I am a scholar, translator, and instructor of Asian religious literature with specialization in literary cultures of Indian religious traditions. I received my B.A. in English from University of Maryland (UMBC), M.A. in South Asian Regional Studies from University of Pennsylvania, and M.F.A in Literary Translation and Ph.D. in Religious Studies from University of Iowa. I am currently translating devotional poetry from nineteenth-century western India and beginning a book project, which is based on my doctoral dissertation and is tentatively titled Thinking as Devotion. Within the book, I examine the intersections of cognitive activities, philosohies of devotion, and expressions of faith commitments within literature and everyday lives of religious practitioners.
I am thrilled to join Augsburg University in Fall 2020 as a full-time faculty. I will be offering a range of introductory and thematic courses based on my areas of expertise and interest, and our current moment in history. Within my classes, I encourage all students to prioritize two things: (1) to engage with the course materials and our classroom community in order to engage critically and empathetically with the worlds they inhabit; (2) to build a set of skills, practices, and values they can apply to various aspects of their lives.