Curriculum Vitae

DR. NITHIYA A/P GUNA SAIGARAN

Senior Lecturer
  • Department of Indian Studies
    Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
  • nithiya
  • 0379675636

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION

  • PhD, (Philosophy)
    Universiti Sains Malaysia (usm)
  • M.ARTS, (Arts)
    Universiti Malaya (um)
  • B.ARTS, (Arts)
    Universiti Malaya (um)

ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES

  • Task Force Member
    17 Sep 2025 - 31 Dec 2026 (Department of Indian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
  • Timetable Coordinator
    10 Jan 2025 - 10 Jan 2026 (Department)

AWARD AND STEWARDSHIP

  • First Place (fass Researcg Exhibition & Competition 2024)
    2024, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,  (University)
  • The Fass Writing Fellowship Retreat 2023
    2023, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,  (University)

PUBLICATIONS

Article in Journal
WoS
  1. Saxena, Vandana; Saigaran, Nithiya Guna (2025). Songs of Tamil plantation women of Malaya: Contesting memories and histories, MODERN ASIAN STUDIES. . doi:10.1017/S0026749X24000520
Scopus
  1. Saxena V., Saigaran N.G. (2025). Songs of Tamil plantation women of Malaya: Contesting memories and histories, Modern Asian Studies. . doi:10.1017/S0026749X24000520
  2. Saigaran N.G., Bada A.B. (2023). PERCEPTIONS OF MALAYSIAN INDIAN WOMEN ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN MALAYSIA: A PEEK INTO THE INDIAN HOUSEHOLDS, Kajian Malaysia. 41(2), 173-194. doi:10.21315/km2023.41.2.9
Chapter in Books
  1. Guna Saigaran, N., Karupiah, P. (2022). Poverty Among Malaysian Indian Women. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Przeperski, J., Nadesan, V., Islam, M.R., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_173-2
  2. Saigaran, N. G. (2022). Women and Decision Making within the Household: The Malaysian Indian Women Perspective. In Tiwary R. A & R.Gupta (Eds.), Re-Thinking Gender, Equality and Development: Perspectives from Academia, (pp.175-140). Vernon Express
  3. Saigaran, N. G., & Thambiah, S. Malaysian Indian Women's Education and Their Marginalisation: An Intersectional Analysis. In Nagappan, R., & Mukherjee, H (Eds.), Malaysian Indians and Education: Reimagined Development Opportunities (pp. 100-119). Routledge.
  4. Saigaran, N.G. (2022). The Impoverishment of Malaysian Indian Women: A Capability Approach Perspective. In: Karupiah, P., Fernandez, J.L. (eds) A Kaleidoscope of Malaysian Indian Women s Lived Experiences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5876-2_5
Other Publications
  1. Hoffstaedter G., Guna Saigaran N., Ilana N., Hooi Y.K., and Jalil AA. (2023, July 2023). Malaysia at 60: the urgency of inclusion. New Mandala. https://www.newmandala.org/malaysia-at-60-the-urgency-of-inclusion/ - Mass Media(newspaper,radio,tv,popular Magazine)

RESEARCH PROJECT

International
  1. 2024 - 2026, International Funding
    Exploring Coloniality And Precarity Engagements Amongst Urban-poor Resilient Malaysian Indian Women (excape- Urmi) ( Principal Investigator(PI))
University
  1. 2024 - 2027, University Grant
    Indians in Malaysia and Singapore by Arasaratnam Sinnappa ( Principal Investigator(PI))
  2. 2024 - 2027, University Grant
    Malaysian Indian Contribution To Nation Building: Tamils, Telugus, Malayalees, Jaffnese, Punjabi And Indian Muslim) ( Principal Investigator(PI))
  3. 2024 - 2026, University Grant
    The Voice of the Subaltern: A Literary Study of Tamil Plantation Women Narratives ( Co-Researcher)
  4. 2022 - 2024, University Grant
    Unpacking Intergenerational Poverty Transmission: The Connection Between Resilience And Capability In Influencing Social Mobility Of Malaysian Indian Women And Their Children ( Principal Investigator(PI))
  5. 2023 - 2024, University Grant
    Roles And Participation Of Men And Women In Non-governmental Organizations (ngo): A Study Of Myskill Foundation ( Principal Investigator(PI))

