Prea Persaud Curriculum Vitae

University of Florida 3673 SW 20th Ave. Department of Religion Apt. 405 Gainesville, Florida 32611 Gainesville, FL 32607 352.392.1625 352.530.9514

EDUCATION

2013 - present University of Florida, Ph.D., Religion, (ABD) Dual tracked: Religions of Asia and Religion in the Americas

Exams: (1) Religion in North America, (2) Religion in Latin America, (3) Hinduism, and (4) Interpreting Asian Religions

Dissertation Title: “God Must Be a Trini: Transforming Hinduism into a Caribbean Religion”

Committee Members: Vasudha Narayanan, Anna Peterson, David Hackett, Leah Rosenberg, Brent Crosson

2013 Syracuse University, M.Phil., Religion Certification of Advanced Study in South Asian Studies

MA Thesis Committee: Joanne Waghorne, Ann Gold, Sue Wadley, Gareth Fisher

2010 Rollins College, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Honors in Religion

RESEARCH AREAS

Global Hinduism, Caribbean Studies, race and identity, postcolonial studies, digital humanities

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Instructor (courses designed and taught) 2018 Religion 2000: Introduction to Religion, Santa Fe College Religion 2315: Religions of Asia, University of Florida (UF)

2017 Religion 2315: Religions of Asia, Santa Fe College Religion 2300: World Religions, UF

2016 Religion 3938/Latin American Studies 3930: Religions of Latin America, UF Religion 2300: World Religions, UF

2015 Religion 3938/Latin American Studies 3930: Caribbean Religions, UF

2014 Religion 2300: World Religions, UF

Teaching Assistant 2018 ENC 3254: Professional Writing in the Discipline, UF

2017 ENC 3254: Professional Writing in the Discipline, UF Interdisciplinary Humanities IUF 1000: The Good Life, UF

2016 Interdisciplinary Humanities IUF 1000: The Good Life, Summer B, UF

2015 Religion 2121: American Religious History, UF Interdisciplinary Humanities IUF 1000: The Good Life, Summer B, UF

2014 Religion 2362: Intro to Islam, UF

2013 Religion 3938: Religion and Healing, UF

Digital Humanities Teaching Collaborator 2017 Migration and Mobility, UF and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados

2016 Post-class review of materials from Panama Silver, Asian Gold: Reimagining Diasporas, Archives, and the Humanities, collaboratively created and taught at Amherst College, UF, University of Miami, and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2016 – present Intern, Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)

ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC LECTURES

Presentations 2018 “From Kala Pani to Gangadhara: Creating a Hindu Pilgrimage in Trinidad.” The Center for Hindu Traditions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

2017 “A Tale of Two Rivers: Sacralizing Local Landscape through Memory Performance.” The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

“It Doesn't Always Feel Good: Redefining Notions of Inclusion and Moving beyond ‘Diversity.’" American Academy of Religion. Boston, MA.

“Collaborations in the Digital Library of the Caribbean: Lessons Learned.” Co-Presented with Dr. Leah Rosenberg at the symposium “Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean,” University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

“Digital Bridgemaking: Transforming Student Work into Digital Content.” Presented at Smathers Library East, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

“Creole Religions: A Critique of the Study of Hinduism in the Caribbean.” American Academy of Religion, Western Region, Rosemead, CA.

“Balka Devi: The Mud Volcano Goddess of Trinidad.” Center for Hindu Traditions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

2016 “Digital Pedagogies: Useful Practices and Tools.” Presented at Smathers Library East, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

“Teaching with Caribbean Digital Libraries and Archives.” Refereed presentation (with Randi Gill-Sadler, Leah Rosenberg, and Prea Persaud, University of Florida; and Rhonda Cobham-Sander, Amherst College), West Indian Literature Conference, University of the West Indies, Western Jamaica Campus, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“Reconstructing Hinduism as a Creole Religion.” Caribbean Studies Association Conference: Caribbean Global Movements, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

2015 “Creating a National Identity: A Critical Examination of Indian Arrival Day Magazines in Trinidad.” Caribbean Studies Association Conference: The Caribbean in an Age of Global Apartheid, New Orleans, LA.

“Indentured Labor, Hinduism, and Nationalism: Examining the Retelling of History in Indian Arrival Day Magazines in Trinidad.” American Academy of Religion, Midwest Regional, Ada, OH.

2014 “Diwali Shows: A Representation of the Caribbean Hinduism.” New York Conference on Asian Studies, Long Island, NY.

