User:Pagalwagal/Pravina Shukla

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.

Academic Career
Dr. Shukla received her B.A. in Anthropology in 1992 from the University of California, Berkeley, 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.

Courses Taught at Indiana University, Bloomington

 * F131 - Introduction to Folklore in the United States
 * F440/540 - Body Art: Dress and Adornment
 * F523 - Fieldwork in Folklore
 * F440/730 - Museums and Material Culture
 * F713 - Food: Art and Identity

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. For this book, the Costume Society of America has awarded her the 2009 Millia Davenport Publication Award. One juror on the award committee stated that Shukla’s “evocation of the sight, sound, smell, and feel of dress and her emphasis on understanding the performative act of dressing is brilliant.” In November 2009, Dr. Shukla was invited to Germany to give a lecture on her book.

She is currently working on a second book, ‘’Costume: Elective Identities through Dress’’ (working title), regarding costume. This book, using the following case studies, will discuss the idea and definition of costume in terms of context, function, and form: folk costume in Sweden, Carnival costume in Brazil, stage costume in theatre, and costume in historical reenactments.

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.

One of her goals in life is to visit every museum in the world.