Biography
Dr G. Ali Shair鈥檚 research interests lie in the areas of cultural studies, diaspora and racialised soundscapes with a particular focus on conceptualising Muslim modernity听and musical sound at the intersections of ethnicity and religion.听
Before joining the School of Global Studies at the 日韩无码, Dr听听Shair was a Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick where he played a key role on the project听, a cross-national project funded by Horizon Europe. Drawing on his expertise in researching marginalised communities, Dr Shair played a key role in generating and analysing data for the UK case study exploring: (a) how communities and territories come to be designated as 鈥楲eft Behind鈥 in public and policy discourses; (b) perceptions held by a range of stakeholders in the two fieldwork areas of Stoke on Trent and Rochdale toward being designated as 鈥楲eft Behind鈥; and (c) the ways in which communities and territories respond to the designation 鈥 Left Behind鈥. Specifically, Dr Shair undertook a significant amount of the fieldwork for the project: interviews, focus groups, field observations, analysis of parliamentary debates, and social media analysis.
Dr Shair has also been an Early Career Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at the University of Warwick where he had been building on his PhD research via several outputs. He completed his PhD in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick in 2023. In addition to this, Dr Shair was also a part-time Teaching Fellowship in the School of Humanities at Coventry University where he led modules in the areas of race, media, popular culture, global divisions and inequalities.
Deploying a Gramscian framework, his doctoral research explored the relationship between religious nationalism and 鈥楬industani鈥 classical music in the South Asian context of Pakistan. Based on ethnography, interviews, and archival research, his PhD addressed two major questions: 1) how do hereditary practitioners of Hindustani classical music in Pakistan navigate local pressures with regards to this music form鈥檚 contested place in the Pakistani National Culture? and 2) how do such pressures result in the global invisibility of Pakistani classical music?
Recently, Dr Shair has been expanding his research interests by testing the significance of cultural studies approaches/frameworks for a nuanced understanding of spatial and territorial inequalities. In particular, he is interested in exploring the sonic aspects of urban experience to conceptualise marginalities and exclusions at the intersections of race, religion, gender and class.
Currently, Dr Shair is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow here in the School of Global Studies, Sussex University, and is carrying out his new research project exploring the urban soundscapes of the Pakistani/South Asian Muslim diaspora in Britain.
Selected Publications:
Journal Article. Shair, G. Ali (2025). 鈥淪patialising Culture: Baithaks and Surviving Scene of Classical Music in Pakistan鈥 in HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, Vol 15, No. 1.听
Book chapter/ Peer Reviewed: Shair, G. A. (2025). "Sound and Politics of Classical Music in West Punjab", In听Punjab Sounds: In and Beyond the Region.听(eds. Kapuria and Duggal). New York. pp. 60-75 Routledge. DOI:听
Review Article: Shair, G. A. (2024).Music in Colonial Punjab by Radha Kapuria. London: Bloomsbury Pakistan ()
Book chapter: (Forthcoming) Shair, G.A. and Kalra, V. S. (2025). 鈥淪outh Asian Diasporic Classical Soundscape鈥, in听Dissonant Sounds: Diaspora, Technology, Culture and Politics听(eds. Bull and James). London. Bloomsbury.
Reports and Briefs:
a) Literature Review Summary: Conceptualising 鈥楲eft-Behind鈥 and Territorial Inequalities in the UK (January 2023)
b) Report on the policy drivers of territorial inequalities (UK Case)
c) Report on the analysis of key policies and strategies regarding territorial inequalities (UK Case)
d) Report on the exploratory analysis of gaps between factors of inequality and perception (UK Case)
e) Policy brief on 鈥榣eft-behind鈥 and policy responses (UK Case)
f) Report on experiences and perceptions of being left behind in the UK
g) Report on strategies to counteract territorial inequalities in the UK
Grants and Awards:
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellow (May 2025 - May 2028), School of Global Studies, 日韩无码.
- IAS Award, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Warwick
- Early Career Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Warwick
- Doctoral Bursary, The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust
- Chief Minister Merit Scholarship (CMMS), Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF), Government of Punjab, Pakistan.
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Role
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow