Dr. Lipon Kumar Mondal

Lipon Mondal is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Dhaka. Previously, he taught sociology at Virginia Tech for five years (2015-2019) while pursuing his PhD degree in the Department of Sociology. Moreover, he taught sociology at Washington and Lee University for one year (2019-2020) as a Visiting Assistant Professor.

EDUCATION
Dr. Mondal holds a PhD in Sociology (2020) from Virginia Tech (USA). Due to earning a GPA of 4.00 in his doctoral program, he became a life member of two of the most distinguished Honor Societies: Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key International. His thesis was titled From Dispossession to Surplus Production: A Theory of Capitalist Accumulation in Neoliberal Bangladesh. He received a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Dhaka, earning the first position in the first class (GPA 4.00; class size 185) and receiving the prestigious Nazmul Karim Memorial Gold Medal. He also earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Dhaka, securing the first position in the first class (GPA 3.96; class size 198) and receiving the Dean's Award.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Urban sociology, global political economy/ world-system analyses, sociological theory, labor control/rights in the global apparel industry, Bangladesh, and South Asia.

PUBLICATIONS

Book (Edited Volume)

Dr. Mondal published his first co-edited book in 2025: Urban Regimes of Dispossession in the Global South: A New Debate, by Brill. This book offers a new theory of urban dispossession, and its arguments are built on a survey of the nearly two-hundred-year history of global dispossession studies and solid empirical evidence from three continents—Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and seven countries— Bangladesh, Brazil, Honduras, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Uganda. This theory explains how urban actors organize dispossession and govern the urban dispossessed, how the urban dispossessed arrange, experience, and resist dispossession, and how urban dispossession contributes to the creation and expansion of capitalist systems or to the transformation of urban societies in the Global South.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Dr. Mondal has published over a dozen articles in his area of expertise. Notably, four of his recent articles have appeared in three top-notch journals: Urban Studies (SAGE), Journal of World-Systems Research (UofP/American Sociological Association), and International Journal of Comparative Sociology (SAGE). These articles advance new theories (i.e., the theory of labor control, the theory of capitalist transformation, the theory of structural dispossession, and the theory of urban nomadism) in the fields of global political economy/world-systems analysis, urban sociology, industrial sociology, and the sociology of development. Another recent article published in the Journal of Sociology has explored the problems and prospects of building sociological theory in the Global South. A few of his articles are currently under review with leading sociology journals. He has received TWO (2) prestigious awards for his outstanding publications: DEAN'S AWARD (2026), conferred by the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka; and RESEARCH EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION (2025), conferred by the University of Dhaka.

Book Chapters

Two of his recent book chapters (published by University Press Limited & Routledge) have examined the idea of land justice and the political economy of urban planning in Bangladesh. Another book chapter (by Brill) examines the violent logic of dispossession in Bangladesh.

Current Book Project

Dr. Mondal's current book project is tentatively titled: "The Complete Path to Southern Capitalism." This monograph examines how a capitalist society emerges, develops, functions, experiences resistance/crisis, and sustains itself in the Global South. The book's arguments draw on a diverse range of empirical and archival evidence from dozens of countries in the Global South, including Bangladesh.

TEACHING

Dr. Mondal's teaching interests include Introductory Sociology, Sociological Theory, Urban Sociology, Research Methods, Marxist Thought, Political Economy, Global Capitalism, Social Stratification, Global Studies, Global Apparel Industry, Labor Rights/Movements, and South Asian & Bangladesh studies. He has supervised over twelve (12) MPhil and Master’s students’ theses, and more than 100 undergraduate students' independent research projects. He has taught over forty-five (45) sociology graduate and undergraduate courses at three leading universities: University of Dhaka, Virginia Tech, and Washington and Lee University.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Dr. Mondal serves national and international research communities by regularly reviewing articles from a dozen leading sociology and urban studies journals. He is actively engaged in various international professional organizations, including the American Sociological Association (ASA), the International Sociological Association (ISA), and the Southern Sociological Society (SSS). He is on the advisory board of Banglar Pathshala Foundation, an independent organization that works to create a knowledge society and promote justice in Bangladesh.