Wofford College Archives

David Efurd

Dr. David Efurd is associate professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Wofford College where he also serves as coordinator of Asian studies and co-coordinator of Ancient World studies. He teaches various courses about global artistic traditions which contribute to Wofford’s curricula in Asian studies, Chinese studies, and Middle Eastern and North African studies. He received his PhD in history of art (South Asia) from Ohio State University and his MA in art history from the University of Georgia. Dr. Efurd has also a BFA in painting and drawing from Cornell University where he began pursuing his lifelong interest in darkroom and digital photography.

With South Asia as his research field, Dr. Efurd studies early Buddhist monasteries carved directly into the stone cliffs of western India. His research encompasses interactions among peoples in the ancient western Deccan and the resulting artistic and architectural forms hewn from living rock. His present work focuses on revisiting scholarship from the era of the British Empire to later studies of Buddhist monuments. He utilizes both meticulous examination of archaeological sites and his training in the arts to foster understanding about ancient and contemporary artistic practices throughout Asia. Dr. Efurd’s other scholarly interests include digital humanities and the preservation of cultural heritage sites. He maintains an archive of photographs of caves, architecture, and Buddhist art, which is accessible to scholars all over the world.

Dr. Efurd’s Fulbright-Nehru project is examining holistic design in early Buddhist architecture through data collection via photographic documentation and intensive study of an ancient monastic cave complex in western India. The project aims to offer insights into little-known architectural practices of 2000 years ago, which reflect in the extent and scope of holistic unity attempted by the cave’s creators.

Annika Agarwal

Annika Agarwal graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a major in anthropology in May 2023. While in school, she was the campus chairperson of Global Brigades where she organized menstrual products for communities in Honduras. She also founded Screen to Street, an organization that conducts home visits and educational programs for Latina women in their prenatal and postpartum periods. Besides, she worked as a birth doula at Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, where she helped countless mothers during their birthing experience. One of her most valuable undergraduate experiences was developing her research skills and repertoire through Dr. Sara Baumann’s lab in Pittsburgh. During that time, she spent a summer in Mumbai, working with orphan girls to understand institutionalized menstrual practices, attitudes, and knowledge production. She has also worked on projects related to Collaborative Filmmaking, a participatory arts-based method, to understand the postpartum experiences of women in Pittsburgh. Annika will build on these experiences and skills through her Fulbright year. Ultimately, she hopes to attend medical school and continue her work on women’s health research globally.

Due to insufficient sanitary services, slum women in Dharavi, Mumbai, face a predicament. While they use dilapidated community toilets that make menstruation a communal issue, taboos perpetuate a clandestine culture. Of the sparse research that has been done on menstrual disposal, men and elders stand excluded. Therefore, this Fulbright study asks: “What are the attitudes, practices, and knowledge around menstrual disposal among men and women of different ages in Dharavi?” For her research, Annika is using Collaborative Filmmaking to co-create films on menstrual disposal with the residents. This study will contribute to the knowledge on differential bodily autonomy based on gender, a prominent issue in both the U.S. and India.

Shalini Puri

Prof. Shalini Puri has a PhD from Cornell University and is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests span postcolonial, Caribbean, gender, and memory studies; indentureship, slavery, and incarceration; environmental humanities; and social movements. She is especially interested in interdisciplinary and fieldwork-based humanities methods that explore the intersection of the arts, everyday life, and social justice.

Prof. Puri co-founded the Pitt Prison Education Project. She is the author of The Grenada Revolution in the Caribbean Present: Operation Urgent Memory and the award-winning The Caribbean Postcolonial: Social Equality, Post-Nationalism, and Cultural Hybridity. She has co-edited Theorizing Fieldwork in the Humanities: Methods, Reflections, and Approaches to the Global South and several other books. She also edits Palgrave Macmillan’s New Caribbean Studies series. Currently, she is working on a book titled “Poetics for Freshwater Justice”.

As part of her Fulbright-Nehru project, Prof. Puri is collaborating with scholars at Ashoka University to explore how a comparative study of the Caribbean and India can reframe postcolonial studies and build enduring mechanisms for south–south exchange. The specific foci of the collaboration is research, teaching, advising, and capacity building to facilitate a cross-regional study of migration, environmentalisms, and water justice using the lens of literature and interdisciplinary humanities.

Chandler Compton

Chandler Compton is a North Carolina native raised on his family’s farm near Chapel Hill. At Wofford College, he majored in international affairs and English, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He played on the men’s soccer team while also serving the college’s honor council and tutoring students at the library’s writing center. As a junior, he directed and hosted the college’s first-ever TEDx conference. He has also studied in Prague, Czechia.

After college, Chandler served as a logistics officer in the United States Marine Corps. Stationed at both Mount Fuji and Okinawa, Japan, his role involved leading the Marines in logistics operations and collaborating with partners across the Indo-Pacific region. His firsthand experience working in this dynamic international environment solidified his interest in international affairs and regional cooperation.

Chandler enjoys traveling to new countries, reading history, and going snowboarding whenever possible. He is a passionate supporter of the Atlanta Braves and Everton Football Club. When not following sports or being with friends, he is likely to be found at the gym or playing pick-up sports at the nearest basketball court or soccer field.

Chandler’s Fulbright-Nehru research is focusing on India’s potential leadership role in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to strengthen Indo-Pacific supply chains. His project is identifying collaborative strategies for Quad members to build resilient multilateral supply chains in the region. Considering India’s strategic location, growing economic influence, and access to critical trade routes, Chandler argues the country is uniquely positioned to spearhead the Quad leadership in fortifying the Indo-Pacific economic infrastructure and promoting regional stability and sustainable development while mitigating the impact of disruptions in the global economy.