“Sitting on the Hyphen: Negotiating an Indian Caribbean Identity in the United States.” Syracuse Department of History Graduate Conference: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Journeys of Belonging and Exclusion, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

2013 “The Racial Framework of Memory: Race as a Framework of Collective Memory in the Case of Indo-Caribbeans.” New York Conference on Asian Studies, Binghamton, NY.

Invited Lectures 2017 “Hindu Youths in the Diaspora: Struggles and Solutions.” The Dharma Inc. Retreat, Clermont, FL.

2016 “Colonial Legacies: Race, Religion, and the Study of Hinduism in the Caribbean.” Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.

“Hinduism Around the World.” Dharma Inc. Retreat, Clermont, FL.

2014 “Hyphenated Hindus: The Creation and Transformation of an Indo- Caribbean Identity.” Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.

PUBLICATIONS

2018 “Trauma, Otherness, and Pilgrimage: The Creation of Sacred Spaces in Trinidad.” Nidān. Forthcoming.

2017 “Hinduism in Trinidad.” Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Ed. Arvind Sharma. Springer International Publishing.

2016 "Cultural Battlefields: Jhandi Flags and the Indo-Caribbean Fight for Recognition." Web blog post. Material Religions.

2016 “Islam in Trinidad.” Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Ed. Henri Gooren. Springer International Publishing, 1–6.

2015 “Hyphenated Hindus: The Development of an Indo-Caribbean Identity” in Indian Diaspora: Socio-Cultural and Religious Worlds. Ed. Pratap Kumar. Leiden: Brill, 73 – 91.

PUBLIC AND DIGITAL HUMANITIES PUBLICATIONS AND PROJECTS

2018 “Engaging the Digital Humanities with Graduate Internships in Libraries for Transformative Collaboration.” Digital Humanities, Libraries, and Partnerships. Co-authored with Laurie Taylor, Poushali Bhadury, Elizabeth Dale, Randi Gill, Brian Smith, and Leah Rosenberg. Ed. Kate Joranson and Robin Kear. Chandos Publishing. Forthcoming.

2016 – present Digital Pedagogy: Scalar book management, editing, and support; development of course materials, assignments, technical trainings, content/subject instruction, and other instructional and digital humanities work for the series of Distributed Online Collaborative Courses (DOCC) with the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC):

2016 Co-editor on teaching guide: A Teaching and Research Guide to The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet, 2016:

GRANTS

2018 – 2019 Creative Campus Catalyst Award. Project: “Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean.”

AWARDS

2017 Rotham Fellowship, University of Florida Wells Award for Best Graduate Paper, University of Florida Best Graduate Paper, American Academy of Religion Western Regional Dharma Inc. Writing Competition

2013 – Present Graduate Fellowship, University of Florida

2012 Foreign Language and Area Studies (Hindi), Syracuse University

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

2018 Steering Committee, Religion, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism Unit, American Academy of Religion

Co-editor, Nidān, Special Issue: Indian Diaspora, Migration, and Ethnicity

Conference Advisor, Religion Graduate Student Conference: Religion and Power

2017 – Present Faculty Liaison, Religion Graduate Student Organization

2017 Conference Organizer, Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean, University of Florida

Conference Organizer, Religion Graduate Student Conference: Sexing Religion: Gender and Performance in Religion

2015 – 2016 President, Religion Graduate Student Organization

2015 Conference Organizer, Religion Graduate Student Conference: Religion and Culture in the Digital Age

2014 – 2015 Vice President, Religion Graduate Student Organization

2012 – 2013 Conference Liaison, Religion Graduate Organization, Syracuse University

2011 Conference Organizer, The Future of Continental Philosophy of Religion, Syracuse University

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

American Academy of Religion Caribbean Studies Association American Academy of Indic Studies

TECHNICAL SKILLS and DIGITIAL HUMANITIES

Scalar Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) Curator Tools (metadata, archiving, access) Google Maps and mapping tools/methods for Digital Humanities

REFERENCES

Vasudha Narayanan Department of Religion, University of Florida 352-273-2934, [email protected]

David Hackett (on sabbatical Spring 2018 – Spring 2019) Department of Religion, University of Florida 352-273-2929, [email protected]

Leah Rosenberg Department of English, University of Florida 352-294-2848, [email protected]

Laurie Taylor Digital Library of the Caribbean, Smathers Library, University of Florida 352-273-2902, [email protected]

Bill Stephenson Chair, Department of Humanities and Foreign Languages, Santa Fe Community College 352-395-4418, [email protected]