Abhishek Lakkad is a movie enthusiast and an independent researcher. He is fascinated with various aspects of cinema and depictions of techno-science in popular culture which somehow led him to pursue and finish his Ph.D. (in Science, Society & Development) from the Centre for Studies in Science, Technology & Innovation Policy (CSSTIP) under the School of Social Sciences (SSS) at the Central University of Gujarat (CUG). Prior to his MPhil-PhD, he completed B.Sc. (Physics) and M.Sc. (Applied Physics) from M. S. University (Baroda). His upcoming paper about cyberpunk and posthumanism in Bollywood SF cinema has been adjudged as the winner of the Peter Nicholls Essay Prize 2021 awarded by the SF Foundation, UK.Publications:
Lakkad, Abhishek. 2021. “To Cyberspace and back again: Nation and Dis/Embodiment in Prince.” Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Special Issue: Decolonising SF, 139 (forthcoming).
Lakkad, Abhishek. 2020.“Cargo (Arati Kadav 2019 Hindi): A meandering rumination about the weightlessness of human existence.” Vector, October 5
Lakkad, Abhishek. 2018. “Frankenstein’s Avatars: Posthuman Monstrosity in Enthiran/Robot.” Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Special Issue on Frankenstein 200, 10(2): 236-250, DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n2.23
Lakkad, Abhishek. 2015. “Cultural Imaginaries of Science: A brief history of Indian science-fiction cinema.” Studies in South Asian Film & Media, Special Issue: Science Fiction & Fantasy, 6(2): 105-120, DOI: 10.1386/safm.6.2.105_1
Areas of Interest:
Abhishek’s current research interests are at the intersection of Science Fiction Studies, Film Studies, Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies, Cultural Studies of Science and Technology (CSST) and Posthuman Studies. In the future, he would also like to explore Game Studies through the lens of posthumanism and science fiction. Owing to his training in STS and Physics, he is also inclined to learn more about India’s strategic sectors like Space science and Defence.
Statement of Interest:
Allow me to give an overview of my research background which delineates my interest in joining the Indian Posthumanism Network (IPN). My M.Phil. dissertation was an exploratory study of Indian SF cinema. The study used insights from Science Fiction Studies, STS Studies, Cultural Studies of Science and Technology (CSST) and Film Studies to do textual analyses of some selected cinematic texts. I also published a paper that analyses Indian SF cinema through the lens of social history of science & technology in India (Lakkad (2015)). My Ph.D. thesis focused on posthumanist depictions in Indian popular cinema using a theoretical framework chiefly informed by Braidotti’s (2013) “critical posthumanism” approach. Recently, I appeared as a discussant in the webinar ‘STIP 2020 and the Future of Scientific Research in India’ organised by ZHCES, JNU.
As indicated by my research topics during M.Phil.-Ph.D and my publications, I am deeply interested in Science Fiction Studies and Posthuman Studies. By becoming a member of the IPN, I hope to contribute to research and academics in the areas of Science Fiction Studies and Posthuman Studies. It would also enable me to get connected with other academic events, activities and research from India in these areas. Hence, I request you to grant me a membership of this network.