Biography

Dr. Bellamy’s major areas of interest include religion and healing, religious identity and conflict, and misfortune and magic.  Her first book, an ethnography of the everyday and ritual life of a group of Muslim shrines in rural India, will be published in June 2011 by University of California Press as part of the new South Asia Across the Disciplines series. She is currently working on a project that compares discourses and practices of magic among residents of Delhi and members of the Indian diaspora as well as a project that examines the social repercussions of India’s ongoing process of economic liberalization, focusing on caste groups providing religious products and services.  Dr. Bellamy is also a trained volunteer for Sakhi, a non-profit NYC-based organization that offers support and counseling to victims of domestic violence in the South Asian community.  She received her Ph.D. in South Asian Religion from Columbia University.

Email: Carla.Bellamy@baruch.cuny.edu

Voice: 646.312.4438

Fax: 646.312.4461

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Fellowship Accomplishments to Date

• Utilized the Rubin Museum of Art to enrich Introduction to Anthropology 1001 by creating a student assignment focusing on Gateway to Himalayan Art & Tibetan Shrine Room; Grain of Emptiness; Reading of Tibetan Diary.  This assignment may have wider applicability given its focus on self-reflection, careful observation and critical thinking

• Conducted class visits to RMA, and also as part of researching assignments. All 55 Anthropology 1001 students were required to make two independent visits to the museum.

• May incorporate a student-curated  exhibit at Baruch  into future Anthropology 1001 classes.

• Based on conversations with the museum staff, Professor Bellamy discovered that the Rubin’s collection of Himalayan Islamic art is minimal. Therefore, she has made immediate research plans, and interests will draw on a broad range of Himalayan Islamic art collection.