SRF

About SRF

Samyukta Research Foundation (SRF) is instituted to promote research and publication in established and emerging areas. It is a collective of like-minded scholars committed to knowledge production, integration and dissemination with the explicit aim of strengthening the inclusive field of Liberal Humanities. With the broad vision ‘Invest in Future’ the Foundation functions in the field of higher education, promoting research and publication in keeping with its well defined objectives.

By evoking the foundational premises of disciplines and experimenting and testing whether it is possible to effect connections between them, the researchers at SRF seek to broaden their understanding of the real world. They are passionate about change and constantly ask the question whether change is possible.

SRF History

Our History

As the brain-child of G S Jayasree, former Professor and Dean of the University of Kerala, SRF fulfils her long cherished dream of giving back to society the knowledge she has gained in her teaching career of more than 30 years in the University. SRF has a well defined research programme, a clutch of journals, a scheme to publish books, monographs, creative works and translations, and a range of academic programmes and events.

The Foundation has its beginnings in Samyukta: A Journal of Women’s Studies, launched in the year 2001. The journal soon established itself as a major publication from India in its chosen field of Women’s Studies. When the editors of Samyukta felt the need to address the broader issues of gender and culture, the title of the journal was changed to Samyukta: A Journal of Gender & Culture in 2016. This was a turning point in the history of the journal.

SRF New Ventures

New Ventures

In the year 2020 it was decided to launch the publishing house, Samyukta India Press, backed by the staunch publishing history of 20 years. In keeping with our professed intention of re-defining Liberal Humanities, we encourage in-depth studies critiquing entrenched notions that are often taken for granted. This is part of a concerted effort to give a new direction to discourses in this area.

The Press soon attracted an impressive collection of manuscripts, and the first book to be published is the English translation of 30 short stories of T. Padmanabhan, the master craftsman of Malayalam short fiction, moved into English by Sreedevi K. Nair and Laila Alex. 

SRF Areas of Research

Areas of Research

The research interests of the Foundation centre on, but are not limited to, the study of literature and translations, scrutiny of issues related to the economy, polity and society and an examination of the singular role of peace and conflict resolution in a troubled world. SRF is interested in the anatomy of systems and relations of power, with particular reference to gender. Much of the research being carried on at SRF concentrates on mapping cultural changes over centuries, specifically, the ‘long nineteenth century’. The research interests of SRF extend to the study of Films, Popular Culture and Life-Writing – an ever-expanding repertoire that keeps pace with global changes.

SRF Vision

Our Vision

The professed aim of SRF is to groom young scholars from the global south to contribute to the constantly shifting horizons of knowledge in the rest of the world. Samyukta Research Foundation as a body to oversee expanding academic activities, specialises in research and publishing in Social Sciences and Humanities, matching the rigorous academic standards expected of a world-class university. The term ‘samyukta’ in Sanskrit means ‘the state of being closely connected’. True to its etymological roots, we at Samyukta Research Foundation remain closely connected to the rest of the world to realize our professed dream of achieving excellence in research.