My Curriculum Vitae
(Spring class being conducted in NYU’s own backyard–Washington Square Park)
EDUCATION:
Post-Doctoral:
1997: D. A. (Doctor of Arts) (English). St. John’s University, New York.
Dissertation: The Politics of Mourning: Grief-Management in Cross Cultural Fiction. Published 2004, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, New Jersey.
Mentor: Dr. Derek Owens, Assoc. Professor of English, St. John’s University, New York.
Doctoral:
1994: Ph.D. (English). University of Bombay, India.
Dissertation: Originality and Imitation–Indianness in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya. Published 2000, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, India.
Mentor: Dr. Vrinda Nabar, former Head of English Dept., University of Bombay.
1988: Diplome de Langue Francaise. Alliance Francaise de Paris, France.
1987: B.U.S.S.C. (British Universities Summer School Certificate)
Exeter College, University of Oxford, U.K.
Tutor: Dr. Thomas Docherty, Currently Professor, English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
1985: M. Phil. (English). University of Bombay, India.
Dissertation: The Impact of Politics on Literature–The Decline from Idealism into Violence and Cruelty in the Novels of George Orwell and William Golding.
Mentor: Dr. K. Pakrasi, Retd. Prof. of English, San Jose State University, San Jose, California.
1981: M.A. (English/American Literature). University of Bombay, India.
1978: B.A. (English/French). University of Bombay, India.
AREAS OF TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTEREST:
Specialization: South Asian Studies, World Literature; Post-Colonial Literature, Theory & Cultural Studies. .
Affiliated Interests: Multi-Ethnic, Cross-Cultural and Transcontinental Perspectives on Literature; Race and Ethnic Studies; Interdisciplinary Studies.
Other Areas: Psychology and Cross-Cultural Practice; Multicultural Pedagogy.
GRANTS, AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS:
1. St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, UK. Elected and Appointed to the position of Senior Associate Member for the research and study of a project entitled, “Anglo-Indian Immigration to the U.K: An Ethnographic Inquiry”. Summer 2009.
2. LSP Funding to attend The Dickens Universe, University of California at Santa Cruz, Summer 2008 and Summer 2007.
3. East-West Center, University of Hawaii. National Endowment for the Humanities Grant. June-July 2004. To attend NEH Institute on “Religion and Politics in India: Culture, History and the Contemporary Experience”.
4. St. John’s University, New York. Post-Doctoral Fellowship. (D.A. Program in English.) 1991-1997.
5. Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles, California. Nominated for a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Award. June 1989. To develop and teach courses on South Asian Writing in English.
6. Rotary International Exchange Fellowship. April 1988. Visiting Professor of Indian Writing in English at high schools and colleges in California.
7. The British Council, Bombay. British Council Research Fellowship to Oxford, 1987. Carried out research on the Indo-British Novel at Exeter College, University of Oxford, U.K.
8. Bombay University. The Kamal Wood Prize. June 1981. First Class First in the University in English–M.A. Exams.
9. Bombay University. The Kamala Wood Prize. The Ellis Scholarship. The D.F. Karaka Memorial Prize. The Rao Bahadur R.B. Bahkle Prize. The T.M. Advani Memorial Scholarship. June 1978. First Class First in the University in English–B.A. Exams.
10. Elphinstone College, Bombay. The Dakshina Fellowship. June 1978.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Spring 1994-Present:
New York University, New York.
Master Teacher, Global Liberal Studies Program
(South Asian Studies, Global Cultures
Culture, Immigration and Identity; Women’s Voices Across Cultures.
Grief-Management in World Literature, Anglo-Indians as a Global Racial Minority).
2004-2005:
Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut
Visiting Professor, Department of English.
January 1997-September 2005:
Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of English.
EN 12–Introduction to Literature (Multicultural).
EN 11–Rhetoric and Composition.
EN 289A–Modern Women Writers.
EN 395—The Adolescent in Literature.
