I am a Professor in the Department of Sociology, Presidency University, Kolkata. I also held the Deanship in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences from 01.01.2023 to 30.06.2023. Before joining Presidency University I was teaching in the Department of Sociology, Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata (UG College under the University of Calcutta) as a fulltime faculty member recruited by WB Public Service Commission. I have taught UG Honours Courses in Sociology for 11 years since the year 2001. I have presented several papers in UGC sponsored National as well as International Seminars. I have authored many articles in reputed journals: Jadavpur University Journal of Sociology, Samaj Tattava, Cosmomath, Indian Journal of Millennium Studies: An International Journal, Indian Journal of Social Development, International Review of Comparative Sociology, Man in India, Economic Affairs contributing on multiple areas like Gerontology, Gender Studies, Sociology of Religion etc. I have also written a book entitled “Discourses on Ageing” (2022) published by Rawat Publications. One of my recent articles include "The Depressed Class Of Elderly: Case Studies Of Elderly Population Among Lower Income Households" (2019) published in the journal, Research on Ageing and Social Policy (RASP) by Hipatia Press.
BA Sociology (Lady Brbaourne College, Kolkata-1998)
MA Sociology (Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi-2000)
PhD. Sociology (Jadavpur University, Kolkata-2012)
I completed my B.A. (Honours) in Sociology from Lady Brabourne College, (Calcutta University), M.A (Sociology) from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and my PhD from the Department of Sociology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata on the topic entitled Problems of Depression and Care among the Marwari Elderly---A Case Study in South Kolkata. I have also participated in Summer Institute 2010 “Education, Social Justice and Human Rights in a Multicultural Society” as a registered student of University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, which enriched me with many research ideas on education and marginal communities.
My research permeates in the area of Depression and Mental Health. I am recently working on the depression among children and adolescents. I am also interested in the study of Religion and Society. Recently I have been appointed as a course coordinator of a UGC sponsored project on Comparative Religion in the Centre for the Study of Religion and Society, Jadavpur University (working under Prof. Ruby Sain, Centre Coordinator). During my past service I have also worked under the Women’s Studies Center, Lady Brabourne College and was an UGC appointed treasurer of the Centre. Under this centre I have also completed one project entitled “Position of Aged Women among the Marwari Community: A Case Study in South Kolkata”.
My area of teaching interest includes multiple areas of Sociology of Ageing, Sociology of Gender, sociology of Health and Illness, Contemporary Sociological Theories and Research Methodology. Other areas of interest includes my study on mental health and depression among different age groups.
Awarded
1. Aratrika Bhattacharya-"Staging an Oral Tradition: Studying Contemporary Baul performances in Bengal"-Awarded from Presidency University on 19/10/2022.
2. Somrita Sengupta-"A School For All: A Study of Children With Special Needs in Kolkata"-Awarded from Presidency University on 12/06/2023.
3. Sayendri Panchadhyayi-"The 'Ayah' and the Elderly: Illness, Nursing and Intimate Labour in Kolkata's Domestic Spaces"-Awarded from Presidency University on 12/06/2023.
Ongoing
1. Anamitra Ghosh-"Exploring migrant labour in the process of 'city making' in West Bengal"-Registered from Presidency University on 15/12/2020.
2. Asmita Biswas-"Home for the Homeless: A Sociological study of Urban Shelter Homes in West Bengal"-Registered from Presidency University on 20/03/2023.
3. Anwesha Guha-"An Ethnographic Exploration on the patterns of Health Negotiaition among the Sabara tribes of Southern Odisha"-Registered from Presidency University on 11/08/2022.
4. Mafuza Yasmin-"Maternal Health of Tribal Women: A Sociological Study in West Bengal"-Registered from Presidency University on 20/03/2023.
5. Oindrila Rakshit-Enrolled from Presidency University, Enrolment No.: PU/PHD/SOCL/2023/107.
1. Life Member of Indian Sociological Society, New Delhi
2. Life Member of Indian Gerontological Associations, Jaipur
Book:
1. Saha, Sumita; Sengupta, Somrita; Chaudhuri, Trishna; Goswami, Nilanjana (2022). Discourses on Ageing by Rawat Publications.
2. Saha, Sumita; Sain, Ruby (2012). Depression Among The Elderly by Serials Publications.
Articles in Journals:
1. Saha, Sumita (2017). Television and Ageing. Man in India, 97(23) 673-687.
2. Saha, Sumita (2017). Religion as Catalyst of Empowerment Among the Jain Elderly Women. Man in India, 97(23) 689-698.
3. Saha, Sumita (2017). Ageing and Depression: A Case Study on the Marwari Elderly of Kolkata, India. Man in India, 97(23) 699-709.
4. Saha, Sumita; Sengupta, Somrita (2019). The Depressed Class Of Elderly: Case Studies Of Elderly Population Among Lower Income Households. RASP (Research on Ageing and Social Policy), 7(1). doi link: https://doi.org/10.17583/rasp.2019.3921.
5. Saha, Sumita (2022). Sense of Place and Sense of Space: An Exploration into the lives of Urban Elderly. Inclusive 2(20) 90-105.
6. Das, Sujata; Saha, Sumita et al (2021). Covid-19 Riddle Exacerbating Gender (in) Equalities. Antrocom Journal of Anthropology. 17(2) 173-181.
Presidency University Students Corner