Biography
Pavithra Tantrigoda is Assistant Professor in Global Environmental Literature in the English Department at University of Central Florida. She holds a PhD and MA in Literary and Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University. She has most recently been an American Council of Learned Societies Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Humanities at the University of Utah. Her primary research interests are in environmental humanities, postcolonial studies, and law.
Education
- Ph.D. in Literary and Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University (2018)
- M.A. in Literary and Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University (2011)
Research Interests
Environmental Humanities, Eco-criticism, Eco-media, Postcolonial Literature, Law and Literature, Science and Technology Studies, Gender Studies, Globalization and Diaspora, Cultural Studies
Recent Research Activities
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
“‘Dangerous Geographies’: The Erasure and Recalibration of the Contested Space of Nation in Times of War and Peace in Sri Lankan Fiction.” Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies 19.6 (July 2017), pp. 872-890.
“Body as a Site of Justice and Expiation in J. M. Coetzee's Fiction.” Postcolonial Text 11.4 (2016), pp. 1-18.
“Classical Indian Dancing in the Formation of National Culture: The Guide & Journey to Ithaca.” University of Colombo Review 2.1 (2008/09), pp. 25-37.
“The Spaces of Conformity and Resistance: An Exploration of the Declaration of Gender & Sexuality of the Female Artists in Three Indian Novels.” Nivedhini: Journal of Gender Studies 14 (2008), pp. 2-16.
Editorials
“Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Food Systems.” Future of Food Journal 7.2 (2019)
Book Chapters
“‘That Dangerous Supplement’: Reading Law in Literature and the Sites of Post-colonial Allegory and Misreading.” Law and Culture: Methods, Concepts and Approaches. Eds. Peter Schneck and Sabine Meyer. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, (forthcoming).
“The Limits of the Visual in the ‘War without Witness.” Sociology of the Visual Sphere. Eds. Regev Nathansohn and Dennis Zuev. New York: Routledge, 2013, pp. 13-24.
“Fractured Selves/ Conflicting Identities: Figurations of the Female Migrant in Lokuge's If the Moon Smiled.” Continuities/Departures: Essays on Postcolonial Sri Lankan Women’s Writing in English. Eds. D. Karunanayake and S. Thiruchandran. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2011, pp. 63-75.
Awards
Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies, 2021-2022
Julien Mezey Dissertation Award, Runner-up, The Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, 2019
Interdisciplinary Law & Humanities Junior Scholar, Stanford Law School, June 2018
Presidential Fellowship in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 2016-2017
Dissertation Completion Summer Fellowship, English Department, Carnegie Mellon University, 2016
Asian Graduate Student Association Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University, 2014-2015
Fulbright Foreign Student Award, 2010-2011
Neil Bandaranaike Memorial Prize, University of Colombo, 2005
Courses
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12716 | LIT3313H | Honors Science Fiction Lit | In Person (P) | Tu,Th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM | Unavailable | |
|
POST-1865 PR: Permission of Honors and ENC 1102H or equivalent credit. An investigation of science fiction as a literary form, together with selected readings. This course examines the literary genre of science fiction, with a focus on its historical and contemporary manifestations. We will examine literary works from various historical and geographical contexts, including Western, South Asian, African, and Indigenous literature. Our exploration will address key questions, such as how we define science fiction, what it means to be human, and how we understand the emerging concept of the posthuman. We will consider the roles of technology, ethics, and politics in envisioning our future. We will analyze how non-Western authors use the genre to portray the realities of colonialism and postcolonialism. Additionally, we will discuss how science fiction addresses themes of environmental apocalypse and potential solutions. Lastly, we will investigate why science fiction has become a central metaphor for our everyday experiences. Readings will include novels and short stories from diverse contexts, as well as literary theory and criticism. |
||||||
| 20233 | LIT3482 | Literature & Popular Culture | Web-Based (W) | 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM | Unavailable | |
|
POST-1865. |
||||||
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus |
|---|