Disha Ray

Disha Ray is a Masters student in the Department of History at University of Cincinnati.  She is also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Before coming to UC, she completed her Bachelors in History from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi in 2022. Her research interests lie in modern South Asian History, Gender History and History of Medicine.

For her Master’s thesis, she is working on the history of pregnancy, childbirth and abortion practices in colonial South Asia with a focus on the issues of reproduction and sexuality, intersecting with caste, gender and race politics. She wants to explore reproductive politics in the context of communalism, nationalism and colonialism and analyse how imperial legal and moral legacies impacted post-colonial policies and shaped people's reproductive destinies.

B.A. Hons. History: St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, 2022

M.A. History : University of Cincinnati Ohio, 2024

2022 - Graduate Assistant for the Undergraduate course (HIST 1003) World History I with Prof. Sigrun Haude (Fall 2022), University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

2023 - Graduate Assistant for the Undergraduate Course (HIST 3009) Women, Sex, and Conquest in Latin America with Prof. Brianna Leavitt-Alcantara (Spring 2023), University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

2023 - Graduate Assistant for the Undergraduate course (HIST 2067) Drugs in the Americas and in Global Perspective with Prof. Isaac Campos (Fall 2023), University of Cincinnati,

Peer Reviewed Publications

“In His Service, For Her Health: Female Missionary Doctors in Colonial India.” Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences: Journal of The Inter-University Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences (Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla), Vol. XVIII, Number 1, Summer 2021. (2023. )

“Beyond Bahus and Betis: Social Imagination and OTT.” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 56, Issue No. 37, September 11, 2021 (2021. )

Other Publications

“Addition of Yogi, Ramdev’s books in syllabus part of continued attack on academic spaces”. The Print, June 23, 2021. (2021. )

“Delhi University and Its Indifference.” Live Wire, The Wire, April 26, 2021 (2021. )

Encyclopedia Article

“Social, Political & Economic Landscapes in Kautilya's Arthashastra.” World History Encyclopedia (Previously Ancient History Encyclopedia), June 4, 2020.

Paper Presentations

“Pregnancy, Childbirth and Abortion in Colonial India” at Annual South Asian Conference at University of Wisconsin, Madison. (18-20 October, 2023).

“In His Service, For Her Health: Female Missionary Doctors in Colonial India” at the New Frontiers Conference, Annual History Conference at York University, Toronto, Canada. (23-25 February, 2023).

“Powder, Poison and the Pillory: Abortion in Early Modern England” at International Conference on ‘Theatrum Libri: Press, Reading and Dissemination in Early Modern Europe’organized by Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Vilnius (1 - 3 December, 2021).

“In the Name of Education: Pandemic and the Digital Divide in Indian Education System” at the national Conference on “Asian Lives/Asian Studies in the Post Pandemic Era” organized by New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS) in association with State University of New York (SUNY) Brockport, United States (1- 2 October, 2021).

“Gender, Identity and the Historian’s Dilemma: Women in the Santal Rebellion (1855-56)” atthe National Conference on “Dynamics of Women’s Movement in India: Historical Legacy and Contemporary Challenges” sponsored by Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR),organized by M.R. Nathwani College of Arts, University of Mumbai, Mumbai (24 May, 2021)

2022 -2024 Graduate Assistant Scholarship covering one hundred percent tuition, general and campus life fees for studies in pursuit of a Master’s in History at University of Cincinnati.

2022 -2024 Graduate Assistant Scholarship covering one hundred percent tuition, general and campus life fees for studies in pursuit of a Master’s in History at University of Cincinnati

2023 -2024 Barbara N. Ramusack Graduate Summer Research Fellowship, Department of History, University of Cincinnati, 2022-23

2023 -2024 GSG Research Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Research Type:Fellowship

2023 Taft Graduate Enrichment Award from the Taft Research Centre, University of Cincinnati for conducting archival research in India, 2022-23

2023 Grant from the Von Rosenstiel Fund, Department of History at the University of Cincinnati to conduct research at the Wellcome Collection and the British Library in London. Type:Grant

2023 Taft Conference Travel Grant

History Graduate Student Government (HGSA) President Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 2023 -2024

Academic - 358, History Department
Arts & Sciences Hall
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45221
raydh@uc.mail.edu