“The Price Mellon Fellowship helped me approach [postcolonial literature] at a scale and in ways that I had not thought possible.”
We were thrilled to hear from our former summer grad fellow Zain Mian that he will begin a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Urdu Language, Literature, and Performance at the University of Toronto in July 2023. Zain will be overseeing the development of Urdu literary studies and language teaching at the university. He will hold a joint appointment in the English and Language Studies departments, as well an appointment to the Graduate Group in the Center for Comparative Literature. He will also be affiliated with the Center for South Asian Civilizations.
As a 2020 Price Mellon Graduate Fellow, Zain undertook a computational study of the postcolonial literary canon. His project aimed to explore the boundaries of the postcolonial canon by comparing the prominence of certain literary works on Goodreads with the likelihood of their appearance on PhD Comprehensive Exams lists. As Zain describes the experience, “Working with the Price Lab, I developed a new digital skillset that sharpened my understanding of literary institutions and canon formation. The Price Mellon Fellowship helped me approach my topic at a scale and in ways I had not previously thought possible. I found it invaluable for the practical skills I developed and the new perspectives I gained on my work.”
Congratulations to Zain from the Price Lab staff!