Rate My Professor Roopika Risam

Roopika Risam is an Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College, serving as Chair of Film & Media Studies and member of the Digital Humanities and Social Engagement Cluster. She earned her Ph.D. in English from Emory University in 2013, M.A. in English from Georgetown University in 2007, and B.A. in English and South Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. Risam's academic career includes positions at Salem State University from 2013 to 2022, where she progressed from Assistant Professor of Education and English to Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Secondary and Higher Education. She also served as Faculty Fellow for Digital Library Initiatives there from 2018 to 2022.

Risam's research examines data histories, ethics, and practices at the intersections of postcolonial and African diaspora studies, digital humanities, and critical university studies. She has secured over $4.3 million in grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation. Notable publications include her authored book New Digital Worlds: Postcolonial Digital Humanities in Theory, Praxis, and Pedagogy (Northwestern University Press, 2018) and edited volumes such as Anti-Racist Community Engagement: Principles and Practices (Stylus, 2023), The Digital Black Atlantic (University of Minnesota Press, 2021), South Asian Digital Humanities: Mediations Across Technology’s Cultural Canon (Routledge, 2020), and Intersectionality in Digital Humanities (Arc Humanities Press, 2021). Risam directs the Digital Ethnic Futures Consortium, edits Reviews in Digital Humanities, and co-founded the New England Equity and Engagement Consortium. Her honors include the Massachusetts Library Association Civil Liberties Champion Award (2018) and the 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award from the International Association for Research in Service Learning and Community Engagement. Through her work, Risam promotes equity, justice, and anti-racist practices in digital cultural records and community-engaged scholarship.