Good day, Athira B. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Good evening.

Good evening, Professor. Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

Good evening. I'm Adira. I'm a PhD graduate in English Literature from the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, NIT Karnataka. And I've submitted I have.

Defended my PhD in October that is two months back. Right now I'm looking for opportunities and I'm not working anyway. I'm looking for opportunities and I'm seeking higher educational institutions which give.

Teaching is only given priority. I would love to work in an ecosystem where research and teaching go hand in hand and about my research. My research was on exploring cultural memory and identity of the internally displaced in select literature from Northeast India. It focused on the cultural dimensions of internal displacement, where internal displacement is a form of internal migration where people are forced to move within their country of origin, that is, they does not.

You know, importance to research and teaching alongside it's not something I'm not looking for institutions where.

Was an international border, so the study focused on how internal displacement is reflected and shaped by the region's cultural history. Northeast India's cultural history and it also focused on by bringing out by analyzing contemporary literature from Northeast India. It also analyzed how displaced individuals and communities are represented.

And remember that in the cultural memory of the region.

Thank you, Professor Adira, for sharing your journey and research focus. It's great to hear about your academic background and your commitment to combining research and teaching.

Professor Athira, it's good to have you here today. I’ll start by examining your core technical competencies as part of this evaluation. First, let’s discuss your experience with Digital Humanities. Can you explain how you've integrated technology or digital tools into your research or teaching practices in the English domain?

OK, so uh, English, especially humanities, has always been considered.

Uh, something separate from the sciences. It, it was compartmentalized. And I think it is from the emergence of digital humanities that there is a bridging of the gap between the sciences and the humanities. And when I look into my teaching process where in where the digital tools, it is mainly through.

Projectors and PPTS that we present in the class, instead of just lecturing in technical jargons, we'll be explaining things in with the help of graphical representations in PPTS for the students and also we'll be making them present topics. It it is like a flipped classroom. We'll make students prepare prior. They'll we'll be given, we'll give topics for them and then they they prepare prior.

The.

And then they'll present these in PPTS, in projectors, in classroom.

The I mean the tracing the patterns in literary text is something that we have been doing while we were doing the research in NIT Karnataka also and I think.

Then then other tools like, you know, mapping and.

Uh, it is always helpful to bridge the gap between the science and technology subject and humanities when you're bringing these digital tools, say, for instance, when you're, when you are explaining about the barriers of communication for that matter. Instead of just explaining these things in technical jargons, you can actually make students prepare a list in graphical format. Prepare a list about the difficulties that they face.

And communication and then as a teacher, you can prepare a PPT where you categorize the communications, the barriers and communications into intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational. And then the students can.

Organize they list into these categories so these all can be done with the help of digital tools, mapping tools, AI, PPT is AI, PowerPoint presentations and all. I think this is how I'll be as an initial in the initial stage, I'll be able to integrate digital humanities into my language studies in classrooms.

Thank you, Professor. It’s insightful to hear about your use of mapping tools, a flipped classroom model, and categorization using AI-driven presentations. To clarify further, beyond classroom practices, have you engaged in any specific research or projects where you utilized computational or digital methodologies, such as text mining or corpus analysis?

As for now, I have not engaged any research on digital humanities because my research was on Northeast Indian literature and internal migration. It was mainly memory studies and identity studies. So it didn't have much to do with digital humanities. But right now, as as an extension of my research, I'm looking into the possibilities of bringing in digital humanities in the context of Northeast India.

Uh, especially, you know, uh, looking at the SDG goals, uh, the SDG five goal equality, gender equality goal. I am right now I'm working on that and I was thinking how to incorporate survey studies because Northeast is a marginalized area both geographically and you know.

Both geographically and the information wise, it is marginalized and therefore reaching their getting the information is a little difficult. So I feel like I can make use of digital humanities and using surveys, questionnaires in the form of AI interactions, I'll be able to reach individual communities, individual people in the different ethnic.

And then have a face to face communication because going there and doing that is a kind of difficult. So I think in that way I'll be implementing digital tools and then taking forward my research.

In the context of Northeast India.

