Priyadarshini Shanker

Dr. Priyadarshini Shanker teaches and writes about Indian cinema and media, focusing on gender, performance, and labor. Her research, teaching, and curatorial expertise map feminist media histories, using transnational and decolonial approaches to diversify film and media pedagogy. She earned her PhD from New York University, and her dissertation is titled "Cinephilia as Practice: The Intermedial Archiving of Popular Bombay cinema." At UNCW, Dr. Shanker teaches graduate and undergraduate courses titled History of Indian Cinemas, Bollywood, South Asian Women Filmmakers, Introduction to Film Studies, Contemporary Cinefeminisms, Cinephilia, and Film Historiography. She was awarded the Feminist Teaching Award by the Gender Studies Research Center for “excellence in feminist pedagogy that values reflective practices and intersectional social justice and equity.” Dr. Shanker has published book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, book reviews, and photo essays on Indian cinema in prestigious anthologies and journals such as Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, Screen, Asian Studies Review, Hitchcock Annual, and MARG. Before UNCW, Dr. Shanker taught as an Adjunct Faculty at New York University, Columbia University, and Sarah Lawrence College. She has also curated and co-curated film festivals and film series related to regional and independent Indian cinema at the Museum of Moving Image in New York.

Education

PhD in Cinema Studies, New York University
MPhil in Cinema Studies, New York University
MA in Cinema Studies, New York University
MA in Mass Communications, Jamia Millia Islamia

Specialization in Teaching

FST 502: Introduction to Film Studies
FST 570: Film Historiography
FST 480/589: Special Topics in World Cinema—South Asian Women Filmmakers
FST 496/569: Senior Seminar in Film Studies—Contemporary Cinefeminisms
FST 496/569: Senior Seminar in Film Studies—Cinephilia
FST 375: Studies in Global Film History—History of Indian Cinemas
FST 379: Studies in Film History—Black Women Filmmakers
FST 380: Introduction to Bollywood Cinema

Research Interests

South Asian Film and Media, Intersectional Feminist Media Histories, Creative Performance and Labor, Film and Media Historiography, Social Justice Film and Media Pedagogy.

Professional Service

Associate Chair, Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2025-present
Chair, Critical Studies Committee, Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2024-2026
Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2023-2024
Co-Chair, Critical Studies Search Committee, Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2021-2022

Honors & Awards

NextUp Leadership Development Fellowship, Center for Faculty Leadership, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2022-2023
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, Office of Institutional Diversity & Inclusion, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2022-2024
Feminist Teaching Award, Gender Studies Research Center, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2021-2022
Charles L Cahill Grant, Office of Sponsored Programs & Research Compliance, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2020-2021