Shounak Reza focuses on Bangladeshi Anglophone literature. In doing so, he wants to look specifically at Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as it shows up in works of literature and, to an extent, cinema. What ambitions and aspirations does Dhaka represent? How are wealth and class portrayed in these novels? What do the novels say about a city of contrasts in which slums and posh cafés coexist? With a keen interest in the intersection of nationalism and gender, Shounak also aims to focus on the "New Woman" in the Bangladeshi context, the various ways in which women are seen as the repositories of the values and ideals of not just the nation but also how the nation is visualized by various ideological groups.

Shounak grew up in Dhaka, where he wrote for various supplements of The Daily Star, a national newspaper, and volunteered for organizations focusing on gender equality, intellectual disability, and literacy. His work has consistently included an equal commitment to civil rights and academic research. As an undergraduate at Hunter College in New York, he was part of and worked for the Thomas Hunter Honors Program, an interdisciplinary program that offered colloquia addressing the pressing social, cultural, and scientific issues of the day. He was awarded multiple fellowships, including the Cooper Felllows Program, an initiative aimed at combating antisemitism; the Eva Kastan Grove Fellowship focusing on public policy and human rights; and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, as part of which he researched Indian Muslim womanhood and how the concept interacts with the rise of Hindu nationalism. In addition, he researched Indian Jewish history and literature at Stanford University as part of an exchange program, and Turkish nationalism and how the nationalist project excludes various minorities as part of the Mellon Public Humanities Program; the latter culminated in a panel discussion with experts on Sephardic Jewish history right before he graduated summa cum laude in spring 2025.

While an introvert, Shounak spends much of his spare time staying in touch with his family members, friends, and former teachers scattered now across the world. He loves drinking black tea, exploring cities, and listening to Suzanne Vega.