Dr Sharma’s research draws on many disciplines: political ecology, critical development studies, historical sociology, agrarian studies, as well as science and technology studies. Using qualitative methodologies, she has looked at postcolonial rural transformations, mapped the changing landscapes of work, studied agro-ecology and the politics of sustainability.

Before coming to SPRU, Divya gained a PhD in Development Sociology from Cornell University. Using ethnographic methods, her dissertation project examined agricultural intensification through high yielding varieties of seeds and agro-chemicals in the Indian state of Punjab since the 1960s, through the lens of changing labour practices and the shift towards ecologically sustainable farming.

She has conducted extensive fieldwork research in rural and urban India. Prior to graduate school, she was engaged in collaborative research at Delhi’s Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), centred on women’s work in the informal economy.