About
Vision and Outlook
Experience
Academic and Expanded
Contact
Vision and Outlook
Thomas Daniel Johari (before marriage: Krippner)
Nationality, German.
A Quick Glance
As an anthropologist, educator and researcher the different dimensions of my work come together at the intersection of social and educational transformations. My interest lies in the future and the ways it is continuously constructed in our relationship with the past and present. Especially young people, who contribute to this process with their imaginations, aspirations and decisions toward the future are in the focus of my interest.
With over 15 years of professional and personal experience in South Asia, I have conducted fieldwork in India and on its highly dynamic education sector. This incredible country has given me deep insights into its diverse social landscapes, ancient cultural technologies and its linguistic intelligence. For Indian students and their urge to transform the education system I have become an amabssador and enabler in their quest for a more sustainable collective future.
Focus group discussion
with students
conducted for my research at Christ University Bengaluru (2019)Academic Background
Anthropology is an academic field concerned with different world views, cultural practices and social transformations. The unique methods in this discipline, such as ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation and qualtitative research, enable me to address complex social situations and problems in a systematic way. In my focus on South Asia I combine different related topics such as education, youth and future in my holistic approach to understand local and global transformations.
Between Cultures
Travelling across and living in India for many years, I have shared life and work experiences with the people I encounter on my visits to various parts of the country and its diverse cultures and subculltures. In my academic and professional journeys, I follow the dynamic transformations taking place between local vernacular traditions and globalized urban lifestyles.
Fieldtrip to Tamil Nadu (2007) - Clay as a traditional Indian Raw Material for sustainable daily Products
Conducting Research
In my PhD research I followed university students into their daily reality at a private university in metropolitan Bengaluru. My approach combines micro perspectives on their individual experiences and aspirations with a macro perspective on the contemporary developments in India’s highly dynamic Indian education sector. The project offers close insights into decision-makingprocesses and teaching- and learning processes in a local context. Beyond my research, I enable students to follow their aspirations as world citizens accross borders.
Rethinking Future-Education
In my work on education, I allign my expertise in cultural competence, educational experience and research methods to enable young world citizens accross borders to follow their aspirations. I have established a vast network of communities, professionals and institutions all over India. Learning from, with and through Indian students, educators and parents and their local and global perspectives inspires me to embrace new educational approaches.
The meaningful individual and collective relationships I acquired in different social contexts in and beyond India provide the potential to reimagine teaching and learning practices for the future of local and global communities. The techniques and methods I applied in my research on Indian students are highly relevant for different fields connected to contemporary education. I look forward to working with individuals and organisations with whom I can share my experience in conducting qualitative inquiries.
Personal Background
Born in 1983 in the city of Ulm (Germany), I grew up and went to school in small-town Bavaria with plenty of nature, local traditions and meaningful social relations around.
Embracing recent Transformations in my private and professional Life
In the past three years since 2022, my life has offered an entirely new dimension of emotional growth: Becoming a father in a family has been a beautifully challenging transformation making life together more meaningful than I could have imagined. For my wife Shirin and me, the shared journey with Alexander Jahaan has been a benchmark of personal growth and explorations between our homes in India and Germany.
After dedicating our attention to being there and growing with Alex in this early time together, we wish to now carry our insights and shared experiences into our creative and professional future.