A celebration of ideas and debate

  • September 27, 2017

Two Gates Cambridge Scholars will take part in events at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.

Two Gates Cambridge Scholars are taking part in this year's Cambridge Festival of Ideas.

Asiya Islam and Surabhi Ranganathan are speaking at the Festival, which celebrates the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. It runs from 16th to 29th October and has a programme of over 200 events, including talks, debates, exhibitions, film and theatre performances.

Asiya [2015], who is doing a PhD in Sociology, has co-curated an exhibition called The New Woman: 150 years of British and Indian women's magazines which takes places on 21st October. The exhibition shows the shared history of Britain and India through the way women's magazines in the two countries have portrayed changing ideals of femininity. 

Surabhi [2008] is speaking in a discussion entitled Technology and Nationalism in India. It asks what role technology has played in India's recent economic development and how this links to equality issues and the rise of nationalism. Surabhi, who did her PhD in Law with the support of a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and is now a lecturer in International Law at Cambridge, will talk about technology in terms of India's posture in international negotiations on nuclear technology and oceans exploitation and about how that illuminates the issues of nationalism, equality and pride. 

Surabhi is the author of Strategically Created Treaty Conflicts and the Politics of International Law, a study of international legal thought and practice, exploring treaty conflicts in nuclear governance, the law of the sea and international criminal justice. She is also assistant editor of The Cambridge Companion to International Law.

*Picture credit of Mumbai at night: Wikimedia Commons.

Surabhi Ranganathan

Surabhi Ranganathan

  • Alumni
  • India
  • 2008 PhD Law
  • St John's College

Latest News

Tsitsi Dangarembga gives Gates Cambridge Annual Lecture

Award-winning author Tsitsi Dangarembga delivered the eighth Gates Cambridge Annual Lecture at St John’s Divinity School last night, giving the audience an exclusive insight into her latest non-fiction book. Her […]

What does responsibility mean in the age of AI?

When someone unconsciously forms a false belief despite possessing evidence to the contrary, are they responsible for the harm they cause when they act on it, and if so, why? […]

Gates Cambridge welcomes a new Trustee

Gates Cambridge is delighted to welcome alumna Mamta Thangaraj as its new Trustee, continuing her long-standing connection with the Gates community. Mamta, who is Director of Data Strategy at the […]

Exploring the role of music festivals in post-war France

Apolline Gouzi [2023] has been devoted to music from an early age, but it is history of music that is her passion now. She describes her PhD as detective work […]