Gautami Shah

Gautami Shah serves as a Teaching Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies within the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds an MS from Purdue University and maintains an active role in national language education initiatives.

Her research focuses on transformative approaches to language pedagogy, including:

• Translanguaging methodologies and inclusive classroom practices
• Analysis of contemporary South Asian literature and Bollywood through lenses of communal conflict, gender, caste, and religion
• Curriculum innovation for less commonly taught languages (LCTLs)
• Integration of digital tools in language instruction

Shah leads groundbreaking projects such as developing linguistically sound transgender verb conjugations for Hindi and creating web-based instructional materials like e-Hindi for Elementary Hindi and Hindi through Songs. Her work addresses critical gaps in Hindi pedagogy while advancing social inclusion.

Professional recognition includes leadership roles in major academic organizations:

• Former President of NCOLCTL and SALTA
• Current Executive Director of SALTA
• Key contributor to national Hindi pedagogy standards

She has established Hindi programs at Rice University, Yale University, and Duke University prior to her current position at UT Austin. Her teaching portfolio spans accelerated and standard Hindi sequences (HIN 506/507, 604, 312K/L, 612) with consistent course offerings from Fall 2020 through projected Spring 2025 semesters, adapting to hybrid and synchronous online formats.