Doctoral Student in Asian Languages and Cultures
About
Asa’s research focuses on South Asian diasporas in the UK, Germany, and the US. He is interested in new understandings of diaspora as posed by scholars including Bibi Bakare-Yusuf and Rey Chow, specifically how these understandings can be applied to South Asian diasporic settings. He works between area studies and anthropology, using ethnography to frame cultural enclaves as a site of identity formation. He is particularly interested in diasporic expressions of language, religion, and performance.
Asa is also a scholar of Punjabi language and pedagogy, and he is interested in the dichotomy between standard and vernacular Punjabi as experienced in the Punjabi and Sikh diasporas. He seeks to understand how lexical variations of spoken Punjabi develop, with the intention of creating pedagogical frameworks that address differences across various Punjabi speech communities.
Asa is a trained and active Kathak and Bharatanatyam performing artist. Diasporic dance schools and dance as a mode of diasporicity form an important part of his research. He holds a Graduate Certificate in World Performance Studies, for which he researched what he calls a “Bengali-isation” of Bharatanatyam dance in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal.
He works primarily between Southeastern Michigan, West Yorkshire, London, Lübeck and Hamburg.
Prior to coming to Michigan, Asa taught French and German at St. Dunstan’s College in London, as well as Punjabi at King’s College London.
Publications
Books
Willoughby, Asa. A Comprehensive Guide to Punjabi Verbs. London: Khalis House
Publishing, 2024. [ISBN13: 9781739740177]
Articles
Willoughby, Asa. “Punjabi Language Learnings.” Rungh, June 2023. https://rungh.org/punjabi-language-learnings/
Research Interests
South Asian diaspora, Punjabi language, Urdu language, Bengali language, Sikhism, Sylheti language and diaspora, Indian classical dance, Linguistic diglossia, Diaspora theory, Linguistic anthropology, Ethnography, Performing arts, Fashion and textiles, Film studies, Indian cinema
Languages:
French
German
Urdu
Punjabi
Hindi
Bengali
