AIIS and Tech: Languages, Code, Design, and Careers with former AIIS language students

05/28/24 • 60 min

American Institute of Indian Studies Podcast

In this episode, we look to the world of tech and the bridges that AIIS students create between Indian and South Asian Studies and successful careers in technology fields of all kinds. The stereotypical careers that stem from the study of Indic languages and South Asian Studies may be in the humanities, but many AIIS language students have made the jump from South Asian Studies to STEM fields. They have used their diverse language and humanities training to make themselves stand out in a crowded applicant field and have also applied their AIIS study abroad experiences directly into their daily work to allow them to bring fresh perspectives to traditional solutions in tech, whether it is coding, design, or leadership and management. Join us today to speak with three former AIIS language students as we chat about study abroad experiences, how they switched careers from South Asian Studies to tech, and tips on making the leap to a non-traditional career track.
Joining us in this episode is Nicole Hemenway Bratz, former AIIS Sanskrit and Urdu student and current Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Capsle Stories: www.capslestories.com; Tyler Neill, former AIIS Prakrit student and currently a software engineer and Sanskritist living in NYC: tylerneill.info; and Rachael Hyland, former AIIS Hindi and Bangla student and current Senior Content Designer at Intuit. Rachel's blog post on Hindi and product design was a major catalyst for this conversation. You can read her thoughts on combining study abroad, language learning, and product design on the Intuit Design blog.
The AIIS Language Program offers nine-month academic year, summer and semester courses at elementary to advanced levels in many languages, including several that are rarely taught outside of India.

Produced by AIIS
Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

Produced by AIIS
Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

Previous Episode

Creating and collaborating through digital projects with the AIIS Digital Sonic and Visual Projects fellowships

In this episode, we explore what it’s like to create born digital projects in India with support from the two AIIS research centers: the Center for Art and Archeology (CA&A) and the Archives and Research Centers for Ethnomusicology (ARCE). Both units share an online archive and digital exhibit space, the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds, that you can visit and browse at vmis.in.
The DIL Summer Student Fellowships for Digital Sonic and Visual Projects has supported two cohorts of students in 2022 and 2023 to travel to India and conduct research at the CA&A and ARCE under the fantastic guidance of Dr. Vandana Sinha and Dr. Shubha Chaudhuri.
We will hear reflections on the process of creating the 2023 DIL summer digital exhibits from beginning to end with Arya Adityan, a graduate student in the Department of Religion at Florida State University, Ava Bush, an undergraduate student completing her B.A. in Art History at Tulane University, Balakrishnan Raghavan, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Jamphel Shonu, a graduate student in the Department of History at Pennsylvania State University, and Tyler Thom, a graduate student in the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of Denver. We’ll begin with a conversation at the beginning of the summer program and then catch up with the participants after the program has ended.
Explore the digital projects on the VMIS website:
Arya Adityan - Oral Epics and Narratives: Villupāttu
Ava Bush - People’s Art: Clay Modelling in Ancient India
Balakrishnan Raghavan - Oral Epics and Narratives of India: Annanmar Katai
Jamphel Shonu - The Great Monastery of Nalanda
Tyler Thom - The Song Lines of Arnold Bake

For more information on AIIS digital program and fellowships, visit https://www.indiastudies.org/digital-scholarship.
The DIL Digital Sonic and visual Projects fellowships are partially supported by a grant from the US Department of Education.

Produced by AIIS
Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

Next Episode

Marriott Memories: The life and impact of McKim Marriott

In this episode, we look back on the work and impact of McKim Marriott, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, who passed earlier this year on July 3, 2024. Initially, we recorded this conversation as a celebration of work and impact, but after his passing this summer, we wanted to share this as a celebration of work and a remembrance.

Joining us today in conversation on the life and work of McKim Marriott is Nita Kumar, Brown Family Professor Emerita of South Asian History at Claremont McKenna College, Ralph W. Nicholas, William Rainey Harper Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, Gloria Raheja, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, and Ann Gold, Thomas J. Watson Professor Emerita at Syracuse University.

Produced by AIIS
Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek