Coorg-born Nadikerianda Renuka Uthappa has been conferred a doctorate (PhD) in English by Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Renuka (in picture) is the daughter of Dr. N.Seetha Uthappa and the late Dr. N.S.Tumu Uthappa, both of whom worked at the Consolidated Clinic and Hospital in Pollibetta, a few decades ago.
The title of Renuka’s thesis is: “This is Us Saying Who We Are – Speaking The Rhetoric of Mental Illness”.
She worked with the “Speakers Bureau” in Ann Arbor, Michigan – a group of adults with mental illnesses who speak before audiences, with the aim of removing the stigma associated with mental illness.
Her scholarly interests include rhetorics of madness, disability rhetorics, and activist research. For the final piece of her research with the Speakers Bureau, she conducted a collaborative stigma-fighting workshop with some of its members.
Currently she is an Adjunct Professor in the English Department, Adrian College, Michigan.
Renuka’s mother Dr Seetha, is affiliated with the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, currently supervises and teaches Doctors in training.
Congratulations. God bless you.