Sayan Roy
PhD Researcher, JNU | UGC NET AIR 10 | CUET-PG AIR 5 | Co-Founder, Litheads English & Open Academia
Publications
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Roy, Sayan. “Their Ears Have Eyelids: Blindness, Sound, and Materiality in Bollywood Films of the 20th Century.” Mapping Disability: Literary and Cultural Representations Across the Twentieth Century, edited by Anil K. Aneja, Christel R. Devadawson, and Nidhi Vats, Springer Nature, forthcoming.
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Roy, Sayan. “Monsters of the World, Unite!: Embodiment, Community and Fungal Time in Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland.” The Palgrave Handbook on Fungal Horror in Popular Culture, edited by Katarina Gregersdotter and Berit Åström, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming.
Work/RESEARCH Experience
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Co-founder and Educator, Litheads English (March 2025-Present)
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PhD Researcher, Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (2024–Present) — Working on Monster studies and Black Speculative Horror under the supervision of Dr. Raju Parghi, Prof. Saugata Bhaduri and Prof. Mohor Daschauduri. CES, JNU.
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Equity Analyst, Perycap Global (September 2024 – December 2024).
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MA Dissertation (Grade Awarded A+): “Those Who Shall Seek Stories Will be Shot Down”: An Alternative Aesthetic of Death, Desire, and the Self in Ei Doshok, under the supervision of Prof. Brinda Bose. Conducted archival research, digitised rare issues and translated some works by the Shastrobirodhi writers from Bengali into English.
Conferences
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Roy, Sayan. “Echoes of Silence: Orality, Epistemic Marginalisation, and Multidirectional Memory in the Short Fiction of Keisham Priyokumar and Temsula Ao.” Paper presented at International Conference on Margins as Centre: Examining Trajectories, Moorings, and Identities in Writings from the Northeast, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, November 2024.
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Roy, Sayan. “Their Ears Have Eyelids”: Blindness, Sound and Materiality in Bollywood Films of the 20th Century" Paper presented at International Conference on Mapping Disability in 20th Century Literature and Culture, Delhi University, New Delhi, October 2024.
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Roy, Sayan, and Lohia, Nandini. “You Only Live Twice”: Navigating Metacreativity in Cinematic Afterlife and the Ethics of Digital Necromancy.” Paper presented at DoHSS Annual Academic Conference on AI, IIT Madras, Chennai, April 2024.
Founder, Karwaan, a cultural society, Jawaharlal Nehru University (2023–2024)
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Founded and led an interdisciplinary cultural society aimed at fostering intellectual and creative exchange among students across different centres within the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies.
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Built a community of readers, and cinema enthusiasts, creating collaborative spaces for discussion and engagement across diverse linguistic and cultural traditions, including French, German, Japanese, Korean, and other language communities.
lEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Founder, RedMemesJNU (2023–2024)
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Established and managed a digital platform employing humour and satire as tools for cultural commentary and critical engagement with social and institutional structures.
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Facilitated discourse on contemporary socio-political issues through creative and accessible digital content.
Education
Completed my coursework with 8.25 CGPA out of 9.
PHD, Jawaharlal Nehru university
2024-
MA, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU University
2022-2024
I completed my Master's in English from the Centre for English Studies at JNU with a 3.5/4 (7.75 in a 9 point scale) CGPA and an A+ in my dissertation.
INTERESTS
Outside academia, Sayan enjoys music, travel, and post-millenial horror films. As an amateur street photographer, he is deeply interested in documenting everyday life, landscapes, and fleeting urban moments through photography. He is also an avid trekker who has completed treks such as Kedarkantha Trek, Hampta Pass, Bunbuni Trek, and the Triund Trek. Alongside trekking, he is a passionate motorbike rider who has road-tripped more than 10,000 kilometres across regions including Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and various parts of the Himalayas. These experiences continue to shape his curiosity about landscapes, people, community, and the stories embedded in our everyday journeys.
