Aruna Kharod

Aruna Kharod is an ethnomusicologist who researches sociopolitical, material, and environmental histories of transnational Indian performing arts. A trained sitarist and bharatanatyam dancer, she directs Bowdoin’s South Asian Performing Arts Ensemble. 

Dr. Kharod’s current book project examines how changing networks of artisanship, curation, and performance shaped the making and musics of sitars in and beyond India from 1800 onwards. Her work synthesizes ethnographic and archival research in India and the US, ranging from rural artisanal workshops to the Smithsonian collections.

Dr. Kharod is an experienced leader of equity-oriented public humanities and arts programming, research, and mentoring initiatives across museum, non-profit, and academic settings. Her artistic and public humanities projects have been supported by grants, fellowships, and residencies, including from the Fulbright Foundation, Presser Foundation, Humanities Texas, Blanton Museum of Art, Texas Folklife, and City of Austin. 

Her research is published or forthcoming in edited volumes and journals including the International Journal of Traditional Arts (2022) and Journal of Musicological Research (2025). Link to published works.