Biography
Pavi is a final-year PhD student at the Department of History, SOAS, University of London. Her thesis, titled ‘Information and Political Discourse in the British Reoccupation of Burma 1945-1948,’ focuses on the circulation and control of political discourses from the end of World War II until the eve of Burmese independence in January 1948. Her PhD research topic is a product of a long interest in modern mainland Southeast Asian history. She previously undertook an MPhil in World History, University of Cambridge on the history of Sino-Burmese relations and Burmese anti-communist policy during the Cold War. Pavi received her Bachelor degree in History/Asian Studies from Bowdoin College in the United States.
From 2020-2021, Pavi was the co-chair of the London Burma Reading Group with worldwide scholarly audiences. She has organised several panel discussions that brought together experts from academia, government, and non-profit sectors to address contemporary issues in modern-day Myanmar and mainland Southeast Asia. Her article ‘Solidarity Trial – Community Struggles in Myanmar’s Response to COVID-19’ is available as a book chapter in LSE’s series: Southeast Asia: Insights for a Post-Pandemic World.
Pavi has a keen interest in grassroots politics, national minorities, and ethnic conflict resolutions, informed by her participation in research projects on the Mekong region and fieldwork in Thailand northern/western border. In the future, she plans to expand her research direction to cross-border focus and policy implementation aspects of mainland Southeast Asia in the context of Asia-Pacific.
