Rukma Prince
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Human Rights and Literature
- Memory and Trauma Studies
- Violence Studies
- South Asian Fiction
- Sociology of Literature
- Postcolonial Studies
Biography
As a researcher, Rukma is interested in literatures of postcolonial origin, moving away from a monolithic understanding of “literature” to map their emancipatory potential.
Her PhD thesis, titled ‘Siting Violence: Bodies, Memories and Rights in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction’, submitted to University of Hyderabad, is an attempt at understanding the role of literature as a reformative force within the larger discourse of human rights.
Her research interests also include allied fields of memory and trauma studies, and the sociology of literature.
Rukma has an Integrated Master of Arts (MA) in English Studies from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), Chennai. Her MA dissertation on deconstructing nationalism and the religion/secular dichotomy within fictional accounts marked the beginning of her exploration of Pakistani literature.
She has previously worked as an editorial manager at Siyahi, Jaipur.
At the University, Rukma currently teaches Critical Reading and Writing. She believes that teaching with empathy can be a powerful tool for social liberation.
Courses
Romantic Literature: Nature, Self and Society
Revisit this popular and familiar period of English literature through the themes of our relationship with nature, our notion of the individual and our place in society
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Learn how fiction can shape and question our futures through the study of key writers in this genre. Craft your own narratives that speak to the issues of our time.
An Introduction to Literature
This is a gateway course that conveys the excitement of doing close reading and literary analysis. It also looks at different genres and the interaction between the student and literary text, and the inevitability of multiple meanings and perspectives.
Publications
Journal Articles
- Prince, R. (2021). Beyond the secular: The postsecular moment in contemporary Pakistani novels in English. Littcrit, 47(1), 86 – 96.
- Prince, R. (2020). The Hijra and the Hibakusha: Deviant bodies in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows and Faiqa Mansab’s This House of Clay and Water. Pursuits, XVIII, 75 – 84. www.pursuits.mercycollege.edu.in/pdf/pursuits-vol-xviii-2020.pdf
Conference Presentations
- Prince, R. (2022, March 10 – 13). Metaphors of (Im)purity: Nation, Caste and the Christian Women in Nadeem Aslam’s The Golden Legend. [Paper Presentation]. 53rd Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
- Prince, R. (2021, February 17 – 18). Inheriting Silence: The Cultural Postmemory of Partition in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows. [Paper Presentation]. Narratives of Freedom Struggle in South Asian Literature, MES Keveeyam College, Valanchery, India.
- Prince, R. (2021, February 17 – 19). The Hijra and the Hibakusha: Deviant Bodies in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows and Faiqa Mansab’s This House of Clay and Water. [Paper Presentation]. Prajwala, Mercy College, Palakkad, India.
- Prince, R. (2019, April 24 – 26). Beyond the Secular: Religion in Contemporary Pakistani Novels in English. [Paper Presentation]. 3rd Ireland India Institute Conference on South Asia. Ireland-India Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
- Prince, R. (2017, July 5). Literary Theory. [Lecture]. Fatima Mata National College, Kollam, India.