Jayashree Kamble on how she combined an interest in romance novels with her growing political consciousness.

How does capitalism structure even our most intimate fantasies? What makes certain kinds of stories so resonant? How does popular culture function in our political lives?

Jayashree Kamble is a writer and English professor whose work explores the ideological parameters of film and literature, with a particular focus on popular romance fiction. In this interview, she discusses her early education in India and her graduate years in the United States, where she combined an interest in romance novels with her growing political consciousness.