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Political Science Department

Sonalini Sapra

Part-Time Lecturer for Political Science

saprask@guilford.edu

Biography

Sonalini Sapra taught at Guilford between 2018 and 2020, returning in 2022. She currently works as an Associate Director in the Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching and serves as collegiate faculty in Political Science and Justice and Policy Studies. 

Before returning to graduate school, Sonalini worked at a non-governmental labor rights organization in New Delhi doing research and advocacy on the impact that trade liberalization was having on India’s informal workers. She has also worked with several community organizations in the United States and currently serves as an advisory board member and research fellow at the Center for New North Carolinians (CNNC).

Education

Vanderbilt, Ph.D., 2009
Political Science
University of Warwick, United Kingdom, M.A., 2002
International Relations
Lady Shri Ram College, B.A., Honors, 2001
History

Selected Scholarship

Books:

  • Palko, A., Sapra, S., & Wagman, J. (Eds). (2020). Feminist responses to the neoliberalization of the university. From surviving to thriving. Rowman & Littlefield.

Articles and Book Chapters:

  • Craven, K., Sapra, S., Hyde, M., and Harmon, J. (2021).“I’m no criminal, I’m just homeless”: A local homeless union’s efforts to combat criminalization. Journal of Community Psychology 50 (3) pp. 1875-1892.
  • Kniffin, L., and Sapra, S. (2021). Enhancing Civic Engagement through Leadership Education. e-Journal of Public Affairs. 10 (3). https://ejournalofpublicaffairs.org/enhancing-civic-engagement-through-leadership-education/. 
  • Detraz, N., & Sapra, S. (2021). Climate change, gender, and peace: Thinking differently in a brave new world? In T. Väyrynen, S. Parashar, É. Féron, & C. Confortini (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Feminist Peace Research (1st ed., pp. 359-368). Routledge.
  • De La Cruz, S., Hayes, N., & Sapra, S. (2020). Laboring in Line With Our Values: Lessons 
  • learned in the Struggle to Unionize. In A. Palko, S. Sapra, & J. Wagman (Eds.), 
  • Feminist Responses to the Neoliberalization of the University: From Surviving to Thriving (pp. 83–108). Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Alexander, S. & Sapra, S. (2013). Post it on the wall!: Using Facebook to 
  • complement student learning in gender and women’s studies courses. Feminist Teacher, 23(2).
  • Sapra, S. (2013). Environmental justice and climate change in India. In B. Black (Ed.), Climate Change: An Encyclopedia of Science and History (vol. 1). ABC-CLIO.
  • Sapra, S. (2012). Feminist perspectives on the environment. In N. Sandal (Ed.), International Studies Association Compendium. Blackwell. 
  • Sapra. S. (2012). No climate justice without gender justice: Mainstreaming gender in global climate change policy. In G. Caglar, M. Castro Varela, & H. Schwenken (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on climate, societal nature relations, and justice. Barbara Burdich Verlag Publishers. 

Community-Engaged Publications:

  • 2019 A Safe Place to Stay: Combatting Homelessness, Police Violence, and Jim Crow in Greensboro. (in collaboration with Krista Craven, Justin Harmon, and the Homeless Union of Greensboro). 
  • 2019 Homelessness is Criminalized in Greensboro. Greensboro News and Record (in collaboration with Krista Craven). 
  • 2017 Curriculum for the Bioregion. 2017. Growing Food and Justice in Catholic Universities.
  • 2015 Co-Editor. May 2015, Special Issue on Climate Change and Feminist Environmentalisms.
  •     Feminist Wire. 
  • 2011 “Wangari Maathai – 1941-2011.” The Feminist Wire. October 12th 2011. 

Courses Taught

Introduction to Civic Engagement
Research Methods
Social Change and Innovation
Forced Migration and Resettlement
Group Dynamics and Leadership
Modern Environmental Problems
Transnational Feminisms

Areas of Interest

Community Engagement
Transnational Feminisms,
Environmental Justice
Forced Migration
Dalit Studies
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning