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{{short description|Indian historian studying South Asian historiography}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2023}}


{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Prachi Deshpande
| image =
| caption = Courtesy: Infosys Foundation
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|14 December 1972}}
| alma_mater = [[Tufts University]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] [[Fergusson University]]
| thesis_title = Narratives of Pride: History and Regional Identity in Maharashtra, India, c. 1870-1960
| workplaces = [[Colorado State University]] [[Rutgers University]] [[UC Berkeley]] [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]]
| main_interests = Script and Language, Cultures of Historiography, Marathi literature and culture, Scribal elites, Modernity
| titles = Professor of History
| awards = [[Infosys Prize]] (2020)
| doctoral_advisor = [[Sugata Bose]]
| discipline = Early Modern South Asian History
| sub_discipline = Social and cultural history of western India
| website = {{URL|http://www.cssscal.org/faculty_prachi_deshpande.php|Official Website}}
}}

'''Prachi Deshpande''' (born 14 December 1972) is an Indian [[historian]] and [[Professor]] of [[History]] at the [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Print History: Prachi Deshpande - Straddling Manuscript and Print {{!}} PrintWeekIndia |url=https://www.printweek.in/features/print-history-prachi-deshpande-straddling-manuscript-and-print-57637 |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=PrintWeek |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Infosys Prize">{{Cite web |title=Infosys Prize - Laureates 2020 - Prof. Prachi Deshpande |url=http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com/prize/laureates/2020/prachi-deshpande.asp |access-date=2020-12-09 |website=www.infosys-science-foundation.com}}</ref><ref name="cssscal profile">{{Cite web|title=Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta|url=http://www.cssscal.org/faculty_prachi_deshpande.php|access-date=2020-12-09|website=www.cssscal.org|language=en}}</ref> In 2020, Deshpande received the [[Infosys Prize]] for Humanities – History for her extraordinarily nuanced and highly sophisticated treatment of South Asian [[historiography]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Infosys Prize winner's journey, from Berkeley To Kolkata |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/people/infosys-prize-winners-journey-from-berkeley-to-kolkata/cid/1829846 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019000543/https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/people/infosys-prize-winners-journey-from-berkeley-to-kolkata/cid/1829846 |archive-date=2021-10-19 |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-03 |title=Infosys Prizes for 2020 Awarded to Six Scholars – The Wire Science |url=https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/scientists-from-iisc-mit-harvard-stanford-among-6-winners-of-infosys-prize-2020/ |access-date=2025-09-06 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-02 |title=Infosys Science Foundation announces 2020's Infosys Prize Laureates |url=https://researchmatters.in/index.php/news/infosys-science-foundation-announces-2020s-infosys-prize-laureates |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=Research Matters |language=en}}</ref> She was the only female awardee that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'souza |first=Pearl Maria |date=2020-12-02 |title=Lone woman among winners as Infosys Prize awarded for contributions to science and research |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2020/Dec/02/lone-woman-among-winners-as-infosys-prize-awarded-for-contributions-to-science-and-research-2230978.html |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Muthukumar |first=Roshini |date=2020-12-03 |title=Meet the 6 Brilliant Scientists Who've Just Won the $100,000 Infosys Prize |url=https://thebetterindia.com/243910/infosys-prize-2020-brilliant-scientist-harvard-iisc-mit-stanford-ccmb-csss-narayan-murthy-ros174/ |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=The Better India |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |author=Staff Reporter |date=2020-12-02 |title=Infosys Prize 2020 winners felicitated in six categories |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/infosys-prize-2020-winners-felicitated-in-six-categories/article33232504.ece |access-date=2020-12-09 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Education==
Deshpande was born in [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]] in 1972. She completed her [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate studies]] in [[History]] at [[Fergusson College|Fergusson College, Pune]] (1988–1993), followed by an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in History at [[Jawaharlal Nehru University|Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi]] (1993–1995).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |title=Prachi Deshpande, CV |url=https://cssscal.org/pdf/faculty/deshpande_cv_2023.pdf |website=The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> She later pursued her [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctoral studies]] (1997–2002) under the supervision of historian [[Sugata Bose]] at [[Tufts University|Tufts University, Medford, MA.]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkNuAAAAMAAJ |title=Creative Pasts: Historical Memory and Identity in Western India, 1700-1960 |date=2007 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-12486-7 |pages=10 |language=en |chapter=Acknowledgements}}</ref> Her [[Thesis|doctoral thesis]] is titled ''Narratives of Pride: History and Regional Identity in Maharashtra, India, c. 1870-1960.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2t4nQEACAAJ |title=Narratives of Pride: History and Regional Identity in Maharashtra, India, C. 1870-1960 |date=2002 |publisher=Tufts University |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
After completing her doctorate at [[Tufts University]], [[Massachusetts]], in 2002, Deshpande taught as an [[Assistant professor|assistant]] and [[associate professor]] at several institutions in the [[United States]], including [[Colorado State University]] (2002–2004), [[Rutgers University]] (2004–2006), and the [[University of California, Berkeley]] (2006–2010). In 2010, she returned to [[India]] to join the [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta|Centre for Studies in Social Sciences]], [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta|Calcutta]], where she continues to work as a professor of history. She currently serves as Consulting Editor of the [[Journal of the History of Ideas]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journal of the History of Ideas |url=https://www.pennpress.org/journals/journal/journal-of-the-history-of-ideas/ |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=University of Pennsylvania Press |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Publications ==
Deshpande has published works in both [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What an 18th-Century Sale Deed Reveals About Language and Territory in the Deccan |url=https://thewire.in/history/what-an-18th-century-sale-deed-reveals-about-language-and-territory-in-the-deccan |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref> Her first book, ''Creative Pasts: Historical Memory and Identity in Western India, 1700–1960'' ([[Columbia University Press]], 2007), based on her doctoral research, examines modern history-writing practices in [[Marathi people|Marathi-speaking]] regions of [[Western India]] and their role in shaping Maharashtrian regional identity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-28 |title=Memory and Identity in Creative History {{!}} Economic and Political Weekly |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2009/48/book-reviews/memory-and-identity-creative-history.html |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=www.epw.in |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dube |first=Saurabh |date=2009 |title=Review of Creative Pasts: Historical Memory and Identity in Western India, 1700-1960 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25594374 |journal=Social History |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=348–350 |doi=10.1080/03071020902981840 |jstor=25594374 |issn=0307-1022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mallavarapu |first=Srikanth |date=2010 |title=Review of Creative Pasts: Historical Memory and Identity in Western India, 1700-1960 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40929341 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=1274–1276 |doi=10.1017/S0021911810002639 |jstor=40929341 |issn=0021-9118}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1125262.Creative_Pasts |title=Creative pasts: historical memory and identity in western India, 1700-1960 |date=2007 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-12486-7 |series=Cultures of history |location=New York}}</ref> Her second and most recent book, ''Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices, and Cultural History in Western India'' ([[Orient Blackswan|Orient BlackSwan]], 2023), explores the cultural history of [[Modi script|Modi]], the cursive script used for Marathi in Western India, and highlights its striking resonances with contemporary concerns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O’Hanlon |first=Rosalind |date=2025-08-10 |title='Scripts of Power': An extraordinarily rich study of the inescapable materiality of scribal labour |url=https://scroll.in/article/1085083/scripts-of-power-an-extraordinarily-rich-study-of-the-inescapable-materiality-of-scribal-labour |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=Scroll.in |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mir |first=Farina |date=2025-06-01 |title=Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices, and Cultural History in Western India, by Prachi Deshpande |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceaf127 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=140 |issue=604–605 |pages=896–898 |doi=10.1093/ehr/ceaf127 |issn=0013-8266|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raman |first=Bhavani |date=2023-08-01 |title=Book review: Prachi Deshpande, Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices and Cultural History in Western India |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/02576430231211728 |journal=Studies in History |language=EN |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=286–288 |doi=10.1177/02576430231211728 |issn=0257-6430|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Panda |first=Ahona |date=2024-07-01 |title=Book review: Prachi Deshpande, Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices, and Cultural History in Western India |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/00194646241256332 |journal=The Indian Economic and Social History Review |language=EN |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=420–423 |doi=10.1177/00194646241256332 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poddar |first=Sanjukta |date=2024-01-02 |title=Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices, and Cultural History in Western India |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00856401.2024.2309759 |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=47 |pages=212–215 |language=EN |doi=10.1080/00856401.2024.2309759 |issn=0085-6401|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Prachi Deshpande, "Scripts of Power: Writing, Language Practices, and Cultural History in Western India" (Permanent Black, 2023) |url=https://newbooksnetwork.com/prachi-deshpande-scripts-of-power-writing-language-practices-and-cultural-history-in-western-india-permanent-black-2023 |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=New Books Network |language=en}}</ref>

