Sujith kumar Prankumar

Hi! I’m Sujith, a social researcher, educator and evaluator based in Sydney, Australia. I am currently a Senior Research Associate with the Global Health Program at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society (University of New South Wales). Specifically, I work on the ACTUP-PNG project, where, in collaboration with local and international partners, I explore the acceptability and use of point-of-care HIV viral load and drug resistance testing, and early infant diagnosis, in Papua New Guinea.

My broad research focus is on global health equity and justice. More specifically, my teaching and research interests concern entanglements of social difference (particularly racial, sexual, national and religious), inequality, citizenship, education, research methods, social experiences of health and illness, and science and technology studies (STS). I have worked in Australia, Singapore and the USA, in diverse environments including UNSW Sydney, Western Sydney University, Swinburne University, the University of Tasmania, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation (Singapore Management University) and Harvard University, and my work has been published in a range of peer-reviewed and media publications.

I completed my PhD through the Centre for Social Research in Health at the University of New South Wales, and have an interdisciplinary academic background in human rights (MA in Human Rights Studies; Columbia University, USA), religion (MTS Women, Gender, Sexuality and Religion; Harvard University, USA) and evaluation (Graduate Certificate of Evaluation; University of Melbourne, Australia), and am undergoing training in health sciences (Open University, UK). Currently, I also serve as Assistant Editor at the Culture, Health and Sexuality journal, and am an Associate at the Australian Human Rights Institute and an Associate Fellow with Advance HE.

Feel free to send me a message to connect. I’m very much looking forward to hearing from you.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES (AS CONVENOR and instructor)

UNSW ARTS3875 Decolonising Research Methods (Level 3) - Term 2, 2022

In this course, students reflect on the practice of key social research methods for investigating culture and society. They address the relationship between methods and methodology and recognise the importance of understanding the historical, theoretical and philosophical contexts from which particular research methods have emerged. Social researchers do not apply a set of neutral techniques to the issues they investigate, but rather research is part of a dynamic, engagement with social and cultural worlds with often deep connections to colonial thought and power. A heightened sense of the strategies used in researching culture and society enhances reflexivity among social researchers: that is, the capacity to reflect upon who “we” are, what '“we” are doing; and the ethics of accountability and intellectual humility. Central to this course is the proposition that social research is a form of intervention in the social and cultural world, which may have major consequences on people’s lives. By engaging with a wide source of information and knowledge and address decolonising principles and praxis, students work to develop an understanding of ‘subjective positioning’ and will explore ways to decolonise research practice both through methods and methodologies.

Student evaluation highlights:

100% “Strongly Agree” response to “Overall I was satisfied with the quality of the course” (vs. faculty average of 42.1%).

Qualitative feedback:

“Sujith's teaching is very engaging and welcoming. The way the course was structured and presented conveyed a strong importance in the content and made the material easier to absorb. One of the best teachers I've had.”

"ARTS3875 I think has been my favourite course in all my university study.”

UNSW ARTS3885 Violence, Resistance, Change (Level 3) - Term 1, 2022

This course explores ‘violence’ as a philosophical, social and material phenomenon. What is violence, what are its different forms and expressions? How does violence manifest in our social histories, experiences, and relations? How can we make sense of violence across entanglements of time, space, matter, and species? What purpose does violence serve in the social? In this course, students explore experiences of violence throughout history and the present day, by examining connections between historical and contemporary episodes of violence, and the range of cultural values and perceptions that surround violence as social structure. They learn about conceptualisations of violence, issues of political and cultural violence, trauma, the aftermath of violence, and how violence is expressed, concentrated, enacted, and resisted.

Student evaluation highlights:

61.5% “Strongly Agree” response to “Overall I was satisfied with the quality of the course” (vs. faculty average of 40.9%).

Qualitative feedback:

“The course covered some really interesting topics, the dimensions of which we haven't explored in other courses… It was really refreshing to have some different dimensions, e.g., speaking about the environment/animals in discussions about violence, which really elevated it to a Level 3 course.”

”Among sociology subjects, one of the best in terms of cohesion.”

“… pushed us to view trauma and violence from different angles, which elevated the course beyond discussing 'violence' in a general sense.”

“… facilitated really rigorous thinking and discussion amongst the students despite the difficulties of the hybrid model.”

”This was the best learning experience I have had so far at UNSW. Sujith taught a course that in the short span of 10 weeks covered a wide range of human rights [and] environmental issues and challenged my understandings perceptions of violence and change. Sujith not only involved an incredible range of materials that each week complemented each other, he also included many guest lecturers who were experts in their own field… I don't have a strong background in social science, yet Sujith provided support and endless positivity that made me confident enough to complete this unit proudly and confidently despite my initial hesitance. I thought this course was too advanced for me, yet by the end I felt excited in all the content we had been given and his encouragement and trust in our abilities. He also valued life experiences of students on top of the academic materials and encouraged a learning space... this was also reflected in the weight given to personal testimony in research, [which I felt presented] an important shift in [what counts as ‘truth/fact’].”

“Articulate, knew the content extremely well – Clearly valued the opinions and knowledge of students – Always encouraged participation without [making students uncomfortable] – Made himself clear to be a mentor in the field of sociological study – Attentive to both classroom & online students”.

“Sujith had a very warm, reassuring demeanour, which contributed positively to the overall tone of the discussions we were having in class. He seemed to value everyone's perspective, and took the time to engage with what students said. Sujith was also very approachable, which made asking for help easier. He also took the time to give detailed feedback and showed genuine interest in students' literature reviews/essays.

“…It's a breath of fresh air when you have a tutor/lecturer that genuinely cares about their students. Sujith's passion for the topics was seen in the way that he delivered class content. I felt heard and seen in Sujith's class…"