Dr. Shivalika Agarwal

Dr Shivalika Agarwal is a literary scholar, poet and Assistant Professor in the Department of Languages and Literature at the Manipal Institute of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (MILHS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru; She holds a PhD in English Literature from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Her doctoral research examined maternal psychology and mother–daughter dynamics in contemporary Indian fiction, contributing to the developing field of Indian motherhood studies; Dr Shivalika’s teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of motherhood studies, women’s writing, gender and sexuality studies, life writing, feminine psychology and Indian writing in English. Her scholarship investigates the ways in which motherhood and maternal subjectivity are shaped by family, culture and patriarchy, with particular attention to questions of identity, autonomy, intergenerational relationships and women’s self-representation; Her broader academic interests encompass postcolonial feminist thought, autobiographical narratives and the literary representation of women’s psychological and lived experiences. Her research has been published in leading international and peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Postcolonial Writing, South Asian Popular Culture, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Journal of International Women’s Studies, Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, and Women: A Cultural Review.

She also contributes to academic publishing as a reviewer for Routledge and Elsevier and collaborates with scholars from institutions in India and abroad. At MAHE Bengaluru, Dr Shivalika teaches courses in literature, gender and identity, academic research and communication. Her pedagogical practice brings literary criticism into conversation with contemporary social questions and encourages students to engage with texts through feminist, intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives. She is committed to creating intellectually inclusive spaces that foster critical enquiry, academic writing and independent research.

Alongside her academic work, Dr Shivalika is an active poet and creative writer whose writings explore womanhood, identity, belonging, memory and the textures of everyday life. Her creative work has appeared in Madras Courier, Outlook India, miniMAG, Poetry as Promised, Setu, Ghudsavar and The Hooghly Review, among other literary platforms. Bringing together scholarship, teaching and creative practice, her work seeks to expand conversations around women’s experiences and establish Indian motherhood as a significant field of literary and cultural enquiry. Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=58183055800 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2344-1223 Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=40uRIDQAAAAJ&hl=en ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shivalika_Agarwal2 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shivalika-agarwal-994413106/