Project Excel Program:
Instrumental in initiating a Federally-funded Program for first-generation immigrants, minority and low-income students. Taught freshman writing during summer sessions through this Program since 1998.
EN 11—Rhetoric and Composition.
Fall 1997-Fall 2003:
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of Language, Literature and Media Studies.
EN 12–Rhetoric and Composition.
EN 101–Approaches to Literature (British and American).
Summer 1996-Fall 1996:
St. John’s University, Jamaica, N.Y.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of English.
The Short Story in English.
EN 4–Business and Technical Writing and Corporate Communication.
Fall, 1989:
LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, New York.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of English as a Second Language (ESL). Taught Freshman ESL to Asian and South American non-native speakers.
1982 -1989:
Jai Hind College, Bombay.
Lecturer in English (Tenured).
Taught college English Literature and Freshman Composition in the B.A. and B.Com. degree programs.
1987-1989:
Department of English, University of Bombay, India.
Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in English.
Taught graduate English courses (Contemporary Indian Poetry in English, The Novels of Anita Desai, The Modern English Novel,) in the M.A. (English Honors) program.
PUBLICATIONS:
Books:
1. The Politics of Mourning: Grief-Management in Cross-Cultural Fiction. (Fairleigh-Dickinson University Press, New Jersey, 2004).
2. Originality and Imitation: Indianness in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya. (Rawat Publishers, Jaipur, India 2000).
Reviews of my Book on The Politics of Mourning have appeared in:
Council on National Literatures Book Digest. Review by Clara Sarrocco, V:4, October-December 2005, 1.
Reviews of my Book on Kamala Markandaya have appeared in:
1. Council on National Literatures Book Digest. Review by Dennis D. Claire, Jr., III:3, July-September, 2003, 2.
2. World Literature Today. Review by Susheela N. Rao. 76:1, Winter 2002, 133.
Book Chapters in Edited Anthologies:
1. A chapter entitled “English Literature During the British Raj” in The History of World Literature Vol. 2, Ed. Gabrielle Watling. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 2007.
2. A chapter entitled “Independent India” in The History of World Literature Vol. 2, Ed. Gabrielle Watling. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 2007.
3. A chapter entitled “Kamala Das: An Introduction” in Companion to 20th Century World Poetry, Ed. R. Victoria Arana, Facts on File, Inc.pp. 229-230.
4. A chapter entitled “Das, Kamala” in Companion to 20th Century World Poetry, Ed. R. Victoria Arana, Facts on File, Inc. pp. 129-131.
5. A chapter entitled “Nissim Ezekiel” in Companion to 20th Century World Poetry, Ed. R. Victoria Arana, Facts on File, Inc. pp. 168-170.
6. A chapter entitled “Night of the Scorpion” by Nissim Ezekiel in Companion to 20th Century World Poetry, Ed. R. Victoria Arana, Facts on File, Inc. p. 311
7. “Representations of South Asian Femininity: Evolution in Bharati Mukherjee”, The Expatriate Indian Writing in English, Vol. 1, Eds. T. Vinoda and P. Shailaja, Prestige Books, New Delhi, 2006, pp. 75-89.
8. A chapter entitled, “Unnatural Expulsion of Foreign Bodies: Textual Foreshadowing in Ernest Hemingway’s ‘ A Farewell to Arms’, Divergent Voices: Themes and Trends in American Literature (1900-1950s), Ed. Marie Fernandes, St. Andrew’s College, Bombay, December 2005, pp. 17-25.
