Dr. Shaival Thakkar has completed a Ph.D. in English at the University School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indraprastha University, New Delhi, in November 2024, focusing on the Geocritical study of Mumbai in select post-1990s novels. He completed his M.Phil. in English from Christ University, Bangalore, in 2014, securing First Class. He holds a Master of Arts in English from the Centre for English Studies, JNU, New Delhi, where he obtained a CGPA of 7.06. His undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts in English from St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, was completed in 2006. Additionally, he qualified the UGC NET in English with a 98 percentile score in June 2019.

Dr. Shaival Thakkar has over eight years of teaching experience in English at various institutions. Since 2017, he has been serving as an Assistant Professor at Christ Academy Institute for Advanced Studies (CAIAS), Bangalore. In this role, he has taught courses on Postcolonial Studies, Indian Writing in English, American Literature, and European Classics to postgraduate students. He has also delivered lectures on English grammar, literature, and writing skills to undergraduate students across different streams, including Commerce and Computer Science. He has supervised MA theses, organized academic workshops, and served on committees such as the NAAC Committee for the institution.

Previously, Dr. Thakkar worked as an Assistant Professor at Jain University (2015-2017), where he delivered over 500 lectures on English grammar and writing skills. He also taught English to undergraduate students at Garden City College and Christ University between 2013 and 2014, and participated in organizing academic events and editing journals.

Dr. Shaival Thakkar’s research interests are primarily focused on literature and urban studies, with particular emphasis on the representation of cities in contemporary literature. His PhD project, titled “Mapping Mumbai: A Geocritical Study of Selected Fictional Narratives,” explores the spatial and cultural representations of Mumbai in literature.

He has published research papers on the political and cultural representations of Mumbai in Rohinton Mistry’s works, and presented papers at international conferences on topics such as Indo-Nostalgia and the discourse of survival in literature. Dr. Thakkar has published three research papers in UGC-approved journals and presented at various conferences, including the International Multidisciplinary Conference on Sustainable Development at Ganpat University in 2022. His academic work is also available on platforms like Academia.edu, where his research has been widely read globally.