Sheela Jane Menon

Sheela Jane Menon is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin, and an Assistant Instructor with English and the Center for Asian American Studies.

Originally from Malaysia, Menon completed a BA in English (Highest Honors) and a BA in Religion at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. She earned her MA from University of Texas at Austin in May 2013, completing an MA report entitled: "The Gift of Rain: Reimagining Masculinity, Ethnicity, and Identity in Malaysia."

Working within the Ethnic & Third World Literatures specialization at UT Austin, her research interests center around questions of race and nationalism in Malaysian literature and popular culture. Her dissertation - "Rakyat Malaysia: Contesting Narratives of Malaysian Nationalism and Exceptional Multiculturalism" - maps the contradictions of Malaysian multiculturalism through a close reading of Indigenous activism, contemporary literature and film, public performance, and political campaigns.

Sheela Jane's research and teaching interests bridge Postcolonial Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Asian American Studies.