Anoop Sadanandan presents research at his alma mater, Duke

Anoop Sadanandan, assistant professor at the Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University and Duke Ph.D. (2011), returned to campus to present his current research.
 

"Ethnic minorities face a dilemma: should they retain their cultural uniqueness or assimilate into the dominant cultural group? Studies argue that factors such as the strength of ethnic affinities, the group size, and migration influence individual and group decisions to differentiate and assimilate. This talk moves in a different direction to examine to consequences of differentiation and assimilation, with the aim of understanding the choices ethnic minorities make. Drawing on the experiences of the Christians in India, the talk will examine two questions: a) do ethnic minorities sanskritize (i.e., do they adopt the customs of the upper caste Hindus)? And, b) do sanskritized minorities enjoy better socio-economic status than non-sanskritized minorities?"