=== Select Journal Articles ===

* “The Marathi Kaulnāmā: Property, Sovereignty and Documentation in a Persianate Form.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 64(5–6), 583–614, 2021.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |date=2021-11-26 |title=The Marathi Kaulnāmā: Property, Sovereignty and Documentation in a Persianate Form |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=64 |issue=5–6 |pages=583–614 |doi=10.1163/15685209-12341547 |issn=1568-5209|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ORCID |url=https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8534-9067 |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=orcid.org}}</ref>
* “Shuddhalekhan: Orthography, Community and the Marathi Public Sphere.” ''[[Economic and Political Weekly]]'', vol. 51, no. 6, 2016, pp.72–82.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |date=2016 |title=Shuddhalekhan: Orthography, Community and the Marathi Public Sphere |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44004357 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=72–82 |jstor=44004357 |issn=0012-9976}}</ref>
* "The writerly self: Literacy, discipline and codes of conduct in early modern western India." ''[[Indian Economic and Social History Review|The Indian Economic and Social History Review]]'', 53(4), 449–471, 2016.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |date=2016-10-01 |title=The writerly self: Literacy, discipline and codes of conduct in early modern western India |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0019464616662137 |journal=The Indian Economic and Social History Review |language=EN |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=449–471 |doi=10.1177/0019464616662137 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* “The Making of an Indian Nationalist Archive: Lakshmibai, Jhansi, and 1857.” [[The Journal of Asian Studies]], vol. 67, no. 3, 2008, pp.855–79.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |date=2008 |title=The Making of an Indian Nationalist Archive: Lakshmibai, Jhansi, and 1857 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20203427 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=855–879 |doi=10.1017/S0021911808001186 |jstor=20203427 |issn=0021-9118}}</ref>
* "Caste as Maratha: Social categories, colonial policy and identity in early twentieth-century Maharashtra." [[Indian Economic and Social History Review|The Indian Economic and Social History Review]], 41(1), 7-32, 2004.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deshpande |first=Prachi |date=2004-02-01 |title=Caste as Maratha: Social categories, colonial policy and identity in early twentieth-century Maharashtra |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/001946460404100102 |journal=The Indian Economic and Social History Review |language=EN |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=7–32 |doi=10.1177/001946460404100102 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, Prachi}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Fergusson College alumni]]
[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni]]
[[Category:Tufts University alumni]]
[[Category:Colorado State University faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]]

Prachi Deshpande - Revision history

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