Vanya Rachel Gnaniah
University of Waterloo
English Language and Literature
200 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
Degrees
Ph.D (2018-ongoing): English Literature, University of Waterloo
Aug 2010- Dec 2016 : Integrated M.A in English Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
2014-2016: Erasmus Mundus Scholar at Aarhus University, Denmark
Dissertation Title
Meeting and Eating Bacteria: The Biopolitics of the Pathogen in Contemporary Food Safety Narratives
Awards and Scholarships
Program |
Organisation |
Support |
Year |
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship |
Interdisciplinary Bridges for Indo-European Studies |
10,000 Euros ( ≈15,000 CAD) |
September 2014-June 2015
|
Exceptional Doctoral Student Award |
University of Waterloo |
4600 CAD |
January 2018-ongoing |
Presentations
Invited Talk
Gnaniah, Vanya Rachel (October 2015). “The ecological significance and apocalyptic significance of Ana Castillo’s So Far from God”. Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT-Madras, India
Conferences
(November 2018). “You are what you eat: Understanding Culture through Food” SLSA. Toronto, Canada
(April 2017). “Construction and Criticism: Looking Beyond that which meets the Eye” Discovering Europe. Organized by Aarhus University, University of Kolkata, India.
(January 2016). “The Apocalyptic Narrative in Biblical and Literary Texts: an Ecological Approach” Grappling With The Sacred. Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT-Madras, India
Service
Service to the Department
International Student Representative, Student Association for Graduates in English. University of Waterloo (September 2018-ongoing)
Career Action Coordinator, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (August 2012-June 2014)
Editor-in-Chief. Department Magazine. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (August 2011-June 2012)
Interests &Volunteer Work
Photographer, Ride for Refuge. October 2018. Cycling Event to raise funds for the homeless and the most vulnerable
Choir Member, 'Singing with our Neighbors' featuring the Inshallah Choir. March 2018. Performed at Knox Church, Waterloo alongside the indigenous group MIno Ode Kwewak N'gamowak to raise funds for Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW)
Volunteer, Indian Institute of Biblical Theology (December 2013). Distributing donations to Leprosy patients in Chennai, India