The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in Asia, is a region of stark beauty and mounting crisis. As rising sea levels and extreme weather events fueled by climate change threaten its delicate ecosystems, the Sundarbans’ communities bear the brunt of this environmental devastation. At the forefront of this struggle are women—the caregivers, homemakers and stewards of their families—who remain in what is often deemed “uninhabitable” terrain to protect their loved ones while men migrate in search of better opportunities.
This reality resonates deeply with Sayantika Chakraborty, an English doctoral student at the University of Florida, whose own grandmother became a climate refugee over 40 years ago. Growing up, Chakraborty was captivated by the oral histories and personal experiences of other climate refugees, sparking her lifelong commitment to documenting and amplifying their voices.
Chakraborty’s research centers on the experiences of these women who are often excluded from formal narratives about climate crises. “The environment in the Sundarbans is a space dominated by women,” she explained. “While men leave, women stay behind to survive and care for their families in incredibly challenging conditions—brackish water, lack of transportation and limited access to resources or healthcare.” For Chakraborty, this focus is deeply personal, as her grandmother’s stories of displacement and resilience served as an early and profound influence.
For Chakraborty, this focus is deeply personal. “My grandmother was a climate refugee, and I grew up listening to her stories,” she recalls. “Those formative experiences instilled in me a desire to understand the struggles of climate refugees, particularly through a gendered lens.” Early exposure to these narratives, along with her volunteer work with climate migrants and participation in social outreach programs, played a pivotal role in shaping the focus of her research.
Using oral history methods, Chakraborty conducted interviews documenting how environmental changes affect family roles, daily life, and community resilience in the Sundarbans. Drawing on anthropology, the social sciences and literary studies, she aimed to ensure these accounts are recorded and shared in meaningful ways.
Her work was made possible in part by the Tedder Doctoral Fellowship from the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, which funded travel to the Sundarbans. This award, one of several offered by the center, reflects its mission to advance humanities research, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and address pressing societal challenges. “My fieldwork with women in the Sundarbans would not have been possible without the Tedder funds,” she said. “I am glad that in spite of funding challenges in academia, the Center continues to support Ph.D. students in conducting their research.”
However, Chakraborty’s involvement with the center began before her fellowship, through events such as the Scales of Belonging Speaker Series and a grant writing workshop. “It is through my interaction with the people at the Center, especially Jaime Ahlberg, Ph.D., Sara Agnelli Ph.D. and Noah Mullens, that I learned the nuances of doing public humanities work,” she said. “Of special importance here is the grant writing workshop I did under the supervision of Dr. Agnelli, which considerably improved my grant writing skills.”
Chakraborty also served as a graduate mentor in the Alexander Grass Scholars Program, guiding undergraduates in the Gulf Scholars Program and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program during the Pensacola Environmental History Project. This collaborative summer project produced a digital story map highlighting community experiences in areas affected by local Superfund sites designated by the Environmental Protection Agency, complementing her doctoral research on how environmental change shapes lived experience and community narratives.
Since becoming a Tedder Fellow, Chakraborty has been selected for the Modern Language Association’s Public Humanities Incubator and awarded the Edward Guiliano Global Fellowship. She has also been invited to speak at The Lynx bookstore’s Gainesville Reads event in September 2025, where her talk will draw on her role in mentoring students for the Pensacola project.
Looking ahead, Chakraborty plans to continue her research on the Sundarbans and related environmental history projects. Her upcoming fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, supported by short-term research German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) funding, will connect her with scholars worldwide and deepen her work on environmental responsibility.
Reflecting on her journey so far, she offered this advice for other doctoral students: “Knowing what you want to pursue in your research and your larger goal after you graduate is important. A Ph.D. is a long and sometimes isolating journey. If you’re not motivated by your work, it can take a toll. For me, the personal connection I have to this project keeps me going.”
Discover how the Tedder and Rothman Doctoral Fellowships support research like Chakraborty’s.