Miriam Shah is a student in the College, studying Intellectual History with a concentration in Judaic Studies. She grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, although much of her childhood was spent visiting family in South India. Having spent so much time in India, which is currently implicated in a serious battle to hammer out a national identity, Miriam is fascinated by the relationship between myth, nationalism, and the notion of "nationhood." She is also interested in the relationship between religion and culture, and the way in which this manifests itself in the legislation of a country.