20 Facts About Raka Ray

Raka Ray was born on 28 July 1962 and is an American sociologist and academic.

Raka Ray is a full-time professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the departments of Sociology and Southeast Asian Studies.

Raka Ray became the Dean of Social Sciences at UC-Berkeley in January 2020.

Raka Ray was originally a History major and later decided to specialize in sociology due to her interest in issues of unequal power and her desire to solve social inequalities.

Raka Ray believes in her greater utility as an academic, rather than an activist, in investigating systematic inequalities.

Raka Ray explains that her focus on gender in South Asia was 'consistently seen as marginal to mainstream Sociology' and that she had to battle with 'constant particularizing' of her work and the 'universalizing of work on the US'.

Raka Ray notably focuses on postcolonial sociology and its relation to modern feminist discourse.

Raka Ray has highlighted the lack of critique of postcolonial theory, due to 'sociology's attachment to its own modernist foundations and to universalism'.

Raka Ray argues that the 'founding fathers of sociology' have overlooked the importance of colonialism in the making of European modernity.

Colonialism, according to Raka Ray, has created large gaps in society and has opened the door to nationalism.

Raka Ray believes that in order to understand the modern world and the feminist discourse associated with it, it is crucial to look at other regions of the world, especially those that have been affected the most by colonialism.

Raka Ray continues, "colonialist representations shape contemporary understandings in Europe and North America about gender relations in postcolonial countries".

Raka Ray asserts that these images misrepresent the women and men of postcolonial countries because they are rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of gender in these parts of the world.

Raka Ray believes that Western feminist discourse would be enhanced by studying and incorporating a more global perspective.

Raka Ray's decision to enter academia was influenced by her mother, who was a historian and university professor.

Raka Ray reiterates that while he had a privileged childhood in India, she was aware of the inequalities 'of class, and especially gender' around her.

Raka Ray has cited Marxist and Feminist theories as crucial to her intellectual formation.

Raka Ray cites many people as having inspired and influenced her work.

Raka Ray is currently working on a project which seeks to explore the concept of masculinity.

Globally, Raka Ray sees a similar gap in gender-related studies of development.