Dr. Mandakini Dubey is a member of the Department of English at Ashoka University in Sonepat, India. She is a scholar of Nineteenth-Century British Literature, with a particular interest in colonial discourse.
Her new book, Esoteric Orientalism (2025, Cambridge University Press) discusses Victorian esotericism and academic Orientalism as vital nineteenth-century discourses for comprehending global religions, languages, and cultures. Dubey demonstrates the breadth, depth, and consequential implications of the global discourse of Orientalism.
In the excerpts below, Dr. Dubey considers the ongoing influence of Austen in India, the pressing importance of the humanities during a time of political deployment of stories, and Austen’s ability to help us appreciate the mess and interconnectedness of human experience.
You can also access Dr. Dubey’s YouTube playlist directly.
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Discusses the Importance of Nineteenth-Century British Literature to Indian Culture
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Recalls Her First Encounter With the Writings of Jane Austen
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Explores Jane Austen’s Distinct Cultural Functions In India
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Asks How Jane Austen May “Contain” Revolutions
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Discusses the Importance of Jane Austen’s Precision in a Time of Fake News
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Reflects on Austen’s Treatment of Messiness in Sense and Sensibility
Dr. Mandakini Dubey Suggests how Jane Austen’s Writings Help us to See the Messiness of Human Life and Experiences with Precision
Dr. Mandakini Dubey on how the Humanities Reveal the Interconnectedness of Mess of Human Life