Second Students’ Conference on Bengal Related Studies in Halle

The Second Students’ Conference on Bengal Related Studies will be held in Halle (Saale), Germany, on 27–28 October 2012. It is hosted by the South Asia Seminar, Institute of Oriental Studies, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg along with the association Bengal Link e.V. and the Arbeitskreis Neuzeitliches Südasien of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Asienkunde e.V. (DGA). The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg is one of the two German universities where research on the Bengal regions, Bengali language and culture has been an integral part for a long time. After the emergence of numerous studies on the Bengal regions disciplines other than South Asian Studies (e.g. Social Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies, Urban Planning), the conference organisers realised the necessity of giving students and young scholars an option to discuss their various topics and research ap-proaches among each other across disciplinary borders, and of building up an interdisciplinary network for Bengal Related Studies. 
The aim of the conference is to provide an inter-disciplinary venue for young scholars who focus on the Bengali regions in their studies. Halle-Wittenberg is one of the two German universities where research on the Bengal regions, Bengali language and culture has been an integral part for a long time. After the emergence of numerous studies on the Bengal regions from other disciplines (e.g. Social Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies, Urban Planning) the conference organisers realised the necessity of giving young scholars an option to discuss their various topics and research approaches among each other and of building up an interdisciplinary network for Bengal Related Studies. After the success of the first conference in 2010 the organisers are very much looking forward to hosting the second one. 
Among interesting papers to be presented could be mentioned one by Magdalena Lipinska (University of Hamburg) on ”The Partition of Bengal (1947) in the Bengali Novel, on the Example of Taslima Nasrin’s Pherā”; one by Elisabeth Fink (Goethe University Frankfurt) on ”From Social Mobilisation to Service Delivery? The Impact of International Support on Trade Unions and Labour Organisations in the Ready-Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh”, and one by Kirsten Hackenbroch (TU Dortmund University) on ”Dhāndābāj or Civil Society? An Analysis of the Discussion of the Future of Korail Neighbourhood in Dhaka”. More information about the Halle conference.