Priyanka Zylstra | Department of History

zylstra2@illinois.edu

Research Areas

Britain and British Empire

Imperialism, Colonialism, and Post-Colonialism

Race and Ethnicity

South Asia

Women, Gender, and Sexuality

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PhD Candidate

Biography

Prior to graduate school, Priyanka worked in the field of domestic violence intervention. She spent several years as a counselor/advocate at a shelter for women and children and has volunteered at domestic violence agencies that specifically serve the immigrant community. She currently volunteers at her local rape crisis center. These experiences have greatly influenced her interest in researching resistance to violence in immigrant and diasporic communities.

Research Interests

Gender and Sexuality, Global South Asia, Race, Empire, Diaspora, Political Blackness

Research Description

I study the experiences of women of South Asian descent in 1970s-1990s Britain. I examine how these women confronted forms of racialized and gendered state violence, issues of immigration, forms of labor exploitation, and experiences of domestic abuse. I explore the alternative community networks and public identities South Asian women forged as they confronted these systems. Additionally, I center the various collaborations amongst South Asian and Black British feminists. In addition to archival materials, I utilize oral interviews, film, and art to explore complex entanglements of gender and race that emerged in South Asian women’s everyday lives, political struggles, and acts of resistance.