Commonwealth anthropologists 2012 conference in Delhi

The Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth (ASA) will hold its 2012 conference in New Delhi on 3-6 April 2012. The theme for the conference will be ”Arts and aesthetics in a globalising world”. Every five years or so, ASA tries to hold its annual conference outside the UK, in a Commonwealth country. The aim is to widen the possiblities for participation by Commonwealth colleagues, and so the 2012 conference will be hosted for the first time in India – at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Art and aesthetics will be explored from various angles and perspectives, among which the impact of globalisation on the creation and movement of contemporary artworks, changing skills of artists, art and new religions, and more. Ecological conservation and narratives are also among the topics of exploration.

Among interesting panels at the ASA 2012 conference, one will be convened by Tereza Kuldova, PhD Fellow at the Department of Ethnography, Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, Norway. The panel is entitled ”Exploring the Aesthetics and Meanings of Contemporary Indian Fashion: From Craft to Catwalk”. More information.
Associate Professor Paolo Favero (photo) from the Lisbon University Institute, but previously at the Dept. of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, co-organises another panel on the role of contemporary digital practices in offering new forms of representation of/in India. The panel is named ”Screening India through digital image-making”. More information about this panel.
Eswarappa Kasi from the National Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad, India, and Smita Yadav, University of Sussex, UK, co-convene a panel entitled ”Narratives of coping with marginalization: impact of state policies on natural resources and tribal lives”. More information.