My research explores the role of culture, narrative, and storytelling in movements for justice and social change. With a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish from UC Berkeley (2012) and a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese from Princeton University (2021), I bring an interdisciplinary and hemispheric lens to research and evaluation practice. I combine traditional social science methods with a nuanced understanding of how culture and language shape storytelling and meaning-making to generate practical insights and strategies for transformative change.
Methods and Approaches
1
Cultural Models Research
Examining the deep patterns of thought, belief, and shared values that guide how communities make meaning and take action
2
Interviews, Surveys, and Data Visualization
Capturing diverse perspectives and translate complex findings into clear, actionable data points
3
Participant Observation
Observing, listening, and participating to understand culture and change in context.
4
Archival Research
Examining varied background materials to illuminate how culture, power, and narrative intersect across time
Current Projects
Amoofy: AI-Assisted Narrative Evaluation
What are the possibilities and limitations of generative A.I. to assist human researchers with narrative analysis and deep listening?
Relevant research:
- “Narrative Analysis and Generative AI: Possibilities and Limitations“, Research Landscape Brief that surveys the current research on the capabilities and limitations of using generative AI for discourse analysis, October 2025
- “Amoofy and Scholas Ocurrentes: A Case for Hybrid Narrative Intelligence, November 2025
Ohter deliverables:
- Case-studies with contract-specific insights
- Evaluation protocols for AI-assisted narrative evaluation
- White paper: “Ethical and Applied Uses of Generative AI for Narrative and Discourse Analysis”, co-authored with Aaron Strain
Visionary Feminism and Narrative Change
What can U.S. changemakers learn from visionary and grassroots feminist organizing in the Global South about how narrative change happens?
Ongoing book project:
- The Stories We Tell: Visionary Feminism and Narrative Change
Peer-reviewed publications:
- Nature with Culture: Learning from Afro-Colombian feminists to imagine gender beyond the human, Holding Movements, Agitating Epistemes: Remembering, Retelling, and Dreaming for Justice, AGITATE! Journal, 2024.
For philanthropy, nonprofits, and evaluation:
- “From Policy to Relationships: The Infrastructure of Thriving“, Our Take, Early Milestones Colorado, 2025.
- “Using Discourse Analysis to Assess Narrative Change: Humanistic Methods“, Center for Evaluation Innovation, 2023.
Other thought-leadership:
- All in my feels for Zohran Mamdani: A Case for Narrative Changemakers, personal substack, November 2025
- The Value of a Story: Reflections from reading Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp (trans. Deepa Bhasthi), personal substack, September 2025.
- Designs for Change: Shifting narratives of territory and language from the university classroom, personal substack, February 2025.
Cultural Agency in Times of Danger: Diamela Eltit
What role does culture play in the context of authoritarianism, democratic policy changes, and austerity measures in the Americas?
Relevant peer-reviewed publications:
- “Vital Networks: Diamela Eltit and the Women of Debate Feminista”, Las palabras y los días III, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, forthcoming December 2025.
- “Tuning In: Intimacy and Networks in Diamela Eltit’s Fuerzas especiales”, Intersectional Feminism in the Age of Transnationalism, eds. Olga Bezhanova and Raysa Amador, 2021.
SOWMYA RAMANATHAN 