Against the Nation invites readers to explore South Asia as a place and as an idea with a sense of reflection and nuance rather than submitting to conventional understanding of the region merely in geopolitical terms. The authors take the readers across a vast terrain of prospects like visual culture, music, film, knowledge systems and classrooms, myth and history as well as forms of politics that offer possibilities for reading South Asia as a collective enterprise that has historical precedents as well as untapped ideological potential for the future.

Sasanka Perera teaches Sociology at South Asian University and is the founding professor of the university's Department of Sociology. He has researched on the thematic issues of contemporary visual art in Sri Lanka, violence and memory, religion and politics. He is the Editor of Society and Culture in South Asia. Some of his recent publications include Warzone Tourism in Sri Lanka: Tales from Darker Places in Paradise(2016), Violence and the Burden of Memory (2015), Culture and Politics in South Asia: Performative Communication (co-edited, 2018) and Sociology and Social Anthropology in South Asia: Histories and Practices (co-edited, 2018).

Dev Nath Pathak teaches Sociology at South Asian University and is a founding faculty member of the university's Department of Sociology. His current research interests include popular culture (music, cinema and performance) and South Asian studies. He is Reviews Editor of Society and Culture in South Asia (the journal of Department of Sociology, South Asian University, co-published with SAGE India). Some of his recent publications include Living & Dying: Meanings in Maithili Folklore (2018), Another South Asia! (2018), Culture and Politics in South Asia: Performative Communication (co-edited, 2017) and Sociology and Social Anthropology in South Asia: Histories and Practices (co-edited, 2018).

Ravi Kumar teaches Sociology at South Asian University and is a founding faculty member of the university's Department of Sociology. He is also Associate Editor of Society and Culture in South Asia and serves on the editorial board of The Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies and Critical Education. Some of his recent publications include Contemporary Readings in Marxism: A Critical Introduction (2016), Neoliberalism, Critical Pedagogy and Education (2016), Social Movements: Transformative Shifts and Turning Points (2014), Education and the Reproduction of Capital: Neoliberal Knowledge and Counterstrategies (2012) and Sociology and Social Anthropology in South Asia: Histories and Practices (co-edited, 2018).