Professor Dr. Ruvani Ranasinha

Biography

Ruvani Ranasinha is a Professor of Global Literatures at King's College London. She was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the UK to study English Literature. Ranasinha obtained her BA from the University of Bristol and her DPhil from the University of Oxford. She has taught at universities in Peradeniya and Kelaniya in Sri Lanka before joining King’s College London in 2007. Ranasinha has been involved in significant projects such as the ERC-funded Colombo.histories.org and AHRC-funded Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections Networks project. She has held Visiting Professorships at the University of Vienna and is set to be a Visiting Fellow at St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford in 2026. Her research interests focus on postcolonial literature, particularly relating to South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, with specific emphases on gender, feminism, migration, multiculturalism, and cultural representation. She has published extensively, including four books dealing with themes relevant to South Asian writing and its cultural intersections with British society. Her notable works include 'Hanif Kureishi: Writing Self' and 'Contemporary South Asian Women’s Fiction: Gender, Narration, Globalisation.' Ranasinha is active in mentorship, welcoming prospective doctoral students interested in postcolonial literature.

Research Interests