Understood, Professor. It's commendable that you're looking to integrate digital methodologies into your research on marginalized communities in Northeast India, especially aligning it with SDG goals like gender equality. Let’s proceed to another area—Commonwealth Literature. Could you elaborate on your approach to teaching Commonwealth Literature, particularly how you contextualize the diversity of voices within it?

Commonwealth Commonwealth literature is is right now is one of the area which is having a promising.

Research.

Uh, or progress because there is a lot of scholars working in this area. And when you look into the research journals from the humanities background, there are so many journals which actually focus on Commonwealth literature, especially Southeast Asian literature, South Asian literature, And since my research was on Northeast Indian literature, which comes within the. Broader spectrum of Indian English writing.

It is specifically and precisely 1 area that comes under Commonwealth literature.

And when you talk about Commonwealth literature, it is the literature that comes from nations, that's where one's colonies, one's British colonies, and these are countries where it share experiences of colonialism, then identity crises, displacement and marginalization. So it is in very much linked with my research and I'm also looking into.

Southeast Asian literature specifically because of my prior knowledge of Northeast India, I'm trying to link that information with other borderland nations that comes within the Commonwealth. That is like Tibet and Bhutan, then Nepal. These are small nations.

That are Borderlands and that also comes within South Asia, so there is so much of information.

And correlations that I'll be able to make out since I was working on an outpaced and other than that, Commonwealth literature is also. Gaining prominence now because because of its importance given to the marginalized communities. Commonwealth in itself is a marginalized community. However, it has been able to give insights into many other marginalized communities. Whether it is gender, whether it is the tribal communities, whatever it is Commonwealth literature from its experience of colonialism and post colonial conflicts, it has always able to.

Inform other areas of marginalized marginalizations and marginalized communities. So this is 1 area where a lot of research are going to happen. It's still happening and are going to happen. And I also personally think that this is 1 area that students can work on and papers right on writing research papers and articles and essays because it is one area that is.

A field of research in English literature.

Thank you, Professor. It’s clear that you have a deep understanding of Commonwealth Literature and its intersections with colonial, post-colonial, and marginalized narratives, particularly through your focus on Northeast Indian literature and its ties with other borderland regions. From a pedagogical perspective, when introducing students to Commonwealth Literature, how do you ensure they grasp the complexities of post-colonial identity and marginalization without oversimplifying these nuanced concepts?

No, I have always prefer to adopt A shepherd's style of approach to my teaching that is much like a shepherd tending to their flock. I would like my students to discover their path and ensure that they stay on track and avoid unnecessary diversions. So the same method I'll be implementing when I am teaching Commonwealth literature also. So I'll first of all, I'll, you know, give a brief.

Introduction about the work and the author. Then I will let them explore the novel on their own. I'll make reading sessions. Then there will be discussion sessions where you know, we together as a teacher and student together will be leading. So the students will be given opportunity to bring out their inputs about the experiences of the marginalized and post colonial societies.

How their experiences of identity crisis can be related to the students present State of identity crisis especially in the lockdown and post COVID era. There is always a crisis in identity, a crisis in.

Uh.

In the state of existence. So how they are able to connect with that of the Commonwealth literature. Now I'll be discussing that. I'll be trying to bring in their inputs from their present context. And thus it's like the it's like the learning led by the students where I'm just standing behind. I'll be, you know, providing the guidance from the background. So I think this way of approach actually helps us.

Students to improve their critical thinking and reading discussions followed by writing where writing in the sense they'll be writing down their ideas and interpretations. This will also help them to structure their thoughts and ideas rather than just scattered thoughts and knowledge. This will help them to bringing in a coherence in their ideas and this will further boost their critical thinking.

It's admirable, Professor, that you adopt such a student-centered approach, fostering critical thinking, contextual connections, and coherence in ideas. Let’s now delve into English Language Teaching. Could you articulate your approach to teaching English grammar to diverse learners, especially those with varying proficiency levels? How would you balance foundational reinforcement with advanced concepts to cater to all students?

OK, so first of all, language teaching language is like a, you know, it's like a manual, a user manual. You'll get all the directions to follow.

That is free writing courses in the sense students will not be.

