A photo of Clara A.B. Joseph. She has short black hair and wears a patterned navy-blue shirt, against a background of bookshelves.

Dr. Clara Joseph

PhD

Affiliations

Professor

Faculty of Arts, Department of English

Contact information

Email

cjoseph@ucalgary.ca

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-4232

Preferred method of communication

cjoseph@ucalgary.ca 

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy English Literature, York University,

M.A. English Lang & Or Literature, University of Toronto,

Biography

I am Professor of English and  Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, and Calgary Poet Laureate for 2026–2028.

My teaching and research are centred on South Asian religion, literature, and culture; Christianity; postcolonial studies; and literary and cultural theory. I also work as a creative writer and research-creation scholar, with teaching and publication interests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

I am the author of India’s Nonviolent Freedom Struggle: The Thomas Christians (1599–1799) (2024), Christianity in India: The Anti-Colonial Turn (2019), and The Agent in the Margin: Nayantara Sahgal’s Gandhian Fiction (2008). My scholarly work examines colonialism, religion, nonviolence, minority histories, and the intellectual and cultural traditions of South Asian Christianity. India’s Nonviolent Freedom Struggle offers a new perspective on the Indian freedom struggle by focusing on the Thomas Christians of South India and their nonviolent resistance to European colonial power between 1599 and 1799.

I am also the author of the poetry collections M/OTHER (2024), Dandelions for Bhabha (2018), and The Face of the Other (2016). My creative work engages questions of migration, faith, motherhood, memory, language, and belonging. In addition, I co-edited Global Fissures: Postcolonial Fusions (2006, with Janet Wilson) and Theology and Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility (2006, with Gaye William Ortiz).

As Calgary Poet Laureate, I have also written on poetry, civic listening, and the public role of the arts, including my article in The Conversation Canada, “As Calgary’s Poet Laureate, I’m interested in poetry as a form of civic listening.”

Research

Areas of Research

South Asian Religion, Church History, Literature, and Culture, Christianity, Research Creation, Literary and Cultural Theory, Creative Writing -- Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction Prose

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Human Dynamics in a Changing World (2015-2021)

Democracy, Justice, and Sustainability

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
ENGL 25303 LEC 01 01 Novel 2020
ENGL 25303 TUT 01 T01 Novel 2021
ENGL 491 LEC 01 01 Advanced Studies in Global Lit 2020
ENGL 51730 SEC 03 S03 Adv Topic Thrt'l Cultr'l Study 2021
ENGL 60773 SEC 02 S02 Topics Thrtc'l/Cltr'l Studies 2020
ENGL 376 LEC 01 01 Indigenous Lit Turtle Island 2021
ENGL336 CREATIVE WRITING AND READING LIKE A WRITER Winter 2023
ENGL 695 Creative Nonfiction Prose Fall 2025

Awards

  • Standard Research Grant, SSHRC. 2010
  • ASPP Scholarly Book Prize, SSHRC. 2009
  • Standard Research Grant, SSHRC. 2004
  • Honorable Mentions in Poetry, Royal City Literary Arts Society (Write On! Contest). 2017
  • Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary. 2012
  • Honorable Mention (4th place, History) (Christianity in India: The Anti-Colonial Turn, Routledge, 2019), CPA Book Awards (USA & Canada). 2020
  • Insight Research Grant, SSHRC. 2019
  • First Prize in Poetry (for M/OTHER, Wipf and Stock 2024), CMA Book Awards (USA and Canada). 2025
  • Calgary Poet Laureate (2026-2028), Calgary Arts Development in partnership with the City of Calgary. 2026

Publications

  • "The Syro-Malabar Church in North America: Translating Tradition through Mission, Memory, and Model". Joseph, Clara A.B.. Thomas Christian Heritage, special edition, Missionary Trajectories of Syro-Malabar Church: A Historical Overview, vols. XVII–XVIII, nos. 32 & 33; 34 & 35. 277–323. (2025)
  • "Rethinking Studies in Higher Education in the Face of the Other". Joseph, Clara A.B. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education (CJSAE). 65-75. (2018)

Google Scholar