Dr Ayushman Bhagat
Lecturer in Political Geography
- Anthropology
- Social Science and Communications
- College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences
Summary
I am a political geographer with a research focus on the spatial politics of anti-slavery and migration control. My interest in contemporary anti-slavery abolitionist movement emerged from my long-term consultancy work with the International Labour Organization (ILO), where I assisted multiple anti-trafficking/slavery programmes in various locations in India. This experience helped me to identify a disconnect between the migration, labour, and anti-trafficking/slavery policies and practices, and the voices of people on the move who are oppressed, exploited, and rendered rightless due to such protectionist policies and practices. To address this gap, I conducted Participatory Action Research at a post-disaster Himalayan site in Nepal and engaged in border ethnography spanning across four countries during my doctoral research in the Department of Geography at Durham University. Subsequently, I pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at TraffLab within the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel-Aviv University.
I have taught a range of human geography modules at all levels, at both Durham University and Edge Hill University.
Qualifications
PhD Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom (2021)
MBA Rural Development, Xavier Institute of Social Service, India (2012)
Newest selected publications
Bhagat, A. (2024) 'Reducing vulnerability to exploitation of Nepali migrant domestic workers'. Place of publication: Brunel University London. Available at: https://brunel.figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Reducing_Vulnerability_to_Exploitation_of_Nepali_Migrant_Domestic_Workers/26892934/1?file=48931666.Open Access Link
Bhagat, A., Sita, M. and Rajib, N. (2024) 'Who Benefits from Migration Bans?'. The Kathmandu Post.Open Access Link
Mademba, S., Neupane, R. and Bhagat, A. (2024) 'नेपाली महिलामा जातीय दासत्वको खिल'. Kantipur.Open Access Link
Neupane, R., Mademba, S. and Bhagat, A. (2024) 'आधुनिक दासत्वको नयाँ भाषा'. Kantipur.Open Access Link
Bhagat, A. and Yea, S. (2024) 'Towards carceral protectionist territories: Relational geographies of anti-trafficking confinement in Nepal'. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 0 (ahead of print). pp. 1 - 19. ISSN: 2399-6544 Open Access Link