Swarnim Khare

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My research explores the intersections of language politics, translation studies, and print cultures and public spheres in South Asia, with a particular focus on North India. My dissertation examines prison narratives across genres—autobiography, memoir, and manual, both fiction and nonfiction—and across languages, including Hindi, Urdu, and English. Extending from this work, I am also interested in alternative forms of non-punitive discipline and in reimagining disciplinary methodologies within institutional contexts, including academia.

A secondary line of my research engages with the Hindi Dalit public sphere and the politics of translating Dalit literature. As a practicing translator working across Urdu, Hindi, and English, I am committed to making South Asian literatures more accessible to wider audiences. My translation of Anita Bharti’s “The Case of the Quota Candidate” appeared in a special issue of Words Without Borders. I was awarded the Premchand Research Award in Hindi Studies (2020), administered by the Institute for South Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Languages (other than English):

• Urdu (Advanced)
• Hindi (Advanced)
• Persian (basic)