APPAM Communities The Caste System in India and Public Policy

Session Submission Type: APPAM Communities

Community Group Description

To the best of our knowledge, for the first time in the APPAM conference, a community gathering is proposed on the theme of ‘Caste and Public Policy’. The organizers come with a thematic expertise across critical caste and race studies, stratification economics, analysis of discrimination, mixed methodologies, policy analysis, and policymaking.

Social science research has acknowledged the fact that caste as a social stratification parameter has gone beyond South Asia in regions such as Southeast Asia, Eastern Asia, Latin America, East Africa, the Caribbean, the UK, and North America. There is ample scope for research and evidence-informed policymaking amongst communities who (un)knowingly identify with caste markers. The organizers are hoping that this community group will initiate such efforts to continue in the forthcoming APPAM forums.

Important points of discussion:
1) Deliberation on why caste is not merely a South Asian social stratification measure, and how it affects more than half of the global population. What research and policymaking opportunities does this understanding unpack in social sciences, especially in the subfield of social policy?
2) What data collection practices and opportunities exist across the globe to collect data across caste? Which different institutions can join hands to facilitate this initiative, and what are the possible ways to do so?
3) What steps can be taken within APPAM beyond the Fall Conference to continue to work on this initiative? What support – visionary, managerial, and financial – would be required, and who (individuals and institutions) would volunteer to extend themselves in this novel initiative?

Policy Area

• APPAM Communities

Moderator

• Vishal Jamkar, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Organizer

• Vishal Jamkar, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Speaker

• Samuel L. Myers, University of Minnesota