Their mind works, what are their thoughts, what are, what are their emotions about the literary work or whatever it is, whatever topic it is not just literary works. And they'll be writing down then at that first. This is, I would call it the initial stage or the infant stage. And editing comes as a subsequent stage where focus is given on grammar, punctuation. I mean, sorry, not punctuation, grammar.

Conscious about the pressures of grammar, punctuation, spellings and all. So they'll be fully focusing on how.

Sentence structure, then spelling corrections and all that.

So when you're doing this method, I personally feel that I strongly believe that students will be will gain a confidence to move forward in their language proficiencies.

So even for students who have a lack, have a lack of language profession, so you are not much good in English or any other language for that matter. So this process will actually help them gain that confidence and with that confidence they'll be able to build on it. So the stage should always be reading followed by discussion and free writing where you give the opportunity, give the time, give the space to write on whatever they feels about the given topic.

And then editing comes as a subsequent, subsequent phase. In this way there isn't any writer's block or block in critical thinking. So that critical thinking or creative thing. So that should be that should should be rectified first. Once it is rectified, then it's then it is easier to focus on grammar and sentence structure, structure. So you know that the students have an idea about what they are talking about.

Thank

And then writing exercises can be given.

You will give them the editing exercises, you you give them the role of the editor. So they are themselves the editors of their work and then later on only the teacher actually comes into play and then work out how the editing part is done. So there you can actually have a one to one conversation and, and this has to be a consistent practice. It is not just one or two hours. A month. It should be a consistent practice and over time I think.

This teacher will be also able to understand what are the areas in which the student is lacking in language, whether it is sentence structure, whether it is the grammar or whether it is you know, the clarity or the preciseness in writing down passages. So what is that that point that has to be rectified. It can be understood only with continuous practice. Even the learner and the the instructor will be able to understand.

And that and then guidance, proper guidance can be given on that area where the student need more improvement.

Thank you, Professor. Your approach emphasizes a constructive path for learners, starting with free expression and gradually progressing toward refining technical aspects. This method provides a strong balance between fostering creativity and addressing structural challenges. Let us now discuss a specific skill: guiding student projects and research. How do you mentor students in choosing and developing research projects, particularly in the field of English studies? Could you share a scenario where your guidance influenced a student’s academic growth?

So when it comes to research, I see a creative idea.

Or an insight as a vibrant seed which is full of potential. So just like a healthy seed can grow into a mighty tree, so can a single idea, single innovative thought lead to potential research. For instance, I'll explain how my research process has been. I was able to.

Understand that when you have to research paper if you have a proper and original idea which is creative and innovative.

It is likely likely to clear the first initial stage, that is the editorial phase of publishing, which is a very crucial phase in publishing your research. So even if you're writing and literature review need refinement, you still get the.

Time and the help of your peer reviewers where you can actually you know they'll give you the guidance in the form of minor revisions and major revisions. So with that help, you will be able to improve your paper. If you have an innovative thought, if you have a creative idea, original idea. Another method is when you do not have an original idea, when you does not get clicked with a creative thought, then it is always better to focus on.

Which is currently currently relevant and which is in high demand?

And then focus on properly paraphrasing, then focus on, uh, sorry, not paraphrasing properly, uh, writing down the article, but sound literature review. So these are two strategies to distinct strategies that I have learned through my process of research and research writing. And this is exactly what I would like to, umm, impart to my students as well.

And writing for me is always is 1 is one of my strength, which I consider one of my strength because it gives me the opportunity to extend my research to make it available to other people who are working on the same, who would like to work on the similar topics. So I would always recommend students.

To you know, to not just read and discuss it is not something that research is not something that.

Has to stop because in that only uploading is happening, so you have to download your idea. So sit and write down those points, write down those the ideas, the information that you got, interpret them critically thing and interpret them and then try to communicate these ideas to potential journals as well.

This is effective in communicating research papers and writing research ideas. This is something that I have learned through my research journey and I would recommend students to try and see if this works for them. And maybe this is also something that is unique to my research journey. It might be different for other people as well, but I would like to impart this knowledge that I have learnt.

So these two strategies which I mentioned now.

And I would always focus on the writing part of research, along with reading and discussion. The writing part of research, That is where actually new ideas take shape. And for that, I think I'm also looking forward to.

