Visiting Scholar in India Studies
An annual program bringing a leading scholar to 91探花 for a residency, keynote, and public dialogue on contemporary India and the diaspora.
Overview
Established through a gift from the Raman family, the program invites a scholar, writer, or public intellectual each year to engage students and the broader community in serious conversation about India and its diaspora reflecting the Center's commitment to deepening understanding of India’s global significance.
Current Scholar
2026–2027 Raman Family Visiting Scholar - Tishani Doshi
Tishani Doshi is a Welsh-Gujarati poet, novelist, and former lead dancer with the Chandralekha company, based on the coast of Tamil Nadu. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, winner of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2021. Her novels The Pleasure Seekers and Small Days and Nights have been recognized by the Orange Prize, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and the Hindu Fiction Prize, with Small Days and Nights named an Irish Times Book of the Year. Her writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, Granta, The Guardian, and The New York Times, and she has performed at venues including the Sydney Opera House and the Sorbonne. She currently serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her fifth poetry collection, Egrets, While War, is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press.
Event Details
- Date: October 13, 2026 6:30pm
- Venue: Raisbeck Auditorium, Cornish College of the Arts
- Format: Staged performance + conversation + book signing.
As part of her residency, Doshi brings her acclaimed performance piece 'Egrets, While War' to 91探花, a staged convergence of poetry, film, and movement that moves between childhood and ancestry, myth and extinction, in dialogue with a filmed ensemble of masked performers. The piece reflects Doshi's distinctive practice of staging her readings as full theatrical works rather than traditional podium events. The performance will be followed by a conversation with Loyola Endowed Professor and novelist Sonora Jha, and a book signing with books available to purchase from Elliot Bay Book Company.