9. “Of Radio Ceylon, Chota Pegs and Sadistic Spankings: Recollections of Anglo-Indians I Knew”, The Way We Were: Anglo-Indian Chronicles, Eds. Margaret Deefholts and Glenn Deefholts, CTR Publishers, New Jersey, 2006, pp. 4-9
10. An essay entitled, “Piano and Other Lessons”, The Way We Were: Anglo-Indian Chronicles, Eds. Margaret Deefholts and Glenn Deefholts, CTR Publishers, New Jersey, 2006, pp. 10-16
11. A chapter entitled “Indian Women Poets”, pp 155-165.
12. A chapter entitled “Kamala Markandaya”, pp.197-201.
13. A chapter entitled “Tivolem”, pp. 329-331.
14. A chapter entitled “Ardeshir Vakil”, pp. 337-339.
(all of the above appeared in South Asian Literature in English: An Encyclopedia. Gen. Editor: Jaina C. Sanga. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, CT, 2004).
15.A chapter entitled “Upamanyu Chatterjee”, pp 6-11.
16. A chapter entitled “Mulk Raj Anand”, pp. 27-31.
(both in South Asian Novelists in English: An A-to-Z Guide. Gen. Editor: Jaina C. Sanga. (Westport, CT, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002).
17. “Indianness of the Characters in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya”. Mapping Cultural Spaces: Post Colonial Indian Literature in English. Eds. Vrinda Nabar, Niloufer Bharucha (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1998, 332-358).
Forthcoming Chapters in Peer-Refereed Academic Journals:
1. “Anglo-Indian Immigrants: Children of Colonialism and the Cultural Geographies of Encounter”. EACLALS Conference, Venice, Italy. A selection of Conference Papers. Volume edited by Annalisa Oboe and Shaul Bassi.
Articles in Peer-Refereed Academic Journals:
1. “Urban Transgressions: The City as a Corrupting Influence in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya”. South Asian Review, XX:17, December 1996, 57-65.
2. “Experiences of An Indian Immigrant in America”.
Published in two parts in The P.E.N. Quarterly, Bombay. October-December, 1995 and January-March 1996.
3. Review of Vocabulary by Morgan J. and Rinvolucri M. (Oxford University Press, London, 1986). Focus on English (Bombay, India), Vol. 3, No. 3, July 1987, pp. 89-90.
4. ‘The Emancipated Woman in British Literature”. The Examiner (Bombay, India), March 31, 1984.
Online Articles:
1. “The Epitome of Simplicity: A Tribute to Kamala Markandaya”.
www.outlookindia.com, June 1, 2004
Online Creative Writing:
1. “Stranger on a Bus”. Short story. www.ducts.org/12_05/html/fiction/almeida.html
2. “Unfinished Symphony”. Short Story. www.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/symphony.html
Book Reviews:
1. ‘On Life in Tamil Nadu’. Review of Notes on Love in a Tamil Family by Margaret Trawick.(The University of California Press, Berkeley, 1992). India Abroad, May 15, 1992, p. 34.
2. ‘Novel on the Tragedy of Partition’. Review of Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa. (Milkweed Editions, New York, 1992). India Abroad, May 15, 1992, p. 34.
3. ‘Hanif Kureishi: A Poignant Picture’. Review of London Kills Me by Hanif Kureishi. (Penguin Books, New York, 1992). India Abroad, April 17, 1992, p. 39.
4. ‘India as Seen by Naipaul’. Review of India: A Million Mutinies Now by V.S. Naipaul. (Penguin Books, New York, 1990). India Abroad, February 28, 1992, p. 31.
5. ‘Selected Short Stories by Tagore”. Review of Selected Short Stories by Rabindranath Tagore. (Penguin Books, New York, 1991). India Abroad, January 3, 1992, p. 30.
6. ‘Subhas Bose and His Brother’. Review of Brothers Against the Raj by Leonard A. Gordon. (Columbia University Press, New York, 1991). India Abroad, December 20, 1991, p. 31.
7. ‘A Woman who Fought for Ideal of Democracy’. Review of Freedom from Fear and Other Writing by Aung San Suu Kyi. (Penguin Books, New York, 1991). India Abroad, December 6, 1991, p. 14.
8. ‘A Maker of Poetic Landscapes’. Review of A Nostalgist’s Map of America by Agha Shahid Ali. (W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1991). India Abroad, November 29, 1991, p. 28.
