Draft:Antony Palackal

Antony Palackal is an Indian Sociologist, author, teacher and Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Kerala, who currently resides at Bodhi in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. He has more than twenty-five years of teaching, research and extension activities in Sociology

Family and Education
Antony Palackal was born on April 23, 1964, as the fifth male child to Elikutty Varghese and Varghese Varkey of the Palackal family in Thathampally, Alappuzha, Kerala. He is married to Adv. Ansu Mary Jacob.

Palackal received his early education at St. Michael’s School in Thathampally and later at SDV School in Alappuzha. He went on to earn triple degrees in Malayalam literature, Philosophy, and Theology from Malabar Christian College, Kozhikode, and Jnanadeep Vidyapeet, Pune, respectively. He obtained his Master's in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, Delhi and further pursued PhD from the University of Kerala, where he researched "Globalization and Shifting Identities of the Middle Class in Kerala" under the supervision of Prof. Jacob John Kattakayam.

Career
Palackal commenced his teaching career at Loyola College of Social Sciences in 1998, shortly after completing his Master's in Sociology. In 2017, he transitioned to the Department of Sociology at the University of Kerala and eventually assumed the position of Chair of the Department.

He served as a Visiting Associate Professor at Cleveland State University, Ohio, and as Visiting Faculty at the Indian Institute of Information Technology Kottayam (IIIT, Kottayam). Additionally, he was Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram (IISER, Thiruvananthapuram) and Visiting Faculty for the Semester in India Programme at the Centre for International Academics, University of Kerala, during different periods.

Positions
Since January 2003, he serves as the Country Coordinator and Principal Investigator for India in the World Science Project under Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA (www.worldsci.net). He was the Coordinator and faculty of the Study Abroad Programme at Cleveland State University (CSU) in Loyola College, Trivandrum, Kerala, from 1999 to 2009. In 2009, Palackal served as an International Consultant, providing Technical Assistance for Curriculum Development in the Department of Sociology as part of the Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education (IRQUE) initiative at Peradeniya University, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka. He is the Honorary Director at the Institute of Social Research and Action (ISRA), a non-profit organization based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Palackal's administrative contributions include serving as the Director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at Loyola College of Social Sciences from 2013 to 2017. He also served as the Coordinator of the 3rd Cycle of Reaccreditation National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2014 at Loyola College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum, during which the college was reaccredited with an "A" grade, achieving a CGPA of 3.72 on a 4-point scale, the highest grade in the State of Kerala.

Additionally, Palackal has been actively involved in academic governance, serving as a Member of the Academic Council at the University of Kerala and as Chairman/Member of the Board of Studies at several universities within and outside Kerala, including the University of Kerala.

Research Works

 * “COVID Pandemic and Psychosocial Health: A Sociological Study of the Students in Higher Education in Kerala, India and International Indian Students in Kingston, ON in Toronto, Canada, in association with Queens University, Ontario, Canada”, awarded by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Canada
 * “Agriculture, Food Security and Health: A Study among Organic Farmers in Kerala”, Project under the State Plan Grant for the year 2019-2020
 * “Gulf Migration and Transformation to Prosperity - An Analysis of the dynamics of the Process”, research project undertaken for Kerala Institute for Labour and Employment (KILE), Govt. of Kerala, April 2017-September 2017
 * “The Land question and social inclusion with special reference to Kerala”; the Senior Research Fellowship awarded by ICSSR, New Delhi, 2011-2013
 * “Survival and Resistance: Political Economy of the Indigenous struggles in Kerala”, a major research project by University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, 2008-2010
 * STS studies under the auspices of World Science Project, Louisiana State University, since January 2023. The study includes,
 * International Preparedness for COVID-19: A Comparative Study of Pandemic Response – 2022, A ten country study
 * Longitudinal study on the effects of Internet on communication, collaboration, productivity of scientists in Research & Academic institutions in Kerala
 * Longitudinal study on the Effects of Mobile telephony among academic, professional and business sectors in Kerala
 * Study on “Science in Multiethnic Democracy - The Role of Kenyan Research and Educational Institutions in the 2007 Post-Election Conflicts.” 2009
 * Production of Video Ethnographies on areas related STS Studies.

Books

 * Unveiling the Gender Paradox – Dynamics of Power, Sexuality, and Property in Kerala, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022, coauthored with Lekha N.B. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09699-0
 * Matham Samskaram Aathmeeyatha  - Varthamanavum Bhaviyum  (Malayalam). (Religion, Culture, and Spirituality - The Present and the Future). DC Books: Trivandrum, 2022. Edited book with Roy Thottam
 * Making of Distinctions: Towards A Social Science of Inclusion, Information Age Publishing: North Carolina. 2021. Edited with  Nandita Chaudhary and Giuseppina Marsico
 * Ageing Care and Wellbeing – Reinventing Social Gerontology. New Delhi: Rawat Publications. 2020. Edited book with Nisha Jolly Nelson
 * Globalization, Consumer Culture and Identity – Middle Class in a Postmodern Society. New Delhi, Jaipur. Rawat Publications.
 * Introduction to Kerala Studies. New Jersey: International Institute for Scientific and Academic Collaboration (IISAC). 2012. Co-authored with J. V. Vilanilam, Sunny Luke.
 * Information Society and Development – The Kerala Experience. New Delhi, Jaipur: Rawat Publications. 2007. Coauthored with Prof. Wesley Shrum
 * Vivarasamoohavum Vikasanavum – Keralathinte Anubhava Padangal (Malayalam) (Information Society and Development – Lessons from the Kerala Experience) Kozhikode: Olive Publications. 2007. Coauthored with Prof. Wesley Shrum
 * Grassroot Development: Establishing Successful Micro-enterprises: Kerala Experience, Cleveland, USA: Human Networks Publication. 2006. Coauthored with Murali Nair, Ralph Brody. New Delhi: Southern Book Star
 * Adisthana Vikasanathine Oru Kerala Mathruka: Ayalkootta Prasthanavum Cherukida Samrambhangalum (Malayalam) (Grassroot Development, A Kerala Model: Neighborhood Movement and Micro-enterprises), 2006. Coauthored with Murali Nair, Ralph Brody. New Delhi: Southern Book Star.
 * Managing Water and Water Users, University Press of America, New York. 2003. Coauthored with Prof. Sooryamoorthy
 * Samskaram Pradhirodham Aathmeeyath (Malayalam). (Culture, Resistance, Spirituality) Kottayam: Samskriti, Current Books, 2002.

