My expertise is in postcolonial literature and theory, with an emphasis on South Asia (especially India), where I was born and raised. Like my colleagues, I also teach a variety of other courses, including graduate seminars in the novel and in literary theory; upper-division undergraduate classes in comparative literature, South Asian literature and popular culture, and writing about literature; and first-year writing and Honors humanities courses. I particularly enjoy teaching postcolonial studies and comparative literature courses since these allow me to indulge in my own passions and research interests. My 2011 book is Out of Bounds: Anglo-Indian Literature and the Geography of Displacement (University of Hawai’i Press). I recently completed a six-month stay in India as a Fulbright lecturer, focusing on globalization and the place of literature, an experience that is leading me into new areas of study and teaching. My current project is an interdisciplinary study of literary depictions of the jungle in Indian literature, which draws on postcolonial criticism and ecocriticism. Other projects include Anglo-Indian literature, contemporary Indian fiction in English, and Bollywood film in the context of globalization.

Other Publications

My work, principally on the literature of colonial and postcolonial India, has appeared in such journals as Nineteenth-Century Contexts, Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies, Yale Journal of Criticism, the Rocky Mountain Review of Literature, and Rendezvous. Additional information, including copies of conference papers and CV, is available at Academia.edu.

Courses Taught

I teach, or have taught, courses in postcolonial, comparative, and world literatures, graduate seminars in theory and the novel, major figures (Rushdie, Naipaul), national literature, introductory literature and composition, and Honors Humanities.

Office: LA 212
Office Phone: 282-2198
johnala2@isu.edu