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About me

Dr. Jashodhara Sen is a performance historian and practitioner specializing in South Asian theatre and performance. Her performance practice, scholarship, and teaching are informed by the theories of postcolonialism, decoloniality, and subaltern studies. Jashodhara’s research interests lie in the intersection of politics and the histories of liberatory performances across South Asia and the South Asian diaspora. Her current research, which she is developing in her book project (under contract), Intersectionality in 'Folk' Performance through Identity and Expression, focuses on the culturally specific performance form jatra and its many modalities and is centered on class and gender dynamics. The book traces the genealogies of the performance form and highlights jatra’s evolution through the interface of a class and gender politics. Her research and reviews have appeared in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Ecumenica, Asian Theatre Journal, New England Theatre Journal, Texas Theatre Journal, and Political Theology Network. Jashodhara completed her doctoral degree in Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020 and serves as an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Florida, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate theatre history and theory courses. Jashodhara is working on an ongoing research project, a digital storytelling platform for South Asian immigrant women titled “Leaving Home, Finding Home,” that redefines audience-participant relationships in alternative theatrical spaces. For this project, she has received the PAGE (Publicly Active Graduate Education) Award through Imagining America in 2017, the Engaged Arts and Humanities scholarship (2018-2019), and the Community-Based Research scholarship (2018-2019).

 

At the University of Florida, Jashodhara was honored with the College of the Arts 2024–25 Best Teacher of the Year Award, recognizing her outstanding commitment to transformative and inclusive teaching. In addition, Jashodhara received an award in directing from KCACTF (The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival) for the play Shakuntala (adaptation, 2020) produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance at CU Boulder. Besides her scholarship and artistic endeavors, Jashodhara loves taking long strolls with her pups while listening to Indian classical music.Current Research Interests: South Asian diasporic theatre and performance, postcolonial and subaltern studies, and digital autobiographical performance. 

 

Recent peer-reviewed journal publications“Mothering the Pandemic through the Interface” of Ritual and Performance.” Journal of Performance, Religion, and Spirituality, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2021. https://openjournals.utoledo.edu/“ndex.php/prs/issue/view/41“Renegotiating Home through the Digital Storytelling Platform” Leaving Home, Finding Home.” Texas Theatre Journal, Vol. 17, 2020. 79. 

 

Community-based Research

Community-based Research Fellowship (2018-2019)

Research Project: Leaving Home, Finding Home: Stories by South Asian Women within the US
Leaving Home, Finding Home is a platform for documenting the autobiographical stories of South Asian immigrant women in the Boulder County community.

To learn more about this program, click here

 

Photo Courtesy: Jennifer Ciplet

Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Scholar (2018-2019)

Sen’s projectLEAVING HOME, FINDING HOME (This site is currently down) is a digital storytelling space by and for immigrant women from South Asia residing in the United States. As a South Asian academic, immigrant, and curator for this platform, she invites women who identify as South Asian to share their powerful stories related to immigration, identity, freedom, and equality. The forum is an open-access website for social networking, connecting with fellow immigrant identities, and sharing and celebrating both collective and individual experiences.

More about this program, here 

Invited Works That Left a Mark

The Shaking Earth by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, the first runner-up of the Woodward International Playwriting Competition for 2021, captivates audiences with its powerful dual narrative.Set against the backdrop of the harrowing anti-Sikh massacres following the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, the play seamlessly intertwines this historical tragedy with the struggles of a refugee mother and her politically aware daughter in post 9/11 America. Through the lens of trauma passed down through generations, it challenges perceptions of identity and resilience, illuminating the evolution of womanhood and queerness from 1984 India to today. In a world where fear often prevails, this compelling drama reveals how the most vulnerable can rise to become extraordinary.

© 2018 by Jashodhara Sen 
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Call Office

352-294-9124

Contact

jsen@ufl.edu

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