Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Curriculum Vitae

 

                                                            Mohanalakshmi@gmail.com

 

EDUCATION

Ph.D.   Department of English, University of Florida, Gainesville, 2008

M.A.   Department of English, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 2002

B.A.    Departments of English and Psychology, Peace College, Raleigh, 2000

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

PUBLICATIONS

Peer Reviewed Books

2012                Hip Hop Dance (The American Dance Floor). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

2009                Haram in the Harem: Domestic Narratives in India and Algeria. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.

 

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

forthcoming     “Education, Marriage, and Work: The Modern Qatari Woman’s Dilemma.” Gender. 24.

“Required Reading at American Branch Campuses in Qatar.” Association of Departments of English and Association of Departments of Foreign Languages joint bulletin. Special Issue: Literary Studies and Globalization.

2015                “Required Reading at American Branch Campuses in Qatar.” ADFL Bulletin. 44.1″Kate Chopin and the Non-American Reader.” Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice 7:3/4 (Fall/Winter): 49-57.

 

2012                “Coloured.” EnterText. Special Issue on Andrea Levy. 9. 154-161.

 

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

2008                “Between Women and Their Bodies: Male Perspectives of Female Partition Experiences.” South Asian Review. 29.1.

 

“Gail Godwin.” Wilson, Charles Reagan, gen. ed. The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. vol. 9, Literature, ed. M. Thomas Inge. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.

 

“Male Student Engagement Taskforce Survey Summary.” Tawasol: Qatar University Reform Journal. 8. 11-14.

 

2007                “The Role of QU Students in University Governance.” Tawasol: Qatar University Reform Journal. 7. 2-4.

 

2006                “Towards Improvements in English Language and Literature Teaching: Communicating Across the Curriculum.” Diviner. DAV College Sector 10: Chandigarh, India. Fall 3.2 9-12.

 

“Assia Djebar’s Short Stories and Women” International Journal of the Humanities 4.4.

 

2005                “India, Imperial (1858-1947).” Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. Ed. Jenai Mynatt. Mcmillian Reference: USA.

 

“Indian National Movement (1885-1947).” Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. Ed. Jenai Mynatt. Mcmillian Reference: USA.

 

“Dismantling Patriarchal Marriage in The Quilt and Other Stories.” Annual of Urdu Studies. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, WI: 20.

 

2004                “Why is Everyone Looking at Me? The Non-White Experience in Higher Education.” The Talking Stick. June.

 

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

2015                “My American Academia: At Home and Abroad.” Ed. Charles Hutchinson.

Experiences of Immigrant Professors: Challenges, Cross-Cultural Differences,

and Lessons for Success. Routledge Research in Higher Education. 223-233.

 

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

2015               “Against My Sister: The Dohmestics.” Eds. Monique Ferrell and Julian Williams.

Looking for the Enemy: The Eternal Internal Gender Wars of Our Sisters. Kendall Hunt. 545-561.

 

Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi, Geetha Rajeswar. “What Did She Die of? The Story of an Hour in the Middle East Classroom.” Eds. Heather Ostman and Kathryn O’Donoghue. Kate Chopin. Palgrave Macmillan. 49-57.

 

Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi, Rumsha Shahzad. “She Needs a Website of Her Own: Women and Contemporary Authorship.” Ed. Nicola Evans and Guy Davidson. Brilliant Careers. Palgrave Macmillan. 184-195.

 

Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi, Alisha Saiyed. “I am Trayvon Martin: Obama and the Black Male in Cinema.” Ed. David Garrett Izzo. Rowman and Littlefield. Movies in the Age of Obama: The Era of Post-Racial and Neo-Racist Cinema. 105-110.

2014                “Assessing the Rhetoric of Sheikha Moza: Mistress of Ethos.” Eds. Michelle Lockhart and Kathleen Mollick. Global Women Leaders: Studies in Feminist Political Rhetoric. Lexington Books. 127-144.

 

“Designers Have to Take Writing Classes.” Ed. Leslie Seawright. Going Global: Transnational Perspectives on Globalization, Language and Education. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 154-168.

 

“The Spaces Between Us.” Eds. Joseph Essid and Dona Hickey. Identity and Leadership in Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility and Influence. IGI Global. 237-252.

 

“The Taboo in Indian Literature: Expanded Ways of Writing and Reading Indianess.” Ed. Chetan Deshmane. Muses India: Essays on English Language Writers from Mahomet to Rushide. North Carolina: McFarland.164-175.

