Chithra KarunaKaran is a postcolonial sociologist whose most recent preliminary fieldwork (on Myth and Narrative as Lived Democracy) was undertaken in Erumely, Kerala, India, under a CUNY (City University of New York Faculty Research grant.

She will conduct an activism workshop on behalf of NWSA/USA (National Womens Studies Association) at the World Social Forum (WSFIndia) in Mumbai in January 2004 titled "Women Re-Imagining the United Nations: Taking Power, Making Change." Dr. Karunakaran's journalism articles may be found at Calicutnet and Chowk (click on University Avenue) under her byline. Her family hails from Thalassery. Her late father was Director-General of the Geological Survey of India and Founder-Director of The Centre for Earth Science Studies, in Aakulam, TVM. Her late mother was Nalini Madhavan, also of Thalassery. Dr. Karunakaran, her children, Ganesh and Karl, and her husband, George J. McMinn live in the USA.