Zain R. Mian

Undergraduate Cross-Appointment: English & Drama

Graduate Appointment: Centre for Comparative Literature

Zain R. Mian is Assistant Professor of Urdu Language, Literature, and Performance. His research bridges the study of Urdu and World Literature. Zain’s current project explores the significance of material and conceptual geographies to the development of Urdu writing. He is also currently working on an anthology of Urdu literary criticism in translation.

Current Courses

Fall/Winter 2024-25:

• URD212 (Introduction to Urdu)
• ENG310 (Modern South Asian Literature in English)

Graduate Course

• COL5152 (World Literature in theory and Practice)

Education

• PhD, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory, University of Pennsylvania
• MA, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory, University of Pennsylvania 
• MA, English Literature, McGill University 
• BA Hons (first class), English Literature, McGill University

Areas of Teaching and Research Interests

• Modern Urdu literature  
• World literature studies  
• South Asian literature 
• Literary sociology  
• Literary geographies 
• Translation

Selected Publications

Articles

• Mian, Z. R. (Forthcoming.) “The Ambivalent Aesthetics of Muhammad Hasan Askari.” Oxford Handbook of Modern Indian Literature.
• Mian, Z. R. (2023.) “Through the Lens of Urdu: Reading World Literature in Adabī dunyā.” Journal of World Literature, 8: 235–258.  

Other 

• Mian, Z. R. “Willing Representatives: Mohsin Hamid and Pakistani Literature Abroad.” Herald Pakistan, 19 Jan. 2019.  
• Mian, Z. R.  “No Country for Yes Men.” Africa is a Country, 9 Jul. 2018.