Pravina Shukla
Encyclopedia
Pravina Shukla is an Associate Professor of Folklore
at Indiana University Bloomington
and serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Anthropology Department, the India Studies Program, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. She is also an Associate Curator at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures.
, her M.A. in Folklore and Mythology
in 1994 from the University of California, Los Angeles
, and her Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology in 1998 from the University of California, Los Angeles with a minor in Art History
.
In 2000, she began her employment at Indiana University, Bloomington as an Assistant Professor of Folklore; in 2006 she became an Associate Professor.
Her research interests include folk art
, material culture, body art, dress, costume, museum studies, foodways, India
, and Brazil
.
She is currently working on a second book, regarding costume.
Dr. Shukla is married to fellow and world-renowned folklorist Henry Glassie
.
One of her goals in life is to visit every museum in the world.
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
at Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
and serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Anthropology Department, the India Studies Program, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. She is also an Associate Curator at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures.
Academic career
Dr. Shukla received her B.A. in Anthropology in 1992 from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, her M.A. in Folklore and Mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
in 1994 from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and her Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology in 1998 from the University of California, Los Angeles with a minor in Art History
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
.
In 2000, she began her employment at Indiana University, Bloomington as an Assistant Professor of Folklore; in 2006 she became an Associate Professor.
Her research interests include folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
, material culture, body art, dress, costume, museum studies, foodways, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Book Publications
Her first book, ‘’The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India’’, was published in 2008 and discusses the everyday and special occasion dress of women in Banaras (Varanasi), India. The book is approximately 500 pages and weighs 50 lbs due to the slick paper used in its binding. For this book, the Costume Society of America has awarded her the 2009 Millia Davenport Publication Award, which is awarded to published works that make a significant contribution to the study of costume using appropriate methodology, original thought, and exceptional creativity. Dr. Shukla has been invited to several institutions in the United States and abroad to give lectures on her book.She is currently working on a second book, regarding costume.
Personal life
Dr. Shukla, whose parents are from Banaras (Varanasi), India, was born in Oslo, Norway and spent her childhood in São Paulo, Brazil before her family settled in California. She speaks fluent English, Hindi, and Portuguese.Dr. Shukla is married to fellow and world-renowned folklorist Henry Glassie
Henry Glassie
Henry H. Glassie III is a folklorist and emeritus College Professor of Folklore at Indiana University Bloomington. With specializations in folk art, folklife, vernacular architecture and material culture, Glassie has written nearly twenty books on folklore of the areas of Ireland, Turkey,...
.
One of her goals in life is to visit every museum in the world.