FACULTY PROFILE
Personal details:
Name: Soofia Siddique
Department: English
Education: BA, MA, MPhil (University of Delhi); PhD (SOAS, University of London)
Email: soofia.siddique@ststephens.edu
Qualification: PhD
Teaching experience:
Teaching at University of Delhi since 1997. Teaching at St. Stephen’s College since 1998.
Courses taught:
Indian Writing, Postcolonial Writing, World Literature, Translation, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century British Literature, 17th and 18th Century British Poetry and Drama, European Classical Literature, Women’s Writing, Partition Literature, Contemporary India: Women and Empowerment, Readings on Indian Diversities and Literary Movements, Soft Skills, Literature in Cross-Cultural Contexts.
Areas of academic specialisation:
Late nineteenth and early twentieth century literary cultures and their interface with historiography and politics, especially with reference to English and Urdu discourses. Also: questions of postcoloniality, gender, genre, and the formation of modern publicity.
Research grants and fellowships:
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Dahlem Research School, Freie Universität Berlin (2016-2017).
Visiting Fellowship at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi (Dec 2014‐June 2015).
Guest Fellowship at the Center for the History of Emotions, Max Plank Institute for Human Development, Berlin (June 2014).
Commonwealth Scholarship, U.K. for pursuing fully funded PhD studies (2008-2012).
Research:
Postdoctoral—
“A Study of Male Muslim Modernity and Publicity through Later Nineteenth Century Urdu Writings.”
Dahlem Research School, Freie Universität, Berlin (2016-2017).
PhD—
“Remembering the Revolt of 1857: Contrapuntal Formations in Indian Literature and History”.
The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (2012).
Publications:
Review of “Colonialism and Knowledge in Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India” and “Nation and Region in Greirson’s Linguistic Survey of India” by Javed Majeed, The Book Review 44 (August 2020).
“A Tale and Two Translations.” The Journal of Urdu Studies 1 (2020): 127-137.
“Worlds of Advice: Going Places with Nazir Ahmad”, The Journal of World Literature 4 (2019):169-187.
“Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand.” In The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies, edited by Sangeeta Ray and Henry Schwarz, Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016.
Review of “Mutiny at the Margins (vol. 5): Muslim, Dalit and Subaltern Narratives” edited by Crispin Bates and Marcus Daechsel, The Book Review 39:1 (January 2015): 3-4.
Review of “Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857”, vols. 1-4, edited by Crispin Bates, The Book Review (South Asia Number 23) 28:2 (February 2014): 27-28.
Review of conference on “Bharat Britain: South Asians Making Britain 1870-1950” Dandelion2:1(Spring2011).
Living Literatures: An Anthology of Prose and Poetry. Co-edited with Vinay Sood et al. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2006.
The Individual and Society: Essays, Stories and Poems. Co-edited with Harriet Raghunathan et al. New Delhi: Pearson, 2005.
“I-ing Ismat: Autobiographical Ismat Chughtai.” In Signifying the Self: Women and Literature, edited by Malashri Lal et al, New Delhi: Macmillan, 2004. 64-72.
Talks, conferences and seminars:
“Challenges in Interpersonal Communication”. Invited talk organised by the IQAC as part of an initiative on Soft-Skills Enhancement. St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (2021).
“Reason, Rebellion, Loyalty: An exploration of some key concepts with reference to Syed Ahmad Khan’s Asbab Baghavat-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Revolt)”. International Conference on ‘Commemorating Syed Ahmad Khan: Historian, Intellectual, Man of Reason’ held at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (2018).
“Uncertain Stations: Nineteenth Century Male Muslim Negotiations and Narrations of Railway Travel”. Talk at SOAS South Asia Institute, University of London (2017).
“Worlds of Advice: Going Places with Nazir Ahmad”. ERC Workshop on ‘The Locations of World Literature: Perspectives from Asia and Africa’ held at École Normale Supérieure, Paris (June 2017).
“Kis jahan ki dosti hai: Notes on friendship concepts in some Aligarh Movement Writings”. Workshop on “Revisting the Writings of the Aligarh Movement”, Freie Universität, Berlin (2017).
“A By-lane of History: Explorations of Old Delhi’s Gali Batashan”. European Association of South Asian Studies Conference, University of Warsaw (2016).
“The ‘Habit of Writing History’: Gandhi’s reading and negotiation of Kaye’s and Malleson’s History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 ”. Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies conference, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2016).
“Gandhi’s 1857 Hero, Sir Henry Lawrence”. Visiting Fellow’s talk at Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies, Delhi (2015).
