Dr Sumedha Bhandari is an Associate Professor of English with over 18 years of experience in higher education, literary research and academic mentorship. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and completed her M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Punjabi University, Patiala. Her academic specialization includes Afro-American Literature and Ecocriticism, with focused interests in postcolonial discourse and environmental literature. At PAU, Dr Bhandari contributes significantly to curriculum development, academic resource creation and interdisciplinary teaching. As an active member of societies such as SAASCA and a contributor to the PAU Magazine, she remains deeply engaged in fostering the holistic development of students through academic, cultural, and creative initiatives. She has also served as the Convener of the university’s GRE/IELTS/TOEFL Committee and holds editorial positions with prestigious journals such as the Literary Voice and Indian Journal of Ecology. She is also a peer reviewer for Cogent Humanities by Taylor & Francis. Her academic portfolio includes 28 research papers, 32 conference presentations, 25 invited lectures, 7 book chapters, 13 course manuals, 5 authored books, and editorial contributions to research bulletins and proceedings. As Co-Principal Investigator in a NASF-funded project, she has worked on addressing rural distress through family capacity building. Dr Bhandari regularly participates as a judge in university youth festivals and remains a committed mentor to emerging scholars in literature and communication.

Professional Accomplishments

Research Projects completed:

Co-PI, Major Research Project titled “Addressing Farmers’ Suicide Issue through Capacity Building of Farming Families: A Feasibility Evaluation of Peer Support System in Educational Institutions of Punjab” funded by NASF, ICAR.

Research Publications:

1. Bhandari, Sumedha (2021) “Impact of Social Media on English Language Acquistion: Perception of Undergraduate students of Punjab”. ‘Literary Voice’ 17.2. (Accepted for publication in September, 2022). ISSN 2277-4521.
2. Bhandari, Sumedha (2021) “Land and the Antropocene: A Postcolonial Ecocritical Approach to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun”. ‘Literary Voice’ 13.2. pp 285-291. ISSN 2277-4521.
3. Bhandari, Sumedha. (2022) “Charting environmental Trauma to Foreground Socio-ecological interdependencies in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones”. Re-Markings 21.2 (Accepted for publication in September, 2022) ISSN: 0972-611X.
4. Bhandari, Sumedha. (2023). “Remapping External and Internal Terrains’ in Indigenous Canadian Literature: An Ecocritical Study of Select Canadian fiction”Literary Voice: An International Peer Reviewed Journal of English Studies 1.1. January 2023. ISSN: 2583-8199 (Online) ISSN 2277-4521.https://doi.org/10.59136/lv.2023.1.1.104
5. Bhandari, Sumedha. (2024). “An Eco-heritage or an Eco-curse? – A Postcolonial Ecocritical Study of Helon Habila’s Oil on Water” in Literary Voice: An International Peer Reviewed Journal of English Studies 2.1. January 2024. ISSN: 2583-8199 (Online) ISSN 2277-4521. https://doi.org/10.59136/lv.2024.2.2.7

Appointments: 10am-11am