The Department of English and Modern Languages (DEML) at IUB has welcomed four distinguished academics to its roster, each bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to enrich the university’s academic community.

Dr. Nagesh Rao has joined IUB as an Associate Professor. With 23 years of teaching experience from U.S. institutions such as Colgate University, he began his tenure at IUB in January 2024. Dr. Rao holds advanced degrees from Bangalore University, Syracuse University, and Brown University. His scholarly contributions have appeared in Race and Class and South Asian Review. Specializing in Marxism, nationalism, and modernity, his work frequently explores the writings of Frantz Fanon and socio-economic transitions to capitalism. An active contributor to academic and popular media, Dr. Rao is committed to fostering multidisciplinary dialogue on socio-political and historical issues.

Dr. Muhammad Zakaria, a renowned linguist specializing in Tibeto-Burman languages, joined IUB as an Associate Professor in May 2024. Holding a PhD in Linguistics from Nanyang Technological University, he completed a comprehensive grammar of the endangered Hyow language. His career includes postdoctoral and research roles at Osaka University and SOAS, alongside academic appointments at various Bangladeshi universities. Dr. Zakaria’s research delves into transcription tools for Tibeto-Burman dialects, shamanism, and ritual languages. His commitment to documenting endangered languages and building corpora significantly contributes to South Asian linguistic scholarship.

In April 2024, Dr. Xingkui Wang joined IUB as an Assistant Professor of English and Modern Languages. With a multidisciplinary background in history and literature, he earned a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Munich, as well as degrees in Art History and Literature from the University of Maryland and Jacobs University. He has previously taught at the Asian University for Women and Mongolia International University. At IUB, Dr. Wang’s courses cover Philosophy, History and Civilization, Academic Writing, and Elementary Chinese. His comprehensive academic background and global perspective bolster the department’s interdisciplinary teaching and critical thinking efforts.

Ms. Kanij Fatema became a Lecturer in English and Modern Languages at IUB in January 2024. Holding Bachelors and Masters degrees in Linguistics from the University of Dhaka, she has worked as a Research Assistant at BRAC University, focusing on low-resource Bangla dialects through Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. Her research aims to bridge linguistics and technology, particularly in processing regional Bangla dialects. Ms. Fatema’s dedication to integrating NLP with linguistics promises to enhance documentation and understanding of Bangladesh’s diverse dialects.