Rutuja Deshmukh
Film Studies, Archival Studies, Feminist Historiography, Silent Cinema , Sound
Office: C709 Wells Hall
Email: deshmu31@msu.edu
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DvrHwnoAAAAJ&hl=en
Rutuja Deshmukh (She/Her) is a PhD scholar, whose research and teaching focus on Indian cinema, film historiography, and questions of cultural identity, ideology, and representation. With over a decade of teaching experience in India and the United States, she has developed an approach to film studies that is deeply interdisciplinary, integrating perspectives from history, politics, aesthetics, and technology. Her pedagogy emphasizes mentorship, critical engagement, and inclusivity, encouraging students to see cinema not merely as entertainment but as a vital site of storytelling, resistance, and identity formation.
At Michigan State University, Rutuja has taught and assisted in courses ranging from Afrofuturism and early cinema to European and global film histories. She has also independently designed and taught courses such as Indian Cinema and the Diaspora, foregrounding the role of song and dance in shaping diasporic cultures. Her teaching philosophy centers on cultural responsiveness, creating classrooms that recognize and value the diverse backgrounds of students.
Rutuja’s current research re-imagines Indian cinema’s histories by examining archival practices, early sound cinema, and regional film cultures. She is also exploring feminist and subaltern possibilities in early Indian mythological films. Beyond academia, she engages with public-facing scholarship through digital humanities projects, workshops, and community dialogues.