HARTFORD, CT — The Center for Urban and Global Studies at Trinity College has named Liza Weinstein as its first visiting fellow. Weinstein, who is completing her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Chicago, will join the Center for the 2008-09 academic year.

Weinstein’s dissertation is entitled, “From Master Plans to Mega Projects: The Transformation of Urban Development in India’s Commercial Capital.” It is analysis of the political economy of post-liberalization urban development in Mumbai, and it examines the changing relations between the state, civil society groups, and private developers in the planning and implementation of Mumbai’s development plans and mega-projects.

The visiting fellow program is supported by the Mellon Foundation and by endowed funds contributed by Paul E. Raether, chairman of the Board of Trustees. The Center was launched in October of last year and is the first center at a U.S. liberal arts college to have an integrated urban-global focus.

Weinstein was the unanimous choice of the selection committee, which consisted of Vijay Prashad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies; Brigitte Schultz, Associate Professor of Political Science; Kristin Triff, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts; and James Wen, Professor of Economics and International Studies.

Weinstein will teach an urban course on the American city in the Fall 2008 semester and a course on Mumbai in the Spring 2009 semester.

For more information, contact Luiselle Rivera at 860-297-5175 or at luiselle.rivera@trincoll.edu.