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What is the Seminar about?
This day-long seminar will showcase undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral research in the social sciences in India. It will engage with wide-ranging contemporary topics in the social sciences and provide a forum for students from various institutions to engage in the exchange of academic knowledge. Last year, research topics ranged from unwanted pursuit behaviour to the vulnerability of the Indian labour force to automation, among others.
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Objectives of the Seminar
Encouraging high-quality research is an integral part of the undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral curricula in India.
Providing an opportunity for students from various disciplines within the social sciences to present their research.
Engaging with topics of contemporary relevance and rigorous methods employed in social sciences research.
Establishing an academic forum for students of the social sciences to receive a critical review of their work.
THEMES
In doing away with an overarching theme, we wish to encourage submission of high-quality research in the fields of psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and public policy. Papers presented at past editions of the Seminar have been multi-disciplinary in nature.
REGISTRATION AND PAPER SUBMISSION PROCESS
Please complete your registration by filling out this form. You can register as a Presenter or a Participant.
All papers must be uploaded in MS Word format. Please remember to upload anonymized full papers for review. Papers that are emailed will not be accepted.
Please submit full papers here.
Keynote Address
Dr. Sampada Karandikar (Project Coordinator at the Center for Program Evaluation, University of Nevada, Reno)
Dr. Sampada Karandikar is an interdisciplinary psychology researcher and author. She completed her Masters in Forensic Psychology from the University of York, and PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research primarily focuses on investigating the joint role of personality and sociological factors within perpetration of crime. Her doctoral research examined whether socioeconomic status and dark personality traits interact to predict commission of white collar crime. She is also interested in studying the serial killing phenomenon, particularly in context of understanding the personalities of perpetrators of such crimes as well as of those who exhibit an unhealthy fascination with serial killers (i.e., serial killer groupies). Additionally, Sampada is passionate about undertaking research that can inform and influence policy. She currently works as a Project Coordinator at the Center for Program Evaluation housed in the University of Nevada, Reno, where she contributes to designing, running, and reporting on program evaluation projects within education and social development initiatives.
Her talk will discuss the phenomenon of Affluenza and its association with dark personality traits, and the potential role in the perpetration of white collar crime. Affluenza refers to heightened entitlement among the economically wealthy, leading them to fulfil their needs through harmful means without caring about the consequences to others as a result of these methods. Although an older concept, Affluenza has gained popularity over the past decade owing to its use as a defence in courts to gain leniency for wealthy perpetrators of crimes. However, not much is empirically known about the construct outside of consumerism and materialism literature, particularly in the context of the role of economic privilege in perpetrating crime and harming others. Furthermore, not everyone who is economically privileged will experience Affluenza; the contexts in which Affluenza manifests and contributes to the commission of crime, therefore, need to be explored. This talk will first address a mixed-methods-based scale construction for Affluenza to conceptualise the construct within criminological contexts. Further, findings will be presented on the interactive role of Affluenza, dark personality traits, and socioeconomic status within the perpetration of white collar crime. The challenges and learnings from designing and conducting these studies will also be addressed.
SEMINAR SCHEDULE
TBD
ELIGIBILITY
Undergraduate students, Postgraduate students, PhD students, and recent graduates (within one year) are also welcome to apply
Date and Time
22nd November, 2025 (Saturday 9AM to 2PM)
Venue
Hybrid (Online and In-Person in Mumbai)
registration fee
The most deserving early-career researchers who can contribute to India’s research ecosystem in the coming years at the Eleventh Seminar in Social Sciences are being offered registration at a highly subsidised fee as below.
Presenters: INR 2,500/-
Participants: INR 1,000/-
For in-person presenters and participants, fees cover refreshments, snacks, and a certificate.