Rujuta Date

I am a first year PhD Student at the University of Michigan's School of Information. I am interested in studying digitally mediated humor, particularly how audiences engage with and cultivate it. Currently I am interested in exploring WhatsApp forwards (as artifacts) and cringe culture (as a phenomena). 

I am driven to produce accessible and public-facing scholarship.  In 2020, I co-founded Academic-ish, an online platform aimed at making academic texts accessible to a general audience, particularly with a focus on works from and about the Global South.Prior to starting the PhD, I spent six years working as a researcher with various development sector organizations in India. As a visiting faculty, I designed and implemented innovative curriculum, and mentored undergraduate research at various institutions across Pune, India. 

Pronouns

she/her

Areas of interest

Social media; mediated communication; online humor

Education

M.A. Anthropology, Savitribai Phule Pune University
B.A. Anthropology-Psychology, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai