Kusum Knapczyk

Kusum Knapczyk serves as Senior Lecturer of Hindi Language in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. She joined Duke in 2016 after teaching positions at the University of Colorado Boulder, Indiana University Bloomington, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI).

Dr. Knapczyk completed her Ph.D. at Jawaharlal Nehru University (India) in 2010. She has extensive experience teaching Hindi at multiple institutions including the University of Texas at Austin and various STARTALK intensive Hindi language programs across the United States.

Her research focuses on innovative approaches to Hindi language instruction, particularly the integration of technology in developing listening proficiency and incorporating social justice themes into language curriculum. She has developed comprehensive teaching resources covering Hindi grammar, vocabulary, listening materials, and cultural content for elementary through advanced levels.

Her recent scholarly work examines technology-enhanced language learning methods, with publications analyzing Hindi study materials in American universities and exploring self-guided listening tasks in both traditional and flipped classroom settings.

At Duke, Dr. Knapczyk maintains an active teaching role and has developed student podcast projects that connect with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)'s 5 Cs: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities.