The Hindi Urdu Flagship at the University of Texas at Austin

Akbar Hyder is HUF’s Associate Director for Urdu and an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian Studies. Beloved among colleagues, staff, and students alike, Hyder’s dynamic approach to teaching has captivated students throughout the years. Hyder is the coordinator for the Urdu program at UT. Hyder’s language courses are oriented around particular themes such as “Female Voices in Urdu Literature” and “Progressive Urdu Literature”. Hyder’s research interests center on Indo-Muslim culture, history, literature, and language. His book, Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory, underscores the complexity that religious symbols carry in varying contexts. Hyder reveals multiple, and often conflicting interpretations of the Karbala story, and he investigates the varying ways in which the story is used for personal and communal identity in South Asia. His second book, A’iye Urdu Parhen: Let’s Study Urdu, was co-authored with Ali Asani, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard. This textbook for beginning Urdu students has received significant acclaim as an effective and authoritative tool for teaching Urdu. Hyder is presently working on the traditions of autobiography in South Asia.