Dr. Debarati Byabartta
Assistant Professor

Brief Biography

Dr. Debarati Byabartta is a Film and Media Studies scholar specializing in media theory, transnational cinema, and critical cultural studies, with a focus on Latin America, the Caribbean, the Iberian Peninsula, and cinema and media cultures of the Global South. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Texas A&M University and two Master of Arts degrees in Spanish Literature from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Her research examines humor and subalternity in global cinema, particularly how Chaplinesque traditions and Bakhtin’s Carnivalesque illuminate questions of marginality, gender, and socio-political critique. She is currently developing two book projects: one on Chaplinesque comedic traditions across transnational cinemas and another on women comedians and gendered performance in global media cultures. She presented her work at the University Film and Video Association (UFVA) conference and published in venues associated with SCOLAS and SAFM. At California State University, Northridge, she teaches courses in film and media studies, global cinema, and critical media analysis. She has been actively engaged in university service as a Faculty Senator, CTVA Equity Representative, Scholarship and Banquet Committee member, and Armer Theater Committee member. Originally from Kolkata, India, she brings multilingual and transnational academic training that informs her approach to research, teaching, and mentorship.

Research 

Social Justice Culture Diversity World Cinema South Asian Cinemas Latin American Cinemas Cinema from the Iberian Peninsula The Caribbean Cinema Transnational Studies Media Theory and Criticism Film History Global South Chaplinesque Genre, and Comedic Cultural Studies Humor Studies and Comedy Genres Studies of Women, Gender, and Transnational Feminism Diaspora Studies Subaltern and Postcolonial Studies Women's Cinema Queer Studies

Connections