Dr Renny Thomas

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology / Taki Visiting Global Professor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Bhopal, India /New York University, NY.

New York , New York, United States

Biography

Renny Thomas is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Bhopal, India, and Taki Visiting Global Professor at the NYU-Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University, NY. Previously he taught Sociology at the University of Delhi, India (2015-2021).

As an anthropologist, Thomas spends time in scientific research institutions and laboratories studying laboratory life, science and religion, social justice, and the social history of science. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in leading Indian scientific research institutions and laboratories. He supplements this approach with archival research on scientific method, scientific temper, and debates over Indian knowledge systems. Thomas is currently working on the diverse cultures of homeopathic practices in different locations, drawing materials from fieldwork and archival work. At IISER Bhopal, Thomas teaches courses in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and 'Magic, Science and Religion'.

Thomas has been the Charles Wallace Fellow in Social Anthropology at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (2017-2018) and a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Cultural History, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany (2022-2023). He is currently the Taki Visiting Global Professor at New York University (2024-2025).

Books:  Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment (London:Routledge, 2021) and Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations (London: Routledge, 2022, co-edited volume).

Honoraria Titles

Major Prizes

Religion, Philosophy & History Interests

History of Science

Science & Technology Interests

Anthropology

Website

https://hss.iiserb.ac.in/pages/renny.php

Publications

Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment

London: Routledge 2021
https://www.routledge.com/Science-and-Religion-in-India-Beyond-Disenchantment/Thomas/p/book/9781032073194

Mapping Scientific Method: Disciplinary Narrations

London: Routledge ( STS series) 2022
https://www.routledge.com/Mapping-Scientific-Method-Disciplinary-Narrations/Chadha-Thomas/p/book/9781032273525