Sydney-Paige Patterson a Ph.D. candidate in history at Indiana University. Her research focuses on African Diasporic and South Asian history. Utilizing ethnographic and archival methods, her research examines transnational social movements throughout the twentieth century, focusing on how Black Americans have inspired or contributed to the formation of radical movements for freedom around the world.

Patterson's dissertation specifically examines the connection between race, caste and gender through an analysis of the Black and Dalit Panther Parties. She was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship to complete her dissertation research in India in 2022. 

Areas of Expertise

South Asian history; African American history; 20th century transnational social movements; gender

Education

2015 — Master of Arts from New York University

2013 — Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University Bloomington

Courses Recently Taught

This course surveys the history of India from the rise of the Mughal Empire in 1526 to the recent past. The course places the history of India in a regional and global context and explores art, film and fiction as mediums for making sense of the past, alongside analysis of traditional documentary sources. Topics include ecology of the Indian subcontinent; Muslim rule; European trade; British colonialism; anticolonial, Hindu and Muslim nationalism; decolonization and the partition of India and Pakistan; the creation of Bangladesh; communalism and separatism; gender, religion and caste; and democracy and economic development in the context of the Cold War and its aftermath. This counts toward the modern and Asia/Africa requirements and the colonial/imperial field for the major. No prerequisite.