Research Papers Published

 * “Centralized and Decentralized Approaches to Solid Waste Management – A Case Study” In The Holistic Approach to Environment Vol. 12 (4): 131-171. ISSN 1848-0071, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33765/thate
 * Analysis of Stakeholders Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management – A Case Study. Current World Environment. Vol. 16 N0. (3)   DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.16.3.27
 * Bounded Solidarity and Mobile Technology: The Decline of Core Networks in Kerala, Sociological Bulletin, 69 (2), 169-182. 0038-0229  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920925606
 * “Organic Agriculture in Kerala: A counter discourse from the margins” Sociological Bulletin, 68  (2) June Pp. 169-182. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022919848254
 * “Has the Internet Reduced Friendship? Scientific Relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and India”, 1994-2010. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 42 (3) pp.  491-519, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243916681851
 * “Network Decline in the Internet Era: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010. International Review of Social Research 6(4):163–171 DOI: 10.1515/irsr-2016-0019
 * ‘Trends in Indian Sociology of the Post 1991 Era’. Review article. Sociological Bulletin. 64 (2) May-August. 227-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920150206
 * “What Happened to the Internet? Scientific Communities in Three Low-income Areas, 200-2010” in Perspectives on Global Development and Technology: 301-331. ISSN: 1569-1497. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341304
 * Beyond the Nuclear Family: Families in a Configurational Perspective. Eric. D.    Widmer & RittaJallinoja (eds.). Bern: Peter Lang. 2008, In International Sociology Review of Books. 28 (2):  237-239. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580913477967d
 * “Are Mobile Phones Changing Social Networks? A Longitudinal Study of Core Networks in Kerala” In New Media and Society. 13 (3): 391-410. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810393900
 * 2011. “Patterns of Visitation - Site Visits and Evaluation in Developing Areas”. In Sociological Bulletin. 62 (2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920110207
 * "Mobile Phones and Core Network Growth in Kenya: Strengthening Weak Ties”. In Social Science Research.  Vol. 40 (2) March: 614-625. ISSN: 0049-089. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.09.015
 * “Internet Equalizer? Gender Stratification and Normative Circumvention in Science”, In Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 14 (2): 231-258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/097152150701400202
 * “Gender and Science in Developing Areas: Has the Internet Reduced Inequality”. Social Science Quarterly 87(3): 679-689. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.00403.x

Academic Movie (Video Ethnography)

 * Authenticity, Five Paths of Ayurveda in 2018, with Prof. Wesley Shrum. https://vimeo.com/513604932
 * “Promised Land and the Broken Promises” in 2013.  https://youtu.be/mYoPEuGcqnE
 * സമൂഹത്തിൽ വൃദ്ധജനങ്ങളുടെ സജീവ സാന്നിധ്യത്തിന്റെ ആവശ്യകതയെക്കുറിച്ച്  (Mal) ( About the need for the Active Presence of the Elderly in Society) https://youtu.be/x-vyDRjJzJ4
 * 2019. Dalit Has No Pages, with Prof. Wesley Shrum. https://vimeo.com/396072477

Awards/Honours & Distinctions

 * Shastri Research Grant (SRG), 2020, awarded by Shastri Indo Canadian Institute, Canada, in association with Queens University, Ontario, Canada. Awarded by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Canada 2021-2022
 * Best Social Short Film for the video ethnography “No Page for Dalits” in the Moody Crab Film Fest, 8th Edition 2017 and Best Directors at the 16th Ayodhya Film Festival 2022 Award for ‘No Page for Dalits’, together with Wesley Shrum
 * FLAIR Research Excellence Award from the Department of Higher Education, Govt. of Kerala, 2016
 * World Sci Excellence Award for the Best Project Coordinator 2003-2014 by World Science Project, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA
 * Senior Research Fellowship from Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, for the study on Land Issues in Kerala, 2011-13.
 * Delegate and participant in the Ethnografilm festival, Paris as the Director and producer of the Ethnographic film (academic movie) Promised Land and the Broken Promises organized by The International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), in April, 2013 held at Cine 13 Theatre
 * Delegate at the International conference on the “Past, Present and Future of Research in the Information Society” jointly organized by the Society for Social Studies of Science and World Science Project” a side event of the Phase II of the World Summit on Information Society, organized in Tunis, Tunisia from November 12-15, 2005, and Organizer of the Special Kerala Session in the Conference