9. ‘New Voices of the Mahatma’. Review of Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope by Judith M. Brown. (Yale University Press, New Haven, 1991). India Abroad, November 29, 1991, p. 28.
10. ‘A Nostalgic Novel of Bombay’. Review of Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry. (Alfred E. Knopf, New York, 1991). India Abroad, November 22, 1991, p. 40.
11. ‘The Indian Muslim Experience’. Review of Indian Muslims in North America by Omar Khalidi. (South Asia Press, Watertown, Mass., 1991). India Abroad, November 22, 1991, p. 40.
12. ‘Marriage and Zen in Modern Japan’. Review of The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto by Pico Iyer. (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1991). India Abroad, November 1, 1991, p. 38.
13. ‘Delightful Portrait of India’. Review of India Seen Afar by Kathleen Raine. (George Braziller, New York, 1991). India Abroad, October 4, 1991, p. 28.
14. ‘Armchair Travels on the Tea Trail’. Review of A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea by Jason Goodwin. (Alfred E. Knopf, New York, 1991). India Abroad, October 4, 1991, p. 28.
15. ‘A Family Copes With Partition’. Review of A Fine Family by Gurcharan Das. (Penguin Books, New York, 1991). India Abroad, August 16, 1991, p. 35.
16. ‘Love and Lust in Delhi’. Review of Delhi by Khushwant Singh. (Penguin Books, New York, 1991). India Abroad, August 16, 1991, p. 35.
17. ‘Asian Women Immigrants’. Review of The Golden Thread by Zerbanoon Gifford. (Grafton Books, London, 1990). India Abroad, July 12, 1991, p. 33.
18. ‘A Fictitious Journey to India’. Review of The Journey by Indira Ganesan. (Alfred E. Knopf, New York, 1990). India Abroad, November 9, 1990, p. 35.
19. ‘On Being Indian and Female’. Review of Indian Women: An Inner Dialogue by Indira J. Parikh and Pulin K. Garg. (Sage Publications, California, 1989). India Abroad, May 25, 1990, p. 42.
20. ‘Modern History, Epic Format’. Review of The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. (Penguin Books, New York, 1989). India Abroad, March 16, 1990, p. 35.
21. ‘Rao’s Chessmaster Crowns It’. Review of Special Issue on ‘Raja Rao: 1988 Neustadt Laureate’. (World Literature Today, Autumn 1988). India Abroad, January 12, 1990, p. 29.
22. ‘Portrait of Indianness in US’. Review of Poetry: India edited by Bess Miller. (Midfest International Foundation, Ohio, 1989). India Abroad, December 8, 1989, p. 33.
FORTHCOMING INVITED LECTURES:
1. “Talking Back: Immigrant South Asian Literature in Contemporary Great Britain”. English Literature Summer School, Exeter College, University of Oxford, July 2009.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
1. “Anglo-Indian Immigrants: Children of Colonialism and the Cultural Geographies of Encounter”. EACLALS (European Association for Commonwealth Languages and Literature) Triennial Conference. Venice International University, Venice, Italy, March 2008.
2. “Painted with the Tar Brush: Memoirs of Anglo-Indian Immigrants in Post-War Britain”. Conference on Postcolonialism and the Hit of the Real. New York University, New York, March 6-8, 2008.
3. “Poetry as Therapy: How Compassion Combined with Conventional Medication Creates Cure”. Eighth Annual Southern Connecticut State University Conference on Literature and Medicine, SCSU, New Haven, Connecticut, April 21, 2007.
4. “Secularism and Contemporary Indian Art: M.F. Husain and his Mother Teresa Series”. South Asian Literary Association Conference, Washington D.C., December 2005.
5. “The Empire Writes Back: On Teaching South Asian Literature in a South Asian Civilization Program”. Modern Language Association Convention, Washington D.C., December 2005.
