My dissertation, supervised by Anca Gheaus, focuses on the normative relationship between people's jobs, their social status, and self-respect. I find it puzzling and unfair, for instance, that being a lawyer is so much more prestigious than being a cleaner in most industrial and post-industrial societies. I also like to think about how occupations can affect the different 'kinds' of respect people receive. For e.g., one can be in a relatively unrespectable industry, such as the illicit drug trade, and yet be respected for being very good at the trade. On the other hand, someone can be in a respectable occupation, such as care work, and yet feel like they are not being respected enough for their contributions and individual talents. I believe that resolving these puzzles is important to make the design of jobs and workplaces more just. I intend to submit my dissertation in 2025 and hopefully figure out the meaning of justice by then.
Some of the keywords that tend to catch my attention are social hierarchy, work, labor, self-respect, discrimination, ownership, care and autonomy. If you think our research interests intersect, please do not hesitate to contact me for a conversation!
Before starting my Ph.D., I worked as part of admissions and outreach teams for two different universities in India. Some other jobs that I have tried thus far are that of a pizza delivery driver, teaching assistant, graphic designer, care assistant, and researcher for a Trade Union Federation.