PAPER PRESENTED

PLENARY SPEAKER
  1. The Integration of Pallangkuli and Athichudi to Decolonise Eurocentric Research Methods in the Indian-Malaysian Community, 12th European Feminist Research Conference: Contemporary Feminist Liberation Struggles: bodies, borders and Intersections, ATGENDER - The European Association for Gender Research, Education and Documentation (International) (09 Jul 2025 - 12 Jul 2025)
ORAL PRESENTER
  1. Decolonising Gender: The Impact of Alternative Education on Gender Identity among at-risk Malaysian Indian Youths, 7th Asian Consortium for South Asian Studies (ACSAS) Conference, South Asian Studies, National Univesity of Singapore (International) (22 Nov 2024 - 23 Nov 2024)
  2. "Flipped Classroom" Method and its impact on learning: A study among Malaysian Indian Students in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia, Fifth International Conference on Research in Tamil Education 2022, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Sultan Idris Education University & Natramil Mullai Tamil Sanggam Foundation, India (International) (09 Dec 2022 - 10 Dec 2022)

ACADEMIC/ PROF. SERVICES

Evaluation
  1. (2025) Aspek Sosioekonomi, Peluang Pendidikan dan Pencapaian Akademik Pelajar Kaum India Di Sekolah Menengah: Kajian Kes Di Selangor, University, (Internal Examiner)
Media appearance
  1. (2022) Interview for National Day 2022 -oriental Daily Newspaper Sdn Bhd, University, (Interview)

SUPERVISION

Under Graduate Students
  1. (2025) The causes and solutions for obesity among Indian students of the University of Malaya from 2019 to 2024
  2. (2025) A study on the impact of artificial intelligence and the levels of acceptance based on its applications among Indian higher education students of Malaya University.
  3. (2025) An Analytical Study on the Level of Awareness, Perception, and Attitude towards Corruption among Malaysian Indian Students
  4. (2025) An Analysis of Socioeconomic and Educational Intergenerational Progress among Indian Graduates of the University of Malaya
  5. (2025) Industrial Training, MITYLENE A/P WILLIAM
  6. (2024) Tinjauan Taraf Ekonomi Pelajar India B40 Universiti Malaya
  7. (2024) Stereotaip Antara Kaum dan Kesannya terhadap Peluang Pekerjaan untuk Belia India Malaysia
  8. (2024) Penggunaan Kecerdasan Buatan Dalam Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Bahasa Tamil
  9. (2024) Jenis - Jenis Perkahwinan Masyarakat Tamil di Malaysia: Suatu Penyelidikan
  10. (2022) Latihan Ilmiah (Final Year Project)
  11. (2022) Practices, SHALINI A/P MATHIALAGAN, SOO SIEW TENG, GERY CLARET A/L SELVANATHAN, DURAAGASHINI A/P KATHIGESU, DHURGA DEVI A/P NAGARAJOO, KAUSALYA A/P RAVI, THEVATHARSINI A/P PRAPAKAR
Postgraduate Student
  1. (2025) MEDIA PERSPECTIVES ON RURAL WOMEN'S MARGINALIZATION IN CHINA, ZHOU RUIBING
  2. (2025) A STUDY ON THE WORKING CONDITIONS OF WOMEN IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAND METHODS TO IMPROVE IT, QIU ZHENYU
  3. (2024) Empowerment of Garment Workers Bargaining with Public Patriarchy in Bangladesh, SHAMALI SHILL
  4. (2023) Language Shift and Ethnic Identity of Malaysian Tamil Youths, BHARATHI A/P MUTTY
  5. (2025) A STUDY ON INDIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN KUALA LUMPUR: THE ROLE OF AI IN BRANDING, SNEHA A/P RAJESWARAN
  6. (2023) A Pragmatic Analysis of the Narratives of Lived Experiences of Malaysian Indian Transgenders, SHUHASYINI A/P BALAN

TEACHING

Bachelor
  1. (2024) AIH3003 - Academic Project
  2. (2024) AIH1012 - An Introduction to Malaysian Indian Family Systems
  3. (2024) AIX2007 - Digital Humanities
  4. (2024) AIH3027 - Malaysian Indian and Social Change
  5. (2024) AIH1110 - Malaysian Indians Socioeconomic Condition
  6. (2024) AIH1010 - Malaysian Tamils Social History
  7. (2024) AIH2030 - Seminar Series in Indian Studies
  8. (2023) AIH1006 - An Introduction to Malaysian Indian
  9. (2023) AIH1012 - An Introduction to Malaysian Indian Family Systems
  10. (2022) AIX2007 - Digital Humanities
  11. (2022) AIX3001 - Ethics and Professionalism in Social Sciences
  12. (2022) AIH2012 - Research Methodology Tamil Studies
  13. (2022) AIH2111 - Seminar in Tamil Studies
  14. (2022) AIH2030 - Seminar Series in Indian Studies
  15. (2022) AIH1011 - The Culture of Malaysian Indians