Syed Mohammed Faisal is Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of Banking and Finance in Sonipat, India. The primary question that animates his teaching and research is – how are humans constituted through exchange? His inquiry is constituted in two vectors; First, his doctoral thesis in anthropology attempted to unpack the processes and significance of trust building mechanisms that communities of traders, religious solidarities and kinship groups practice in South India. He is now furthering this line of inquire to investigate the role of theology in the formation of colonial and postcolonial forms of governance like the state, the market, their technologies of exchange like welfare, census, digital ID systems, corporations, accounting practices and other legal forms to understand how they redefine collectives that anchor social and commercial relations. The second vector of his inquiry explores the significance of mystical and aesthetic traditions, their intellectual and political role in resisting theological and colonial practices. This he is exploring as a potential comparative alternative in the making of human cultures.
Lectures:
- Vasco Da Gama’s Gift(s): Anthropology of a colonial moment