Fellowship focus: Advancing dialogues on Victorian mobilities between Britain and India with a focus on representations of mesmerism (a form of hypnotism).
During her Fellowship Dr Barik will undertake archival research on collaborations, encounters and cross-cultural exchanges between the UK and India on the topic of mesmerism in the Victorian era. Her research will consider how mesmerism facilitated trade and traffic in goods and people between the UK and India (focusing on England and Calcutta), and explore the intersections of race, class and gender these interactions brought about. Leveraging knowledge in Surrey’s ‘Victoriographies’ and ‘Mobilities in Literature and Culture’ groups, the Fellowship will include a joint publication to disseminate research, a public lecture at Surrey, and an exhibition at Visva-Bharati University.