Divya Vatsa

Divya is reading for the MSc in Comparative Social Policy. She holds a BA in Social Studies and a minor in Computer Science from Harvard University, where she was also an undergraduate fellow in ethics at the Edmond J. Safra Center.  
 
Her interests broadly lie in understanding how formal and informal institutions shape perceptions of deservingness of welfare and collectivism in modern societies, and how social policy discourse can center these perspectives in reforms. She has studied this interaction in regards to the American carceral system, and currently through social institutions like football clubs. In the future, she hopes to bring this learning to the technology space.
 
In her current thesis, Divya seeks to explore how civil society actors can impact societal perceptions of solidarity towards immigrant communities within different welfare state contexts. Specifically, she will study whether and how national football clubs can impact fan attitudes against the backdrop of national political/economic ideologies.