 

2012                “Faceless Facebook.” Eds. Zenger, Amy and Bronwyn Williams. New Media and Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture across Borders. Routledge Press. 125-135.

 

2011                Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi, Silvia Pessoa. “The Impact of English medium in

Higher Education: The Case of Qatar.” Eds. Ahmad Al-Issa and Laila S. Dahan. Global Englishes, Peter Lang. 153-178.

 

 

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

2007                “Low Stakes Writing and Speaking.” Eds. Nagwa Kassabgy and Amani Elshimi. Sustaining Excellence in Communicating Across the Curriculum: Cross-Institutional Experiences Best Practices. Cambridge Scholars Press, UK. 101-110.

 

 

FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS

2015    Early Career Researcher, World Association for Public Opinion Research, Qatar

2013    Indie Book of the Day, From Dunes to Dior

Best Indie Book Award, Love Comes Later

2012    Semi Finalist, Kindle Book Award, Saving Peace

2011    She Writes New Novelist Competition

2009    Middle East Partnership Initiative, United States Department of State

2008    Middle East Partnership Initiative, United States Department of State

2007    President’s Award for Excellence in Service, Qatar University

Distinguished Young Alumnae, Peace College Raleigh, NC

2004    English Department Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Florida

2004    Top Eleven to Watch, University of Florida

2003    President’s List of Outstanding Students, University of Florida

2002    Multicultural Student Award, University of Florida

 

Invited Talks

2016    “Finding Global Narratives in Local Culture.” Westchester Community College. March 3

“Qatari Women and Marriage.” Qatar Computing Research Institute. January 19

2015    “They Do Read.” Qatar Faculty Forum. September 2

2012    “The Importance of Local Stories.” Qatar Faculty Forum. November 29

2006    Keynote address, “Whose Idea is English Anyway? Principles for Global Classrooms.” Towards Improvement in English Language and Literature Teaching, DAV College, in Chandigarh, India, September 22-24

 

 

CONFERENCE ACTIVITY

2017  “The Global English Department: Teaching Beyond the Anglo-American Canon.”

Modern Language Association annual conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 5-8

2016    “Form without Function: Transitions in the Built Environment of Qatar.” Qatar Green Building Conference, Doha, Qatar, November 13-16.

“Measuring Qatari Women’s Social Progress through Marriage Contracts,” Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum, Doha, Qatar, March 22-23.

“She Needs a Website of Her Own: Women and Contemporary Authorship.” Paradigms of Power: 3^rd Annual Humanities Conference, Community College of Qatar, Doha, Qatar, March 25-26.

“Creating Video as Text: Multimodal Assignments in the Writing Classroom.” Texas A&M University in Qatar. Doha, Qatar. January 31-February 2.

Roundtable, “The Global English Department.” Modern Language Association annual conference, Austin, TX, January 7-10.

2015    Discussion leader, Pre-conference workshop: “Deep Rewards and Serious Risks: Working Through International Higher Education Writing Research Exchange.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa, FL, March 18-21.

2015    “Requests for Contracts and Personal Details: Conducting Social Science Research in Qatar.” World Association for Public Opinion Research regional conference, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, March 7-9.

“Challenges in Exporting American Pedagogy: ‘We Didn’t Think about the Liberal Arts Classes.” Roundtable participant, Knowledge Economies, 2^nd Gulf Studies Symposium, American University of Kuwait, March 13-15.

“Understanding Qatari Identity through Social Media Monitoring.” Arab-US Association for Communication Educators conference, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, October 24-25.

“From iPhones to MOOCs, Technology and the Literature Classroom.” Looking Forward, Looking Back: Transnational Perspectives on Globalization. Texas A & M University in Qatar. Doha, Qatar. February 1-3.

 

2014    “Contemporary Qatari Marriage Practices: Education and Marriage Age across 3 Generations.” Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum, Doha, Qatar, November 18-19.

“The Laugh is Political: Public and Popular Notions of Indianess.” Strangers, Aliens, and Foreigners conference, Prague, Czech Republic, November 1-4.

“Maximizing MOOCs for MENA Learners Interested in Writing.” International Conference on Conceptualizing the Global University, Sharjah, UAE, May 3-4.

“The Enemy is My Body.” Northeast Modern Language Association conference, Harrisburg, PA, April 30-May 3.

CONFERENCE ACTIVITY

2014    “At What Cost? The Two Tiers of Migration in the Gulf.” 2^nd Annual Humanities Conference, Community College of Qatar, Doha, Qatar, March 22-23.

