Exeter College DPhil student Aditi Gupta (2022, Medieval and Modern Languages) has secured two major research awards, providing substantial support for her doctoral research into 18th-century Franco-Indian intellectual history.
A prestigious residency grant was awarded by the Académie des Beaux-Arts of France. The fully funded opportunity will allow Aditi to spend six months in Paris, from January to June.
Aditi’s DPhil research explores the diplomatic, military, and intellectual exchanges between France and India in the eighteenth century. Her project focuses on the collections of paintings and manuscripts assembled by Jean-Baptiste Gentil (1726–1799), an officer of the French East India Company. The residency will be dedicated to researching the posthumous publication of Gentil’s Mémoires sur l’Indoustan (1822), which was crucial in disseminating his observations on India among European readers. Aditi stated that the residency will be invaluable for her research, giving her access to primary sources at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and providing a stimulating scholarly environment.
Aditi also won the Ralph Gibson Bursary. This doctoral prize is awarded annually by The Society for the Study of French History (SSFH) to an outstanding PhD student, specifically to facilitate the completion of a thesis in French history.
The SSFH award, which acknowledges the quality and originality of her research, will help her “complete my doctoral degree in the best possible conditions”. Exeter College extends warm congratulations to Aditi on securing this substantial dual recognition.
