I am currently in my exam year in the Phd program for English at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. My studies span English and Francophone literature, and I have written various papers for classes on modern film adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, post-colonial responses to Albert Camus L’étranger, issues in Disney’s portrayal of minorities in Aladdin and The Princess and the Frog, and critical fabulations of women glossed over in archival documents.

Current Research

I am working on my dissertation prospectus looking at:

• Cataloguing Austen adaptations
• Focusing on cultural and diasporic adaptations, mostly South Asian, of Austen's novels
• Theorizing how diasporas use literary classics as vehicles for their own stories

Other research interests I have include:

• William Beckford's Islamic inspirations in *Vathek*
• Cataloguing modern adaptations of classics for pedagogical purposes
• "Otuel the Knight," and Early Modern anxieties of conversion
• Outlining research on a diachronic analysis of anti-Islamic sentiment in Western literature

My overarching interests remain in Austen studies, namely close-reading the novels, finding pairings for teaching the novels alongside Austen’s contemporaries, and in seeking out and analyzing more of the various adaptations of Austen’s work in the modern age. However, as my learning theory interests evolve to meet the difficulties students have in speaking about complex subjects, I find myself being drawn to researching patterns across time in the rhetorics of power and coloniality to better plan for classes geared towards developing critical thinking and awareness.

Background

Academic & Professional

I went to primary school in Austen, Texas, USA; Port Louis, Mauritius; and Orlando, Florida, USA. My secondary schooling was entirely in Orlando, Fl, and I did my undergraduate degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. I went to work in France, where I took part in TAPIF: Teaching Assistant Program in France for the school year of 2018-2019. I then went back to school, completing my MA at SOAS, University of London and received my degree confirmation in December 2020.

During the pandemic, I tutored my younger brother through 5th grade, which he completed through FLVS: Florida Virtual School. In the 2021-2022 school year, I taught 4th grade English and 5th grade English and Social Studies at Leaders Preparatory School in Orlando, FL, a private Muslim school.

I was accepted to the University of Miami’s English Phd Program in Spring of 2022, and began coursework in August 2022. I worked in the Writing Center during the first year, and taught WRS 105 and WRS 106 in the 2023-2024 school year. I am currently the Writing Studies Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year, and my work for the department involves researching curricula for writing departments across a range of universities and compiling information on the current state of the job market for writing-focused graduates.

Personal

My parents were raised in Mauritius, an independent island located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and the East coast of Africa. Geographically, Mauritius is associated with the African continent, but this is complicated by the fact that it is a volcanic island and had no indigenous human population. As a result, the ethnic makeup of the island is entirely based on who visited, or was brought, to the island. As such, Mauritius has a mix of French and English influence, as we were colonized by both, although the Portuguese and the Arabs visited, and the Dutch failed twice to create lasting settlements. There is also a creole population, made up of the mix of people brought to the island (Malagasy, East African, West African, Dutch, French, English, Bengali, Tamil, Portuguese,etc.), and sections of the population that can tie their ancestry more clearly to Hindu Indian, Muslim Indian, and Chinese immigrants.

My father was born in England, my mother in Mauritius; I was born in Nottingham, England when my parents lived after getting married. Before I turned 3, my parents relocated to Dallas, Texas and then Austin, Texas. We returned to Mauritius when I was 7 years old to reconnect with my parents’ families, both sides of which mostly live in Mauritius and England, but which are spread out across France, Australia, and Canada as well. We returned to the US in May 2005, this time in Florida, where we have lived ever since.