Art, Art History, and Film Faculty

Tanya Desai's research revolves around the philosophy of film, particularly on topics of voice, gender and genre in South Asian cinema. Her broader teaching interests include global classical cinema, aesthetic theory, film comedy, animal studies and psychoanalysis.

Her current book project is on Bombay cinema of the 1950s, examining the convergence of film and poetry in its iconic songs and exploring the philosophical issues these songs raise about the relation between body and voice, between the self and the world, and between words and lives.

She received her PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago and previously completed her MA and MPhil in English Literature at the University of Delhi.