Reuben Reflections: Shreya Ganguli (MSt in Global & Imperial History, 2025)

Part One: Research focus

"I researched female domestic workers from China (amahs) and India (ayahs) in the twentieth century who lived and worked in colonial households,” says Shreya. “I focused on two aspects: their relationships with the children they cared for, and their mobility. Many of them moved from villages or towns to big cities, and later across the British Empire to the UK or other colonies, like Australia and New Zealand."

"I think it’s a huge part of imperial history that goes unrecognised. The labour of these women of colour and domestic workers."

Identifying a vacuum

"Shreya’s interest began during her undergraduate degree in History and Politics at Edinburgh. “I read Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan, about Western women in India. One chapter described their social lives (going to social clubs, playing tennis and card games), but the chapter right before had been about giving birth. I thought there was such a vacuum… where are their children?”
That question led her to the ayahs and amahs, caregivers whose voices rarely appear in historical records. “Most literature in the Western world about colonial domesticity is written from the employer’s perspective. I hope my research fills that vacuum of servant and child perspectives.”

Part Two: Why it matters

“It’s so important to give a voice to those in the past who have been marginalised by mainstream history,” she notes. “Previous historians claimed that we couldn’t access the voices of servants. But that’s becoming less true, especially because there are different methodologies. Things like oral history are being used; I use visual sources like film and images.”

“Contemporarily, it’s so important. We can learn so much from the past, and I think there are themes that run through my work that are so relevant to the present day, like unrecognised domestic work, female labour, and parent-child and child-servant intimacy.”

Part Three: Reflections as a humanities student at Reuben

“When I got my offer, I looked up Reuben and thought 'wow, this looks quite science-focused'! But don’t let the initial impression put you off,” she advises incoming humanities students. “We should be – and are – just as valued. It just manifests in different ways. The College is a great place for that. Because it’s so new, there are so many things that are being tested and tried.”

“There are ways to get involved and to highlight the work of humanities students. I worked for The Reuby and was really dedicated to making sure there were humanities submissions to that. I presented at Tuesday Talks, too! There are opportunities.”

Outside her studies, Shreya threw herself into College life. “I really enjoyed that side of my life here. I learnt to row, played with the football team, and loved just getting lunch with friends every day. Reuben lunch became a staple!”

Reuben in three words? Welcoming, international, and potential.