Résumé

Education

1994-2000        Doctor of Philosophy, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University. 

                       Doctoral Thesis: The Islamic Architecture of Western India (mid-12^th-14^th Centuries: Continuities and Interpretations. 

Advisers: Professor Pramod Chandra, Professor Gulru Necipoglu, Professor David Mitten.

1989-1992        Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude, Mount Holyoke College. Double Major: Art History and Spanish Literature.

                        Senior Thesis:  Andalusian Women’s Poetry: a Thematic Analysis of Women’s Place in Society and Culture.

Languages:       Gujarati (native tongue), Hindi/Urdu, Spanish (fluent), Arabic, Persian, French, German.

Employment History

2000-2003        Assistant Professor, Department of the History of Art, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Spring, 2000    Visiting Assistant Professor, Wesleyan University.

Winter, 1999    Visiting Lecturer, Rhode Island School of Design.

Teaching Philosophy

I have taught courses on the visual history of  the Islamic World from Iberia to South Asia, and that of South Asia in particular from the early historic through modern periods.  My teaching experience has also varied as to the students, including advanced undergraduates (Rhode Island School of Design 1999; Wesleyan University, 2000), and graduate students (The University of Michigan, 2001-2003).  Teaching courses encompassing distant geographical areas, and presenting artistic traditions according to the students’ varying levels of expertise, have led me to conceptualize the historical trajectory of cultural exchanges ranging from the first years of the Common Era through the 19^th century in clear and cogent ways.

    Based on my professional experience, I would be able to teach courses in Islamic, Indian, and Asian art and architectural histories.  Courses on Islam would explore the regions from Spain to India.  More focused courses on the Indic cultural sphere -- i.e. Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh -- would cover the ancient (3^rd century BCE-2^nd century CE), Gupta through post-Gupta (mid-4^th-8^th centuries CE), Sultanate (ca. 1193-1525) and Mughal periods (1526-1857).  General courses on Asia would encompass the overland cultural connections stretching from China through Iran, and the maritime routes interconnecting Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, and the coast of east Africa. These courses would be comprehensive in elucidating the cross-cultural influences among the indigenous and imported traditions of the various regions, as well as focused in their analysis of the methods and specific elements of these influences.  Students will be able to find the material’s relevance to their own daily lives, upon seeing that the current technological age is a modern manifestation of age-old cross-cultural connections.

Sample Courses

Spring, 2000    South Asian Architecture through the Ages: Religion, Nationalism, and Identity.  The course explored South Asian architecture spanning the 1^st-17^th centuries CE, specifically its religious and nationalist identification in the service of constantly shifting definitions of Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina, and Muslim.  Wesleyan University.

Spring, 2001    South Asia from the 1^st through the 18^th Centuries CE.  The course examined the material history of South Asia, challenging the coalescence of “South Asian art history” as a discipline which excludes the unique Islamic history of the region.  The University of Michigan.

Spring, 2001    A Millennium of Islamic Architecture: Continuity and Innovation.  The course examined Islamic architecture from Spain to India, deepening the definition of “Islamic” by exploring various regions’ indigenous pre-Islamic traditions in tandem with later developments.  The University of Michigan.

Fall, 2002        The Making of “India” during the 5^th through 15^th Centuries.  The course explored building and representation in South Asia as processes of confluence of Indic, Near Eastern and East Asian traditions.  The University of Michigan.