L-R: Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar (photo of Hisama by Johnny Guatto)
Ellie Hisama and Mahua Sarkar named members of the Institute for Advanced Study
Published: July 9, 2024
Ellie Hisama, dean and professor of music at the Faculty of Music, and Mahua Sarkar, professor in the department of sociology at U of T Scarborough, have been named members of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) for 2024-25.
Established in 1930 in Princeton, N.J., IAS is dedicated to advancing fundamental discovery in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment. Each year, the institute welcomes more than 250 of the most promising senior and post-doctoral researchers and scholars to carry out cutting-edge research across four areas: historical studies, mathematics, natural sciences and social sciences.
Hisama’s stint at the IAS will see her focus on a book project on composer and musician Julius Eastman, titled The Fragment and the Long Song of Julius Eastman. “It is a highlight of my career to be part of the IAS, an institution I have long admired for its steadfast support of field-changing research,” Hisama said. “It is a special honour to be part of an institution where Natalie Zemon Davis, the distinguished historian and U of T professor, was a member.”
Sarkar will also work on a book, titled Moving Stories: Contemporary Guest Work and Bangladeshi Contract Migrants. "It is an honour and a privilege to be asked to join the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton as a member," Sarkar said. "Having spent time at similar institutes in Europe and Asia in the past, I have a deep appreciation for the quality of intellectual exchange possible at such institutions, and the time they afford for reflection and writing.
"And of course, the IAS in Princeton is the oldest of such spaces, and has served as a model for many others. In short, I am thrilled."
Hisama and Sarkar join the ranks of several U of T faculty members to have been appointed to the prestigious institute, whose past and present scholars include 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, several MacArthur and Guggenheim fellows and winners of the Wolf, Holberg, Kluge and Pulitzer Prizes.
