Sadaqah and Seva: Middle Eastern and South Asian Superheroes
This course offers a semester-long study of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian representation and racialization in American popular culture via the superhero genre. Engaging with visual media (comics, television, film), creator talks and interviews, and academic writing, we think critically about how people and ideas travel across borders.
MENASA American Comics
This course offers a survey of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian American comic books, graphic novels, and graphic memoirs. We read comics made by writers and artists for children, teenagers, and adults alongside academic and critical writing and, further, think critically about the production of image-texts by creators of different diasporas and marginalized identities for English language readers in the United States.
Mindy Kaling Projects
From NBC’s The Office to Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, Mindy Kaling has been a presence on television and computer screens for more than two decades. This course, named after The Mindy Project, follows Kaling’s career as an actor, writer, director, and producer. We read and watch Kaling’s work and think critically about her impact on South Asian representation in American popular culture, especially comedy.
Adrienne Resha, PhD 