Dr. Farina Mir

Biography

Farina Mir is a historian specializing in colonial and postcolonial South Asia, with particular interest in the religious, cultural, and social history of late-colonial north India. Her current research focuses on Islam in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century India, culminating in her book, "Genres of Muslim Modernity: Muslim Late-Colonial India, 1858-1947," which examines Urdu-language akhlaq—religious and literary texts of ethics—and reveals the important history of Islam among Muslims in South Asia. This work draws from a corpus of Urdu akhlaq texts published between the 1860s and 1940s, casting light on significant understudied domains of Muslim ethical thought in colonial India. Additionally, her book, "Social Space Language: Vernacular Culture in British Colonial Punjab," provides an analysis of Punjabi language literature during colonial rule, tracing the literary formation of Punjabi narratives and their resonances in contemporary postcolonial India, Pakistan, and among the Punjabi diaspora. Mir has also received multiple awards for her undergraduate teaching and her scholarship has been supported by notable fellowships from various foundations. She teaches a range of courses at the University of Michigan, including survey courses and graduate colloquiums on South Asian history and Islam.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards