Call for Papers for Issue on “Caste and Psychology: Bridging the Gap” (Deadline for submissions: April 15, 2023)
2023-01-30
Caste is one of the most complex, dynamic, and oppressive social systems existing today. Over the last two hundred years, scholars have examined caste from multiple disciplinary perspectives and documented its societal and economic underpinnings. However, as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar emphasized, caste also has a psychological dimension. Among other things, caste is also a state of mind – an entity that emerges from the interaction between the human mind and society. Therefore, caste would not simply wither away with broad socio-economic changes but would require a radical transformation in people's cognition, emotion, and behavior. It has been more than 80 years since Babasaheb Ambedkar pointed out the need for addressing psychology of caste. The experience of past 80 years suggests that despite sweeping changes brought by forces of democratization, globalisation and development, caste still persists as a decisive psychological factor affecting people’s bodies, minds and social relations. Strangely, despite this ubiquitous relevance of psychological study of caste, a glaring gap exists between caste and psychology.
