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OVERVIEW
The CIHS is an independent research platform focused on the systematic study of human behavior, culture, embodiment, sexuality, and social organization through inductive and interpretive methods.
It supports unbiased, intellectual freedom, unconventional ideas, historically under-represented scholarship, and interdisciplinary inquiry. Research conducted under CIHS are primarily explored without the constraints of bureaucratic or funding-driven agendas inherent in traditional academia. This autonomy allows for questioning established dogma and challenging prevailing paradigms which can lead to transformative breakthroughs.
CIHS prioritizes methodological transparency, traceability of interpretation, and archival continuity. The Open Science Framework is used as an organizational and documentation infrastructure to make research processes, materials, and analytic decisions publicly accessible. In essence independent research at the CIHS enhances scholarly landscape by creating new spaces for dialogue, innovation and public engagement.
RESEARCH QUESTION: How does culture and politics influence the evolution of human social and sexual attitudes, perceptions, behaviors and artistic expressions in post-colonial societies?
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Nishita Rao is the Krantikari behind Pillow Talk With Nixi, an insurgent platform challenging colonial architectures across education, research, therapy, consultation, publication, archiving, and art through radical plurilogues, embodied inquiry, and anarchical resistance. She synthesizes transdisciplinary knowledge, decolonial praxis, and anti-institutional frameworks to reimagine the production, dissemination, and practice of knowledge.
At the Center for Integrated Human Studies, she delves into Neuroscience, Anthropology, Psychology, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Linguistics, Philology, Hermeneutics, Political Science, Dance Ethnography, Ethnomusicology and Paleoclimateology. Her research revolves around post-colonial imprints on human social and sexual attitudes, perceptions, behaviors and artistic expressions.
RESEARCH SCOPE
Research conducted under CIHS is guided by a transdisciplinary approach. As stated by the founder, work at CIHS involves engagement with the following fields:
The central thematic focus of our projects is the examination of post-colonial imprints on human social and sexual attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. We acknowledge that research conducted on human behavior by Nishita isn’t adequately understood through a single disciplinary lens and therefore we emphasize contextual, comparative, and cross-domain analysis.
PROJECTS
CIHS hosts multiple projects at different stages of development. Project status is indicated individually (e.g., data collection, analysis ongoing, writing, completed, yet to commence). Projects span a range of disciplinary intersections and their research scope would be listed in the project details. Projects are listed publicly under the CIHS index and are organized by thematic and disciplinary focus rather than by a single unified research program.
Projects may differ in scope, materials, analytic approach, and stage of completion. CIHS does not require uniform research design across projects and does not present all projects as empirical or experimental in nature. Project descriptions indicate current status and disciplinary orientation to support transparency.
HOW TO CITE
To cite the Center for Integrated Human Studies (CIHS) as an initiative, please use the following format:
| Rao, N. (Year). Center for Integrated Human Studies. **https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SDNMC**
For specific projects, please refer to the citation information provided on the individual project pages.
The Center for Interdisciplinary Human Studies (CIHS) is founded by Nishita Rao, an independent interdisciplinary researcher. Nishita holds a Master of Science in Neuroscience with a focus on Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and a Bachelor of Engineering in Biotechnology, specializing in Brain-Computer Interfaces and Phytochemistry. Her extensive academic and professional training spans a wide array of fields, including Sexual Sciences, Neuroscience, Anthropology, Molecular Biology, Behavioral Sciences, Political Science, Linguistics, Dance Ethnography, Ethnomusicology, and Paleoclimatology.
Nishita’s work is driven by a commitment to challenge colonial architectures in knowledge production and dissemination. Through CIHS, she aims to create a space for research that is decolonial, anti-carceral, and anti-diagnostic, centering marginalized voices and perspectives. Her research philosophy is grounded in transdisciplinary synthesis, embodied inquiry, and anarchical resistance to traditional institutional frameworks.
METHODOLOGY
CIHS employs a transdisciplinary and mixed-methods approach to research, reflecting the complexity of human behavior. The center does not adhere to a single methodological framework, instead drawing from a variety of qualitative and quantitative approaches as appropriate for the research question at hand. These may include, but are not limited to:
This methodological flexibility allows for a nuanced and contextual understanding of Human behavior.
DISCLAIMER
ORCID ID
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