Biography

<p>I am a cultural anthropologist and historian with fifteen years of experience in higher-ed. My teaching and research interests include South Asia (specifically India), media, democracy, free speech, Gandhi, and gender studies. I am the author of<a href="http://www.cambridgeblog.org/author-profile/ritu-gairola-khanduri/"><em> Caricaturing culture in India: Cartoons and history in the modern world</em></a> (Cambridge University Press 2014). As a  2020-2021 Fulbright Scholar, I am currently researching on a book project on Gandhi’s afterlife in India and beyond. Equity, diversity and inclusiveness in student success, and advancing Black, indigenous, women of color in higher-ed faculty and leadership are among my twin passions. I serve on my university's newly formed Women Faculty and Staff Network's Diversity Subcommittee. <br /><br />My past research awards include the <a href="http://www.wennergren.org/programs/hunt-postdoctoral-fellowships-writing">Wenner-Gren Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship</a>, two <a href="https://www.cies.org/">Fulbright Fellowships</a>, the <a href="https://www.ssrc.org/programs/view/idrf/">Social Science Research Council </a>International Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the <a href="https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/ihr-trust/21000626/">Mellon Foundation</a>-University of London Pre-Dissertation Fellowship. I have also received the multi-year Junior Research Fellowship (<a href="https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/8821047_revised-JRF.pdf">UGC-JRF</a>) in India. In 2010, as a <a href="https://www.americananthro.org/ConnectWithAAA/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1972">American Anthropological Association</a> Leadership Fellow.&nbsp;<br /><br /> I got the opportunity to observe and participate in various working groups of the AAA. I regularly serve as a peer-reviewer for prominent grant-making foundations and academic publishers. I have contributed to multiple faculty search committees in my university where I bring my expertise on gender, culture, higher-ed, and commitment to diversity to the table. I have several years of experience leading the tenure review process for junior faculty in my university's Anthropology Program. Given my expertise in media and communication, I serve on the Board of Cartoonists Rights Network International, a human rights organization that supports freedom of speech and persecuted cartoonists worldwide.&nbsp;<br /><br />My teaching and research inform each other. I offer courses on media, South Asia, global cultures and anthropological theory. I enjoy mentoring students toward their professional goals--an important aspect of all courses I teach. Among initiatives I've introduced in my department include conference presentations and publication experiences for anthropology students, integrating professional development outcomes in student learning (these learning outcomes are now called MavAdvantage on our campus), and active team-based learning. To keep abreast of innovation in pedagogy I am a fellow of my university's MavAdvantage Faculty Excellence (MAFE) program and the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE). <br /><br />I am passionate about higher-ed management and leadership. The Covid-19 pandemic and burgeoning social inequities have accelerated engagement with big "old" questions in higher-ed while posing new, urgent questions. The future of higher-ed leadership, the digital campus, and the future of work (and its impact on how we envision higher-ed) are of interest to me.<br /><br />As an educator I am eager to engage with the data on humanizing digital pedagogy and the confluence of race, gender and technology. Developments in digital technologies in education, online pedagogy, micro and mobile learning are of particular interest to me. <br /><br />I obtained my PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. My MA and MPhil in modern Indian history are from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. My BA in history is from Miranda House College for Women (Delhi University), India.<br /><br />Students and faculty are welcome to contact me for enquiries related to teaching, research collaboration, mentoring&nbsp;and professional development.<br /><br />#mentoring #leadership #diversity # WOC #highered #research #teaching #digitalpedagogy #mobilelearning #microlearning<br /><br /></p>