Meghana Rao
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Critical Disability Studies
- Socio-Legal Studies
Biography
Meghana has a Master’s degree and PhD in sociolegal studies from the University of Toronto. She also has a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Hyderabad. She has taught at these universities as well.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of law and society studies, critical disability studies, gender and sexuality studies, and affect studies.
In her doctoral work, she studied the regulation of suicide in India, with a specific focus on hijra suicides in Bengaluru.
Her current research focuses on the practices and politics of care in India — particularly in the context of ageing of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities
Courses
Interdisciplinary Studies: Understanding Development
Introduction to development through case studies set in the Indian context
Sociology of Development
A study of ‘development’ requires an understanding of the social and cultural dimensions that shape the institutions that act upon people’s lives and landscapes.
Publications
Book Chapter
- Rao, M. (2021). A Life Worth Telling: Love and Suicide in Hijra Lives. In P. Kumar (Ed.), Sexuality, Abjection and Queer Existence in Contemporary India. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Sexuality— Abjection— and— Queer— Existence— in— Contemporary— India/Kumar/p/book/9781138553149
Journal Articles
- Anand, S., & Rao, M. (2024). Reasonable accommodation and interdependence: revisiting the dynamics of disability inclusion in higher education in India. Journal of Gender Studies, 1 – 13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2024.2365209
- Rao, M. (2021). A Multifarious Law: Heterogeneous meanings of suicide in Indian law. Indian Law Review, 5(2), 166 – 188. https://doi.org/10.1080/24730580.2021.1946267
Newspaper Article
- Rao, M. (2020, April 21). Fear and hunger in Bengaluru’s Tannery Road, Deccan Herald.
Magazine Articles
- Rao, M. (2007, June). The Teacher as a Professional. Teacher Plus. https://www.teacherplus.org/the— teacher— as— a— professional/
- Rao, M. (2007, October). Sleight of Teaching, Teacher Plus. https://www.teacherplus.org/sleight— of— teaching/
- Rao, M. (2014, May). Vikasana: Helping Kids Blossom. Teacher Plus. Reprinted in May 2014 in Teachers of India. http://teachersofindia.org/en/spotlight/vikasana— helping— kids— blossom
Working Paper
- Rao, M. (2012). Administrating Death: Role of Law, Medicine and Development in (Re)defining Suicide in India. In Chum, A. & Forman, L. (Eds.), Munk School briefings: Comparative program on health and society. Lupina Foundation Working Paper Series. https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/cphs/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CPHS-Rao-10 – 11..pdf