Arul Paul talks to Tereza Kuldova and Mathew A. Varghese, editors of the book Urban Utopias: Excess and Expulsion in Neoliberal South Asia (Palgrave Studies in Urban Anthropology). The book brings together anthropologists and critical theorists to study utopian ideas of the future in India and Sri Lanka's neoliberal cities. The authors examine urban construction projects, special economic zones, fashion ramps, films, archaeological excavations, and queer spaces to argue for the importance of materiality to critique contemporary ideology.

Tereza Østbø Kuldova is a social anthropologist and Research Professor based at the Work Research Institute, Oslo Metropolitan University. She is the author of several books and edited volumes and is also the founder and editor in chief of the Journal of Extreme Anthropology.

Mathew A. Varghese is an Assistant Professor in the School of International Relations and Politics. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Extreme Anthropology published from University of Oslo. He currently engages in inquiries into unintentional design and co-species evolutions of the Anthropocene.