6. “Dispelling Feminine Stereotypes: Indian Arranged Marriage in the Films of Gurinder Chadha and Mira Nair”. Women and Society Conference. Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York, September 2005.
7. “Hello? Hello? The Impact of Cell-Phone Usage and Globalization upon the Crime Film Genre in Bollywood”. Popular Culture and Audiences Conference. Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK, November 21-22, 2004.
8. “Mongrels of History and Culture: A Child’s View of Slave Narratives in Margaret Mascarenhas’ Skin”. MLA Convention, San Diego, California, December 2003.
9. “The Politics of Mourning: Suicide in the Short Stories of Nisha da Cunha”. South Asian Literary Association Convention, San Diego, California, December 2003.
10. “Rebellion Against Cultural Hegemony in Bereavement Theory: Grieving Strategies Among Bharati Mukherjee’s Characters”. NEMLA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, March 2003.
11. “Of Chi-Chis, Half-Breeds and Pariahs: An Examination of Anglo-Indian Stereotypes in Colonial and Post-Colonial Fiction.” South Asian Literary Association Conference, New York, N.Y. December 2002.
12. “Ethnicity in Aspic: Stereotypical Portrayals of Indian Womanhood in Recent Short Fiction”. South Asian Literary Association Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 2001.
13. “Post-coloniality and Ethnicity: Positioning India’s Goan Catholics and their Poetic Works.” United States Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies. Bryant College, Providence, Rhode Island, May 2000.
14. “The Outcast as Other: Portrayals of Marginalization in the Films of Mira Nair.” Modern Language Association Convention, Chicago, December 1999.
15. “Does Medium Affect Message? A Comparative Examination of Three Indo-English Novels from the British Raj and their Cinematic Counterparts.” The Millennium Film Conference: A Celebration of Cinema, Past, Present and Future. University of Bath, U.K., June 30, 1999.
16. “In Search of a Habitation: Nostalgic Canadian Immigrant Poetic Voices.” Modern Language Association Convention, Toronto, Canada. December 1997.
17. “Boroughs as Burrows: Manhattan and Queens in the Novels of Bharati Mukherjee.” Conference on Geography and Genre: The Empire State and the World, Fordham University, New York, N.Y., November 14, 1997.
18. “The Great Westward Expansion: Bharati Mukherjee’s Indian Ingenues.” Conference on Language and Literature, State University of New York, Cortland, N.Y., October 6, 1997.
19. “The Psychology of Loss: Cultural and Gender Politics of Mourning in the Post-Colonial Short Story in English.” Conference on The Healing Art of Literature, St. John’s University, Jamaica, N.Y., April 26, 1997.
20. “Urban Transgressions: The City as a Corrupting Influence in Kamala Markandaya’s Novels.” Modern Language Association Convention, Chicago. December 28, 1995.
21. “Breaking the Fetters: Resistance Against Codes of Conduct, Religion, Decorum and Propriety in the work of Contemporary Goan Poets.” International Goan Association Convention, Bethesda, Maryland, December 9, 1995.
22. “A Feminist Analysis of Some Medieval European Myths and Legends.” St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York. Spring, 1994.
23. “The Acquisition of Reading Skills by Learners from Varying Linguistic Environments.” British Council Returned Study Fellows Seminar, Jaipur, India. Winter, 1987.
24. “Penetrating the Unknown: A Textual Analysis of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India.” Exeter College, Oxford, U.K. Summer 1987.
25. “A Feminist Analysis of Ursula Brangwen in D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow.” Exeter College, Oxford, U.K. Summer, 1987.
26. “The Development of Writing Skills for Specific Purposes with special reference to Journalism.” British Council Workshop on English for Specific Purposes. Bombay, India. Spring, 1986.
INVITED LECTURES:
1. “Separating Nations: the India-Pakistan Partition in Fiction and Film (Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India and Deepa Mehta’s Earth 1947)”. University of Padua, Italy, March 19, 2009.
2. “The Politics of Mourning: Grief-Management since 9/11”. Lecture presented at the YWCA, Westport, Connecticut, 2006.