“Remembrance in a Liminal Time: Fughan-e-Dehli, a Poetic Reflection of 1857”. Workshop
on Memory and Temporalities at the Center for the History of Emotions, Max Plank Institute
for Human Development, Berlin (2014).
“Remembering the Revolt of 1857: Syed Ahmad Khan and the Causes Narrative.” Invited
talk at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library seminar series, New Delhi (2013).
“When Malika Kishwar met Queen Victoria: Some Thoughts on Travel and Translation.”
British Comparative Literature Association Graduate Seminar, London (2011).
“The Best of People are Not with Us’: WW Hunter’s Indian Musalmans and the Question
of Pan- Indian Muslim Identity in the 1870s.” British Association of South Asian
Studies Annual Conference, University of Southampton (2011).
“The Construction of Male Colonial Modernity in the Late Nineteenth Century Urdu
Literary and Public Realm.” South Asia Graduate Conference VI, University of Chicago
(2009).
“Embodying Modernity: An Early Urdu Novel on the Revolt of 1857”. British Association for South Asian Studies Annual Conference, University of Edinburgh (2009).
“’A Monument to Behold, A Tale to be Told’: Memory and Surveillance in Asadullah Khan
Ghalib’s and Flora Annie Steel’s Representations of Delhi in the Revolt of 1857”.
International Conference of the Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and
Language Studies, Banaras Hindu University (2007).
Panelist/chair:
Panel chair in the English Literary Society festival on Children’s Literature, held at St. Stephen’s College (2021).
Panelist at book discussion on Emotions and Modernity in Colonial India (by Margrit Pernau). Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi (2019).
Respondent and rapporteur for workshop on The Dead are Coming: Acts of Citizenship at Europe’s Borders, held at the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität, Berlin (2016).
Resource person at Research Orientation for PhD students at Freie Universität, Berlin (2016).
Panel chair in the Centre for Gender, Culture and Social Processes International Conference, Interrogating Masculinities, held at St. Stephen’s College (2015).
Panel chair in the English Department International Conference, Texts and
Technology, held at St. Stephen’s College (2014).
Panel chair in the English Department International Conference, Romantically Inclined, held at St. Stephen’s College (2013).
Panel chair in conference on Fair Trade, held at Goodenough College, London (2011).
Selected participant in three-day conference on Partnering for a Sustainable Future to
mark 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, held at
Cumberland Lodge, Windsor (2009).
Conference and workshop organisational roles:
Organised a series of talks and discussions with invited speakers under the aegis of the Translation Studies Centre, St. Stephen’s College (2021- ongoing).
Organised a 2-day International Workshop on Revisiting the Writings of the Aligarh Movement, Freie Universität, Berlin (2017).
Member of organising committee in the English Department
International Conference, Romantically Inclined, held at St. Stephen’s College. (2013)
Member of Academic Committee of Goodenough College, London (2009-2012). Served
on the organising committee for conferences on War and Faith and Fair Trade.
Organised an interdisciplinary conference on ‘Contemporary Representations of Women in India’ (2004), under the aegis of the Women’s Studies and Development Centre, St. Stephen’s College.
Curriculum Development:
2004-2008—
Served on committee for revising BA Programme syllabus, Department of English, University of Delhi.
Contributed to producing two new textbooks for the Discipline Centred Course.
Was a resource person for a teachers’ workshop for the new syllabus.
Served as Head Examiner for University examinations for the first year of the new course.
Cocurricular and extracurricular roles:
Coordinator of the Centre for Translation Studies, St. Stephen’s College (2018- present).
Staff Adviser to the English Literary Society, St. Stephen’s College (2013-14).
Founder-convenor of Women’s Studies and Development Centre, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (2002-2007).
Staff Adviser to the Fine Arts Society, St. Stephen’s College (2000-2007). In 2006 oversaw the publication of the first issue of the society journal, Vista.
Member of History Society delegation from St. Stephen’s College to Pakistan, on educational and interactive tour across ten cities, organised by the Indo-Pakistan Youth Peace Forum (2005).
Convenor of English language training programme for students from Kyushu University (Japan) at St. Stephen’s College (1999-2000). Coordinated the preparation of pedagogical material and the administration of the programme.
Administrative roles:
Head of the Department of English, St. Stephen’s College (January – May 2022; September-December 2015).
Chairperson of the Library Committee, St. Stephen’s College (2019-present).
Deputy Superintendent of Examinations, St. Stephen’s College (2018).
Tutor for Admissions, St. Stephen’s College (2018).
Coordinator for National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), St. Stephen’s College (2017/18).