politicized in mass-media discourses in India? 

My dissertation project focuses on media and activist networks of individuals and organizations around GBV incidents, particularly high-profile incidents. I ask how GBV media discourses are generated, why they are generated and leveraged differently, and what the implications are for anti-GBV reforms and activism. I use content and discourse analysis of GBV media coverage and ethnography of media and activist networks, including journalists, activists, and NGO workers across urban India. 

Separately, using demographic survey data, I investigate the role of various social and demographic factors that influence attitudes and behaviors around GBV. Specifically, I focus on the potential effects of the type and frequency of media access and degrees of media and Internet autonomy on GBV-related attitudes and behaviors.

I also work broadly on investigating the state of GBV media representation and coverage, using discourse and computational textual analysis. I use news and social media data and coverage, and am currently working on projects related to a hand-coded dataset of 500+ articles in Indian-English newspapers. 

I hold an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago (2022) and a BA in International Studies from the American University (2019). 

Please feel free to email me at maya.krishnan.mail.mcgill.ca. 

Photos taken by Maya Krishnan, July 2023.