3. “The Politics of Mourning: Grief-Management and Contemporary World Literature”. Meet-The-Author Series. The Pequot Library, Southport, Connecticut, January 2006.
4. The Status of Indian Writing in English in the Context of International Literary Trends”. Lecture delivered at the invitation of St. Andrew’s College, Bombay, India. Summer 1994.
5. “Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Promoting Indian Writing in English in America”. Lecture delivered at the invitation of The PEN All-India Center and the Institute of World Culture, Bombay, India. Summer 1994.
6. “Deconstruction and the British Academe”. Lecture delivered at the invitation of The Bombay English Association, Bombay, India. Winter 1987.
ACADEMIC OVERSEAS OUTREACH:
Posted at NYU-London for the academic year 2008-09.
Currently working with NYU’s Study Abroad Department on the initiation of NYU’s first-ever Study Abroad Summer Program in Bombay (Mumbai), India. Syllabus for interdisciplinary course entitled, “Transitional India: From Crown to Khadi” has been approved by the English Department (CAS) and is expected to run in January 2010.
Initiated and Organized New York University’s first ever, highly successful trip to the Indian sub-continent in May 1999 under the auspices of a Contemporary Arts in Asia course. Also led this course to India in 2000 and 2001 (which included Nepal).
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL HONORS:
Selected for inclusion in the Thirty-Third Edition of The Dictionary of International Biography. Cambridge, England.
Selected for Inclusion in 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century. International Biographical Center, Cambridge, U.K.
Selected for Inclusion and appeared in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 2002 and 2004.
Interviewed for a feature story on my book of Indo-British literary criticism by the Editor of Chronicles, GSP’s official newspaper. Article appeared June 2002.
VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY SERVICE:
· Appointed as Docent (Walking Highlights Tour Guide) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 2000-Present. Specialization in the South Asian Arts and Islamic Arts Galleries.
· Lector, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Church, Fairfield, Connecticut 06490.
· Board Member, The Sasquanaug Association, Southport, Connecticut.
· Assistant in the Japanese Reading Room, Asian Arts Department, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1998-2000.
· South Asian Literary Association, an MLA sub-group. Hon. General Secretary, 1996-1998.
· Pequot Library, Southport, Connecticut. 1996-Present. Involved year-round in the annual Library Book Sale as sorter, pricer and boxer of donated books. Library raises over $125,000 annually through this annual event.
· Faculty Editor, St. Raymond School, Yearbook. 1993 and 1994.
· Faculty Editor, Jai Hind College Yearbook. 1982-1989.
MEMBERSHIP:
1. The Modern Language Association, USA.
2. Northeast Modern Language Association, USA.
3. The South Asian Literary Association, Jacksonville, Fl.
4. USACLALS (US Association for Commonwealth Languages and Literature)
5. The Bombay English Association, Bombay, India (in absentia).
6. Association of British Council Scholars, Bombay, India (in absentia).
7. The Asia Society, New York.
LANGUAGES:
Hindi, Marathi, French (Verbal and Written)
REFEREES:
1. Dr. Fred Schwartzbach, Dean, Liberal Studies Program, Faculty of Arts and Science, New York University, 726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
2. Dr. Derek Owens, Assoc. Professor of English, St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439
3. Dr. Johanna Garvey, Chairperson, English Department, Fairfield University, 200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, CT 06430.
4. Dr. Georgia Day, Director, Project Excel and Academic Vice-President, Fairfield University, 200 Barlow Street, Fairfield, CT 06430.
5. Prof. Vispi Balaporia, Former Head (English Department) and Vice-Principal, Jai Hind College, Bombay, India.
6. Dr. Vrinda Nabar, Former Head, English Department, University of Bombay, India.
STUDENT REFEREES:
1. Sean Sankar, c/o General Studies Program, NYU.
2. Krishma Arora,
3. Sushmita Narsiah,