| Education | Deegan did his graduate work at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, where he
completed his Masters degree in Asian Studies. Subsequently, with
support from the India Office Library in London, the National Archives
in New Delhi , and a degree fellowship from the East-West Center in
Honolulu, he did doctoral field research in central India on pilgrim
circulation and culture zones of that region. Parts of that work are
highlighted in a recent publication: "The Narmada: Circumambulation of a
Sacred Landscape", in Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of Earth,
Sky, and Water, Chappel and Tucker (editors). Harvard University Press.
2000. |
| Research Interests | Following three years as an on-site program director for US
undergraduates studying in south Asia, Chris Deegan continued his work
in international education for the next eleven years as the Director of
Asian and Pacific Studies at an international non-governmental
organization and its affiliated college in the northeastern US. In
addition to being the overall strategic manager for a dozen programs in
the region, he undertook new program development at diverse sites
including Sumatra, Mongolia, India, Nepal, Fiji, and Samoa. He has also
led faculty and administrator development seminars to China and Nepal.
Currently, he is an independent consultant on international education.
Deegan presents papers regularly at professional conferences and
university seminars. He is a member of the Association for Asian Studies
and a board member of Independent Scholars of South Asia. His current
research interest is on the development of 'critical literacies' for
informed and ethical fieldwork: a set of axioms and guidelines for
constructing an appropriate overall context for collection and
dissemination of information. He also has a continuing research interest
in the links of cultural geography and identity, particularly in rural
communities of central India.
Prior to his work in international education, for over a decade Deegan
was a research consultant in India for international and
non-governmental organizations. He worked on issues ranging from the
tensions between agricultural production and cultural practice, to
disease eradication strategies in vulnerable rural communities. He has
published and presented on these topics at university sponsored
conferences and seminars, and professional association meetings in the
US. |