 

“Designers Have to Take Writing Classes?” Liberal Arts International Conference, Texas A&M University in Qatar, Doha, Qatar, January 28 – February 2.

 

2013    “The Relationship Between Self-Sponsored and Academic Literacies

Across Languages and Cultures: Possibilities and Paradoxes.” 7th European Association of Teachers of Academic Writing, in Budapest, Hungary, June 27-29.

 

2012    “Evil Embodied: The Defiled Woman” Problem of Evil, Georgetown University in Qatar,

Qatar, March 14-15, 2012

 

2009    “Studying the Experiences and Attitudes of Students Transitioning to College.” Challenges of Multilingualism conference, in Capetown, South Africa, November 18-20.

2008    “Identity, Values, and Education in English in Qatar.” SIG Writing conference, in Lund University, Sweden, June 11-13.

“Identity, Language and Culture: The Influence of Post-Secondary Education in Qatar.” American Association for Applied Linguistics, in Washington, D.C., March 29-April 1.

 

2006    Panel member, “Writing at the Center: WAC, WID & WC.” European Writing

Centers Association: Connecting the Dots, in Bogazici University, Turkey, June 24-26.

 

Chairperson, “Discourses on Women’s Participation, Past and Present.” Arab Women, Past and Present, Georgetown University in Qatar, in Doha, Qatar, March 4-5, 2006

2005    “Creating International Service Learning Opportunities: Students and Disaster Relief.” NASPA Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, April 2005

“Low Stakes Writing and Speaking: Using Everyday Tasks to Boost Student Abilities.” On the Road to Sustainable Excellence, American University in Cairo, Egypt, November 11-12, 2005

2003    “Muslim Women’s Writings.” Women’s Studies Symposium, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, March 2003

2002    “Inside the Harem: Ismat Chughtai and Khadija Mastur Pulling Aside the Veil.” British

Commonwealth Conference, Savannah, GA, March 2002

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Northwestern University in Qatar, Sole Instructor

First Year Writing (fall 2013, spring 2014)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Northwestern University in Qatar, Sole Instructor

Gender in Arab Popular Fiction (fall 2013)

Advanced Study of Gender in Arab Popular Fiction (fall 2 013)

Gender in Folklore (Spring 2014)

 

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Sole Instructor

            Focused Inquiry I (fall 2011, spring 2012, fall 2012, spring 2013, fall 2014)

Focused Inquiry II (spring 2012, fall 2013)

Writing and Rhetoric Workshop II (spring 2012, spring 2013, summer 2014)

Textual Analysis: Readings in Modern South Asian Literature (summer 2013)

Textual Analysis: Contemporary Arab Fiction (summer 2014)

Writing in the Workplace (spring 2013, spring 2014, summer 2014)

 

Georgetown University in Qatar, Sole Instructor

            Modern South Asian Literature (fall 2012)

Qatar University

Essay Writing II (2008)

English II (2007)

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2015-2016       Postdoctoral Research Associate, Texas A&M University in Qatar,

Cool Living Heritage in Qatar: Sustainable Alternatives to Air Conditioned Urban Development

 

2015                Postdoctoral Research Associate, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Undergraduate Discipline-Specific Writing: Expectations, Demands and Development

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Peer Review

Article Reviewer, Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, Duke University, 2015

Abstract Reviewer, International Conference on Academic Integrity, Middle East Chapter, Dubai, UAE, 2015

Peer Evaluation Promotion Committee, Liberal Arts department Representative, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, 2013-2014

Abstract Reviewer, Community College of Qatar Humanities Conferences, 2013-2014

 

To Profession

University Committee on Research, Liberal Arts department Representative, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, 2013-2014

Mentor, CV Clinic, Northeast Modern Language Association, Harrisburg, PA, 2014

 

To Community

Co-founder, Maktaba Children’s Library, 2010-Present

Founder and facilitator, Doha Writers’ Workshop, 2006-

Student Services Council, Grays Harbor College, 2005-2006

Advising Committee, Grays Harbor College, 2005-2006

Social Science and Humanities Speaker Committee, Grays Harbor College, 2005-2006

International Education Advisory Committee, Grays Harbor College, 2005-2006

Chair, Bridging Advisory Committee, Grays Harbor College, 2004-2006

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Reading and Writing Development Director, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2009-2011

Educational Consultant, Qatar University, 2006-2009

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Georgetown University in Qatar, 2005-2006

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Modern Language Association, 2015-

 

 

LANGUAGES

Spanish: Advanced reading, writing, speaking

Arabic: Beginner speaking

 

 

REFERENCES UPON REQUEST