Inderpal Grewal is currently a professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies as well as American Studies at Yale University. She also teaches in the Ethnicity, Race, and Migration Studies Program and the South Asian Studies Council. She is known for her prolific work on transnational feminism, cultural theory, feminist theory, and her extensive research of post-colonialism, South Asian cultural studies, mobility and modernity, nongovernmental organizations, human rights, and law and citizenship.
After graduating as valedictorian from St. Agnes' School in West Bengal, India, Grewal went on to pursue an MA from Punjab University and a Ph.D in English at the University of California at Berkeley. Afterwards, Grewal taught at the University of California at Irvine as well as at San Francisco State University. In 1994, together with Caren Kaplan, Grewal published her first book, Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational Feminist Practices, which was followed by her next book Home and Harem: Nation, Gender, Empire and the Culture of Travel (1996). Again in 2001, Grewal collaborated with Kaplan to write An Introduction to Women's Studies: Gender in a Transnational World. Later in 2005, Grewal authored Transnational America: Feminisms, Diasporas, Neoliberalisms. Her latest book, Saving the Security State: Exceptional Citizens in Twenty-First century America (2017) discusses the impact of neoliberalism on American society, and the relationship between citizens and state. In addition to her book publications, Grewal has also authored several articles, co-edited Theorizing NGO's: States, Feminism and Neoliberalism with Victoria Bernal, and lectured all over the world. At Yale, Grewal teaches courses such as "Gender in Everyday Life," "Feminist Theory," "Feminist and Queer Theory," "Gender in a Transnational World," "Feminist Postcolonial Theories: Subjects and Knowledges," and "Sex, Gender, and the Modern Body." Her continuing research involves subjects such as postcolonial India, gender, violence, as well as a book focusing on masculinity in India. In 2018, Grewal also agreed to serve on the Pembroke Center's Feminist Theory Archive Advisory Board at Brown University.
This collection consists of the professional papers of Inderpal Grewal, professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and professor of Ethnicity, Race and Migration at Yale University. Her research spans topics including transnational and postcolonial feminist theory; feminism and human rights; nongovernmental organizations and theories of civil society and citizenship; law and subjectivity; travel and mobility and South Asian cultural studies. Materials include correspondence, syllabi and course readings, conference materials and notes, and writings by Grewal. This collection dates from 1987 to 2019 and is arranged into 11 series.
Series 1, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, 1992-2011, contains six files related to Grewal’s career including external review materials and correspondence regarding promotions. The series is arranged alphabetically by institution.
Series 2, ADMINISTRATIVE, 1995-2018, includes grant applications, project and workshop proposals, and meeting materials. Of particular interest is the rally schedule for a Yale University protest against the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type, then by topic.
Series 3, CORRESPONDENCE, 1987-2008, primarily contains professional correspondence related to invitations to lectures and conferences. Box 3, folder 14, contains three years of correspondence regarding talks given by Grewal on Sikh women in the Punjab. This series is arranged chronologically, then by subject.
Series 4, TEACHING, 1990-2017, includes syllabi, notes, and course readings for courses Grewal taught at various institutions. Courses include Culture and Theory, Feminist and Queer Theories, Modern Pleasures, and Transnational Feminist Theory. This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.
Series 5, CONFERENCE MATERIALS, 1999-2017, includes schedules, pamphlets, and handwritten notes from conferences Grewal attended. Conferences include Democratizing Women; Gender, War, and Militarism; Religion, Gender, and the Politics of Security; and Transnational Feminist Cultural Studies of Travel, Militarism, and Empire. This series is arranged alphabetically by conference title.
Series 6, LECTURES, 1999-2017, includes drafts of lectures given by Grewal at various institutions. Titles include Analyzing the Global; Cultures of Rights and Cultures of Consumption; Geopolitics and Biopolitics; Outsourcing Patriarchy; and World Citizens and Traders. This series is arranged alphabetically by lecture title.
Series 7, WRITINGS BY GREWAL, 1988-2006, includes offprints and photocopies of articles, books, and reviews written by Grewal. Titles include Autobiographic Subjects and Diasporic Locations; The Guidebook and the Museum: Imperialism, Education, and Nationalism in the British Museum; and An Introduction to Women's Studies. This series is arranged by type of writing, then by title.
Series 8, WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 1995-2005, contains photocopies, proofs, and offprints of writings by other scholars. Titles are: “Arrogant Perception, World-Travelling, and Multi-Cultural Feminism” by Isabelle Gunning; “Nineteenth-Century United States Literary Culture and Transnationality” by John Carlos Rowe; and “Livet Cats, Fried Grasshoppers, and David Beckham's Pajamas: Unruly Bodies after SARS” by Mei Zhan. This series is arranged alphabetically by author’s last name.
Series 9, PRINT MATERIAL, 1990-2019, includes zines, newsletters, and pamphlets from various organizations. Titles include Feminist Transnational Times: Women's Studies Newsletter, Sakhi Quarterly, and Poor Magazine: Resisting Poverty through Media, Education, and Art. This series is arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 10, ELECTRONIC RECORDS, 1997, contains one VHS tape from the Social Work and Social Change conference.
Series 11, OVERSIZE MATERIALS, 1990-2017, contains conference posters.
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, available on the John Hay Library website or by request, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Inderpal Grewal papers, Ms.2018.016, Feminist Theory Archive, Brown University Library.
This collection is arranged into 11 series.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Gift from Inderpal Grewal beginning in 2018.