Dr. Puganeswari Balakrishnan is a Lecturer at the Department of Language and General Studies at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia, where she teaches Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) courses.
Dr. Puganeswari holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), with doctoral research comparing strategic dimensions of warfare in the Mahabharata and Hikayat Hang Tuah. She also earned a Master of Arts in Literature from USM and a Bachelor of Malay Studies (Honours) from Universiti Malaya, majoring in Malay Literature with a minor in Malay Socio-Cultural Studies.
Before joining Swinburne, she lectured at Universiti Sains Malaysia and the International Islamic University Malaysia, teaching Malay literature, literary criticism, world literature, and media studies. She also served as a Research Assistant on a Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) project investigating the defense system of the Malay Archipelago through traditional literary texts.
Her research interests span comparative literature, Malay literature, literary theory and criticism, traditional Malay texts, cultural and media studies, mythology, epic literature, academic integrity, and creative writing. She has published in Scopus and ERA-indexed journals, contributed book chapters, and presented at national and international conferences.
