Dr. Nikhil Deb, Assistant Professor of Sociology
- Ph.D., University of Tennessee
- MA, Ohio University
- MSS, Shahjalal University (Bangladesh)
- BSS, Shahjalal University
Q&A
Tell us about yourself!
I was born as a religious minority in a remote rural area without electricity in Bangladesh. I remained in this out-of-power outpost until I completed my first major public examination in the tenth grade. Such a position, however, was not without its value. This challenging life left me with a consciousness that continues to motivate me to pursue education for social and environmental well-being. The most important thing I learned with my parents’ help is that we should not allow our struggles or failures to define us; rather, we must render our experiences powerful to make this world better.
Before immigrating to the United States in 2013 for a second master’s and Ph.D. degree, I worked as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Shahjalal University in Bangladesh. My research and teaching sit at the intersection of political economy, development, the environment, and social theory.
Besides my educational interest, I watch sci-fi movies/tv shows, swim with relish, and spend time with my six-year-old and my wife. Additionally, I enjoy meeting and speaking with people. In fact, one of the main reasons I decided to pursue a career in academia is that I could work with future generations of professionals and social scientists. Specifically, teaching gives me a lovely opportunity to (a) hear and cognize what young members of society are thinking and doing; and (b) help students pursue their dream.
What do you focus on in your research?
My current research broadly focuses on how economic and political activities typically favor some human groups at the expense of other existing or future human groups and the environment. In my most recent research, for example, I investigated how neoliberal India renders invisible the lingering social, health, and environmental devastation affecting vulnerable populations in Bhopal, India, more than three decades after the initial gas explosion at a plant owned by an American multinational corporation, Union Carbide. I will continue to study the questionable business trajectories of multinational corporations.
I always have believed that understanding the causes and consequences of inequality lie at the core of sociological thinking. In retrospect, my personal struggles growing up in poverty in one of the poorest nations in the world have motivated me to study social and environmental problems affecting marginalized people around the globe. My academic training has helped me to take a global political economic approach to the socioenvironmental problems I study. More research in this area is crucial as we now live in an epoch replete with proliferating social and environmental crises and these crises have both global and local origins and consequences.
What are a few of your recent accomplishments?
Over the years, I have published more than ten articles, book chapters, and book reviews. My three most recent publications appeared in Critical Sociology (Sage), Critical Criminology (Springer), and Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology. Pleasantly, at my current position at Murray State University, I have one book chapter, on the impact of COVID-19 on slum dwellers in Bangladesh and India, forthcoming with Policy Press, and have one Revise & Resubmit at Social Problems (Oxford), a top-notch generalist sociology journal. I am currently working on multiple papers highlighting the political economic aspects of social and environmental harms in the global South.
I also regularly present papers and organize and preside sessions at various sociological association meetings, such as the American Sociological Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, International Social Theory Consortium, and Southern Sociological Society.
What do you enjoy about teaching, and what do you hope students take from your classes?
I do not believe in education strictly through research. To me, research and teaching are not separate things and should be merged for holistic and effective education. In my view, students enjoy learning when instructors corroborate their teaching content with cutting-edge research materials.
I have been privileged to teach introductory to advanced-level courses before I started my position at Murray State University. I worked as an Assistant Professor of sociology at Shahjalal University in Bangladesh and also taught multiple courses at the University of Tennessee, both as a lecturer and graduate teaching associate. My dual background as a student and a teacher both in Bangladesh and in the United States has provided me with valuable experiences of learning from and teaching in two distinct cultural and educational systems. I, therefore, enjoy bringing multiple contexts and fresh insights into social phenomena in question. Students enjoy this global perspective as well!
I always tell my students that education is not a one-way passage from teacher to student. Instead, it primarily depends on the collaboration of everyone involved. Teachers have as much power to ruin a seemingly enjoyable class as they do to redeem an ostensibly boring one. To ensure an enjoyable learning environment, I not only emphasize classroom discussions, but also use visual aids and charts and diagrams when necessary. I believe that the best I can do as an educator is to inspire my students to meet their fullest potential, not only in their areas of interest but as human beings as well. The major takeaway from class is that education is a means to bring lasting benefits to society.
Why is it important for people to study sociology?
There is a misunderstanding out there that sociology is primarily a theory-oriented subject and doesn’t have any practical applications. There are several reasons why we need more critical sociologists than ever. First, sociology can help us become more aware of cultural differences. Second, sociologically minded people can use their insight to assess the effectiveness of social programs, policies, and laws, and they can contribute to the development of better ones. What is personal and thereby more important to me is that the greater understanding one acquires through sociology can lead to self-enlightenment that benefits oneself and others.
Thank you, Dr. Deb!
College of humanities and fine arts 