Of the possibility of bringing out journals, both academic journals and creative journals, where students can contribute to their academic writings as well as creative writings, and thus the efforts of the students can be also encouraged in such ways.

Thank you, Professor. Your dual-strategy approach to guiding research—fostering creative originality and leveraging current relevancy—combined with your emphasis on the importance of writing as a developmental process, demonstrates a thoughtful and practical mentoring style. Let’s now cover one final competency. Could you share your understanding of good communication and a structured teaching approach in the context of higher education, and how you apply these principles in a classroom setting?

Structured teaching is very important because.

We have.

A prescribed time, we have a prescribed time, we have prescribed syllabus. So we should definitely have a have a structured.

We should definitely have a structured.

Uh pedagogy as well, but at the same time we should be flexible also in order to expect.

What the in order to expect more from the students, that is, they might be demanding.

Regarding their understanding of the subject, they might go a step ahead. So we should be prepared for that also. And when I get an opportunity to work in this institute, I'll definitely have a, a proper plan on how to, you know, design my teaching hours in such a way that I'll be also able to bring in my research.

Understandings into the classroom so there is a proper balance between.

Teaching and research it is not just about teaching the curriculum there should be a proper plan, concise and condensed plan so that we'll be able to integrate other learnings as well cross disciplinary learnings, research learnings, then academic writing learnings all these can be incorporated when you have a proper.

Uh, proper.

When you have a proper understanding of the the curriculum.

Thank you, Professor. Your emphasis on balancing structured pedagogy with the flexibility to incorporate interdisciplinary insights, research, and academic writing highlights a well-rounded teaching philosophy. This approach fosters both curriculum adherence and deeper intellectual engagement for students. With this, your stated competencies align well with the profile we are assessing. That concludes the skills verification. Thank you for your thoughtful responses.

Thank you. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Professor Athira, I see from your resume that you have pursued a PhD in English at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka. Could you provide a brief overview of your doctoral research focus? Specifically, what was the central problem or question you aimed to address?

OK, so my research was on exploring cultural memory and identity of the internally displaced in select literature from Northeast India. So the study focused on the cultural dimensions of internal displacement.

Uh, that is internal displacement is the, uh, is internal migration where people are forced to move within their country of origin, that is, they does not cross an international border. So there's a study focused on how, uh, internal displacement is reflected and, uh, represented within the cultural history. And it also by, uh, analyzing contemporary literature from Northeast India, it focused on how displaced individuals and communities.

Are remembered and represented within the cultural history of the region.

Thank you for elaborating, Professor Athira. This is certainly a significant and deeply relevant area of study. How would you connect the insights from your research on internal displacement with your teaching? For instance, how might the findings inform the way you approach teaching literature or cultural studies to your students?

OK, so basically this study is about internal displacement and internally displaced communities, which means the marginalized communities. So literature has always been about the marginalization and the, you know, the the experiences of the marginalized communities. So integrating that into literature means we'll be able to.

Generate in students a holistic approach that is taking a step as a step back.

And analyzing the broader picture, so it is always about the marginalized communities. Internally displaced are marginalized communities. They are not much talked about, they are not much researched about. So to know about that such communities exist is in itself a greater understanding for the students. So this will help them to.

Uh, present context, it will be able to give them a holistic picture, picture that is not to be judgmental about anything, to take a back seat and then analyse the bigger the whole picture and then come out with descriptions rather than judgements. This way, you know, studies about marginalized communities are increasing and there is a lot of research going on. So I think students will be able to. Gain the importance of knowing.

You know to while they are justifying their.

People who are on the margins.

And it will be motivating for them to to explore on such communities and such generations.

That makes sense, Professor Athira. Encouraging students to develop a nuanced understanding of marginalized communities and fostering empathy through literature are indeed valuable educational outcomes. Considering this, how would you design a specific classroom activity or assignment to help students critically engage with the themes of cultural memory and internal displacement in literature?

Sorry, can you can you repeat the question one more?

Find school please.

Certainly, Professor Athira. How would you design a specific classroom activity or assignment to help students critically engage with the themes of cultural memory and internal displacement in literature?

Time is up! Ending the interview now.