Basu Heads to Bellagio

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 3, 2010) – Diversity, discussion and problem-solving, all enveloped in a region that has been called the pearl of Lake Como.

Srimati Basu, a professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky, has been selected by the Rockefeller Foundation for a month-long residency in Bellagio, Italy, using the time to work on her book in progress, titled "Marital Repair: Family Law and Feminist Interventions in Contemporary India."

It seems too good to be true for Basu. "I love Italy," she laughed. "And having time to write, that's really going to be something. "Everyone has always reported this to be an amazing space of writing productivity and collegial encouragement, and I'm most excited to get some solid work done on the book!"

Basu's book, which she hopes will be on the road to completion by the end of this fall, looks at the family courts of India. "I studied the drama of lawyer-less courtrooms and the decisions made there, to see how they play a role in the creation of ideas about family," she said. "I don't always deal with the happiest of topics: domestic abuse, rape and family violence, but the fieldwork is always stimulating, and there’s a lot of controversy around these issues, even among feminists. "

Basu's month-long residency will begin September 17 at the Bellagio Center, a space that brings together people of diverse expertise and backgrounds in a collaborative environment to promote innovation and impact on a wide range of global issues.

Basu's prestigious Residency Fellowship is given to candidates who are expected to find common ground with other residents and expand the boundaries of collective knowledge and action.

"Fellowships like this are a privileged space in academic life; you don't always get a chance to discuss  your research in the midst of work on campus," explained Basu. "Academic interaction through formal presentations, long dinners and liberating walks are all a part of it."

The Bellagio Center has been hosting a diverse group of scholars, artists and practitioners since 1959, when Ella Holbrook Walker offered her Italian villa “for purposes connected with the promotion of international understanding."

Basu will be joined by professors and researchers of all disciplines from all over the world. "I don't know if anyone there will even be in my area," she said.

Basu’s academic interests include law, violence, marriage, kinship, women in India, feminism and the intersections of law and culture. "I work in the field of feminist jurisprudence," she said. "My work touches many disciplines. I am comfortable in that realm."

Basu's multidisciplinary heritage made her a perfect fit. "Disciplinary boundaries are vanishing," she said. "If you want to be involved in anything edgy, you can't always rigidly stick to what you know."