searching for a Tamil Jesuit student of Bourdieu

[Nathaniel Roberts]

Dear Group,

I am not sure whether this is an appropriate query.  My question is about the identity of a student of Bourdieu, rather than about his intellectual output.  A friend of mine, a PhD student at Columbia Universitym is searching for a South Indian Jesuit he met some years back, who had studied with Bourdieu. Here is what my friend writes:

"Once (sometime in 2003-5) in Kodaikanal I met a Tamil Jesuit PhD, relatively youngish, from a Dalit background, who had studied with Bourdieu right before he died, and got his PhD from Sorbonne. He told me 'Bourdieu is our theorist'. Do you know him? I can't remember his name and we only met that once."

I understand that this is not social-networking list.  But there is an intellectual angle to my friend's query. 

The reason my friend wants to find this individual has to do with him being a Dalit--the member of a caste in India formerly termed "untouchable."  Dalits were not only dominated in the political-economic sphere (in many cases living as slaves), but were subject to an immense amount of symbolic violence.  Few (if anyone) has studied caste from a Bourdieuian perspective, at least not to my knowledge. My friend's interest in contacting this Father is connected to his own studies of caste, and of Dalits; and he is naturally quite intrigued to know what insights a student of Boudieu might have to offer.

Any suggestions as to how my friend might locate this person would be most welcome.

Regards,
Nate

--
Nathaniel Roberts
Visiting Scholar
Department of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
820 Williams Hall, 255 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA