Purnima Dhavan

Purnima Dhavan is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington's College of Arts & Sciences, holding the Giovanni and Amne Costigan Endowed Professorship. She specializes in early modern South Asia (1500-1800), focusing on religious and cultural identity, Mughal institutions, and literary networks. Her research integrates interdisciplinary methods, with adjunct affiliations in Near Eastern Languages and the Jackson School's South Asia Center.

Education: PhD in South Asian History from the University of Virginia (2003), MA (1998), and BA (1996) from the University of Michigan. She has taught at multiple institutions, including the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University and Bowdoin College.

Research Interests: Mughal literary culture, Sikh warrior traditions, gender in pre-colonial societies, and environmental history. Notable works include her book *When Sparrows Became Hawks* (2011) on Sikh militarization and a forthcoming project on literary associations in Mughal urban centers.

Publications span peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, emphasizing pre-colonial South Asia’s intellectual and socio-political dynamics. Awards include the Howard Keller Chair and NEH fellowships.

Service: Extensive contributions to academic governance at UW, including roles in the Faculty Senate, departmental leadership, and national professional organizations like the American Historical Association and Association of Asian Studies.

Languages: Native Hindi speaker, advanced Urdu/Persian/Punjabi, and proficient in Spanish.