Harvard appoints South Asian drag queen to teach on race and performance

Harvard University has appointed Kareem Khubchandani, a South Asian drag artist and associate professor at Tufts University, as the 2025–26 F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Associate Professor in its Studies of Gender and Sexuality program. His classes will examine ethnographic methods in queer research and the political dimensions of drag through shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Khubchandani currently teaches theater, dance and performance studies at Tufts University, where he is known for incorporating live performance into classroom lectures. His previous books analyze the intersections of race, gender and diaspora through performance and nightlife culture.

“I am an educator, scholar and performer invested in feminist, queer and trans everyday-aesthetics, particularly in South Asia and its diaspora,” Khubchandani writes on his personal website. “My work is committed to uplifting the creative ways that minoritarian subjects live inside of oppressive structures, especially how we use dance, fashion and language to build something more beautiful for each other.”