Dr. Elena Valdameri

Instructor

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Biography

Elena Valdameri is a historian specializing in modern South Asia with specific expertise in political thought, the anticolonial movement, women's history, and the politics of body and citizenship. Her monograph, "Indian Liberalism Nation Empire: Political Life of Gopal Krishna Gokhale," published by Routledge in 2022, situates the political biography of Indian nationalist reformer Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915) within a transnational context, enhancing the understanding of the Indian anticolonial movement and its connections to early global developments. She has also influenced recent scholarship on body history and co-edited the volume "Bodies, Binaries, Colonial and Postcolonial Asia" (Leiden University Press, 2024), which gathers contributions from established and emerging scholars focusing on knowledge production and cultural constructions of the body. Her ongoing research includes the project "Training Female Bodies, Making Good Citizens: Women’s Physical Education in Global Trends and Local Politics in India (1900s – 1950s)," which explores the emergence of girls' and women's physical education and its role in citizenship building during the late colonial and early postcolonial period in India. Additionally, she is studying the project "Shaping Asian Future Generations in the Age of (De)Colonisation: Playgrounds and Outdoor Games in India and China (ca 1900s–1950s)," examining how playgrounds served as political and educational sites in both colonial and postcolonial urban contexts, profoundly influencing the perceptions of childhood and youth.

Research Interests

Requirements for ETH Zurich

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.4
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
TOEFL
Total
Required:100
GRE General
Verbal
Required:159
Verbal Percentile
Required:80
Quantitative
Required:168
Quantitative Percentile
Required:81
Analytical Writing
Required:4.5
Writing Percentile
Required:85
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in a related field (Engineering, Natural Sciences, or Mathematics) Minimum 180 ECTS credits Subject-specific knowledge equivalent to ETH Bachelor's programs
Application Checklist
  • Bachelor's degree diploma or transcript
  • Official academic transcripts
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Letter of Motivation (1 page)
  • Two academic recommendation letters
  • English language proficiency certificate
  • GRE General Test (for non-EU/EFTA applicants)
Specialization Notes

The GRE is mandatory for students who did not obtain their Bachelor's degree in an EU/EFTA state. Some departments (e.g., Computer Science) have specific ECTS credit requirements in core subjects.