Dr. Pathania - Caste, Class, & Race

<p>In recent years, the United States has seen a growing reckoning with caste discrimination within the South Asian diaspora, one of its largest and fastest-growing immigrant communities. Although caste discrimination was formally outlawed in India decades ago, caste hierarchies persist in the U.S., intersecting with entrenched systems of racism and class inequality to shape access to education, employment, social networks, and belonging. Research indicates that Dalits in the U.S. experience caste-based exclusion in institutions, workplaces, and social life, often compounded by the fear of being &#8220;outed,&#8221; with serious consequences for safety and opportunity. In response, several universities have adopted anti-caste protections, while civil rights advocacy and local legislation, most notably Seattle&#8217;s anti-caste law, are reframing caste as a civil rights issue. Yet privileged-caste narratives continue to obscure these harms, and uneven policy implementation leaves many marginalized students without meaningful recourse.</p> <p>This workshop situates caste within a broader matrix of oppression by tracing its intersections with race and class in the U.S. context. Drawing on comparative histories and legacies of cross-community solidarity, from dialogues between W.E.B. Du Bois and B.R. Ambedkar to the political affinities between the Black Panther and Dalit Panther movements, it foregrounds shared struggles against hierarchical domination. Centering empirical data, lived experiences, and student-led activism, including Dalit Lives Matter and Dalit feminist movements, the workshop explores how reimagining the pedagogy of caste can break silences, foster solidarities across movements against racism and classism, and create space for marginalized voices in higher education and the wider community.</p>