Rita Banerjee
Associate Scholar

Research Fields: Comparative modernisms, comparative Marxisms, modern South Asian literature and intellectual history, multilingualism, translation and performance, speculative fiction and genre literature, feminism in world literature, race and class, avant-garde and art house film, deconstructions of postcolonial canons, lyric essay and narrative as provocation.
Email: banerjee[at]fas.harvard.edu
Education:
- Ph.D., Comparative Literature, Harvard University, May 2013
- Dissertation: “The New Voyager: Theory and Practice of South Asian Literary Modernisms”
- A.M., Comparative Literature, Harvard University, June 2008
- M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of Washington, June 2006.
- B.A. (Honors), English Honors; Minors: Japanese; Cinema Studies, Rutgers University, May 2004.
Languages: English, Bengali, Hindi, Japanese, German, French
Additional reading knowledge of Spanish
Current Project: The New Voyager: Theory, Translation, and Intertexuality in South Asian Modernisms
Recent Publications:
- “Between Post-Independence and the Cold War: An Exploration of Agha Shahid Ali’s Publications with the Writers Workshop.” Mad Heart Be Brave: On the Poetry of Agha Shahid Ali. Ed. Kazim Ali. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2017.
- “Narrative as Provocation.” Los Angeles Review of Books. Los Angeles, CA: Spring 2016. Also Featured in the Poetry Foundation Harriet Blog.
- “Amrita Pritam: Sexual Politics and Publishing in Mid-20th Century India.” VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. Online. February 2016.
- “Calcutta, Marwaris, and the World of Hindi Letters.” Dissertation Reviews. Online. January 2016.
- “War is Beautiful: An Interview with David Shields.” Electric Literature. Brooklyn, NY: November 2015.
- “Paging Ms. Marvel: The Perks and Perils of Creating an Islamic, Feminist Superhero.” Jaggery: A DesiLit Arts and Literature Journal. Chicago: Summer 2014.