Scholars' Library: Rahul Rao on 'The Psychic Lives of Statues'
In our June event, Dr. Rahul Rao (India & Balliol 2001) will discuss his book The Psychic Lives of Statues: Reckoning with the Rubble of Empire.

Rahul is a Reader in International Political Thought at the University of St Andrews and Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London, where he taught from 2008–21. Prior to this, he was a Fixed Term Fellow in Politics at University College, Oxford. He has a BA, LLB (Hons) from the National Law School of India University and read for a DPhil in International Relations at Balliol College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the author of three books – The Psychic Lives of Statues: Reckoning with the Rubble of Empire (Pluto, 2025), Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality (Oxford, 2020), and Third World Protest: Between Home and the World (Oxford, 2010). His writing has appeared in numerous academic journals as well as in The Caravan and Himal Southasian. He is a member of the Radical Philosophy editorial collective.
Date: 24 June 2025, 18:00
Venue: Venue to be announced
Speaker: Dr Rahul Rao (SOAS)
Organising department: Rhodes House
Organiser: Rhodes Trust (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: nayana.niji@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk
Host: Rhodes Trust (University of Oxford)
Part of: Scholars' Library
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://events.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholars-library-Rahul-Rao
Audience: Public
Editor: Lucy Mercer