Teaching

Courses taught:

Politics and Aesthetics of Classical Indian Dance, Swarthmore College.
New course using theories from Anthropology, Gender, Performance and Postcolonial Studies for examining how notions of tradition, modernity, and globality shape the changing meaning of classical dance and cultural identity in India.  Cross-Listed with Anthropology and Women’s Studies.  

Mapping Culture Through Dance, Swarthmore College.
New course using Anthropology and Gender theory for examining how cultural identities are constructed through dance.  Includes ethnography of South Asian (Indian classical dance styles), Brazilian (Capoeira), North American (Contact Improvisation), and West African (Yoruba) styles.  Cross-Listed with Anthropology.

Patterns of Asian Dance and Music, Swarthmore College, Music (PDC). 
The course examines converging and diverging patterns in Asian dance and music. The focus will be on dance traditions of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Japan, and will incorporate musical traditions that are integral to dance. Cross-listed with Asian Studies and Music

Anthropology of Dance, Swarthmore College and Bryn Mawr College.
This course introduces various approaches to the study of dance anthropology ranging from linguistic anthropology and non-verbal communication to the discourses of culture and power.  Cross-listed with Anthropology.

Tradition and Innovation: Contexts and Considerations, Jointly taught with Professor Sharon Friedler in Poland for the international contemporary Dance Festival in Bytom. It included comparative analysis of dance techniques and their relationship to cultures in India, Africa, and North America.

Technique course on Kathak Dance, Swarthmore College and Bryn Mawr College.

Kathak Repertory, Swarthmore College. 
Includes discussions on aesthetics and history of Kathak along with intensive training on Kathak technique.  Ends
in the production of a choreographed dance piece using technical and academic knowledge gained in the course.  

Dance Composition, Swarthmore College. 
Included choreographing a dance piece titled “Translations” for a student concert.

Continuities in African Dance, Bryn Mawr College, Anthropology Department.
Independently designed course on Power and Resistance through Dance.  It included Vodou, Capoeira, and Hip Hop styles among others.   

Classical Indian Dance from Nationalism to Globalization, Bryn Mawr College, Dance program. 
Independently designed course on Anthropology, Culture Studies, and Gender.  It included a variety of regional styles such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi and Kathakali in the context of culture, power and history.

Global/Local Perspectives on Asian Pacific American Identities, Bryn Mawr College, Anthropology Department, Jointly taught with Prof. Steve Ferzacca.
New course using a combination of ethnography, historical sources, literature, film, music, dance, and other expressive forms to explore Asian Pacific American identity formations in North America.

Cultures of the World, Temple University. 
Introductory survey of Cultural Anthropology.

Origins of Cultural Diversity, Temple University. 
Introductory survey of Physical Anthropology and Archaeology.