Newsletter 17 - 9 August 2002
Last updated: 14 November 2011
SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
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Contents:
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SASNET News:
• Apply for participation in the PhD students/post-docs symposium
SASNET invites Swedish PhD students and post-docs engaged in research related to South Asia for a symposium, on 25–27 October 2002, at Marstrands Varmbadhus (photo), north of Göteborg. The symposium will discuss the situation of PhD students in South Asian Studies or South Asia relevant studies (recruitment, fieldwork, supervision, finishing, post-doc situation), and some experienced supervisors and PhD students will present their views. Teachers and supervisors are kindly requested to spread information about the symposium on to their students, and encourage them to participate. Last date for application: Monday 16 September. Full details on the symposium.
• 26 applications for SASNET Planning and Networking grants
were accepted before the deadline on 15 June, 2002. Out of these 23 concern Research planning grants, one Continued research networking grant, and two Education planning grants. The total sum asked for in the applications is 2.3 Million SEK, whereas SASNET has 726 000 SEK to distribute. Decisions are taken on 27 August.
Last date for applications to the next round of SASNET Planing grants is 15 November. More information.
• SASNET Advanced Search Engine now working
An advanced search function has been created for SASNET by Netlab at Lund University. It provides for a full text search not only to our own web site, but also to all the pages we link up to, in two steps (at present that means more than 15 000 web pages). Therefore our engine is most useful for searching material specifically connected to South Asia. It is found at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/searchf.html
• The searchable register for individual Swedish researchers
connected to research on South Asia is also working properly. Go to Search.
The register needs updating, though, and we kindly request the researchers to check the information given on themselves, and send a mail with corrections and/or additional information to the SASNET webmaster. This is so far the procedure to follow in order to make changes in the register.
• In case you are not at all represented in the register,
it is now extremely easy to make a new entry, by simply filling in the form available on Internet. Go to New entry and follow the instructions.
Community News:
• Development research conference at Lund University
A conference on Swedish Development Studies research, named ”Fattiga och rika. Aktuell utvecklingsforskning och dess villkor i Sverige” is organised at Lund University 9–11 January, 2003. All Swedish researchers in the field are welcome. More information.
• Professorship at Indiana University, Bloomington
The Rabindranath Tagore Professorship in Indian Cultures and Civilization at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA, has been announced for a national/international search to fill. The post includes the Directorship of the India Studies Program, and will be effective from July 1, 2003. Nominations and applications are invited from senior scholars in any discipline of the humanities and social sciences, including such fields as anthropology, art history, cultural studies, economics, folklore, geography, history, literature, music, philosophy, political science, and religious studies. Review of applications begins October 15, 2002 and will continue until the position is filled. More information.
• The Swedish research council for Working Life and Social Research, FAS,
announces scholarships for Swedish researchers to stay 6–24 months at a department outside of Sweden; and also for inviting guest researchers from abroad to visit Sweden. Closing date for major applications is 16 September, 2002.
For smaller amounts, maximum 30 000 SEK, applications can be made anytime during the year (but 8 weeks in advance of the researcher’s departure). More information (only in Swedish).
• Doctoral thesis on Baltistani resources
Ingrid Nyborg from Noragric, Centre for International Environment and Development Studies, Agricultural University of Norway, will defend her doctoral thesis ”Yours Today, Mine Tomorrow? A Study of Women and Men’s Negotiations over Resources in Baltistan, Pakistan”, on 28 August, 2002, at 12:15. Venue: Festsalen, Urbygningen, Noragric, Ås. More details with abstract. .
• The Nordic Institute for Asian Studies at Copenhagen offers Nordic Contact Scholarships,
designed to make NIAS’ library and other resources accessible to Nordic and Baltic researchers and students. A scholarship covers inexpensive travel to and from Copenhagen and accommodation in a NIAS room at Nordisk Kollegium, with full board for a period of two weeks. Monday 2 September 2002 is the closing date for applications for scholarships during the period October-December 2002.
• Researchers and students from Copenhagen, Lund and Roskilde universities
are invited to apply for NIAS’ ”Øresund Scholarships”, an extension of NIAS’ regular Contact Scholarship Programme. One scholarship for two weeks has been reserved for this purpose per month. The candidate will be seated in the library's reading room and will be offered the same extended library services as the regular holders of contact scholarships. Transport and accommodation costs are not covered by the scholarship. Monday 2 September 2002 is the closing date for applications for scholarships during the period October-December 2002. More information.
• Scholarships for studies at Indian universities
are offered on a reciprocal basis for two Swedish students every year by the Indian government through the Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi. Applications for scholarships are managed through the Swedish Institute in Stockholm, who pass them on to the Indian Embassy in Stockholm. Last date for applications for the year 2003/04: 1 November, 2002. More information on the scholarships, and application forms (only in Swedish).
• The Swallows, Bangladesh–India section,
advertises two positions for work in Bangladesh and India respectively. The first one is dealing with environment and social mobilisation in the Sundarbans region; the other with sustainable agriculture in Tamil Nadu. Last date for applications 15 August, 2002 – note changed date! More information on the organisation´s web site (only in Swedish).
• Travel insurances for foreign visitors to Sweden
are offered at very advantageous rates (35 SEK/day) by Tranås resebyrå – a travel agency specialised in selling tickets for non-commercial customers. A prerequisite is that the visitor is related to aid or other non-commercial actvivities, e g academic. More information.
• Dissertation on Regional Conflict Transformation
Masud Hossain from Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, defended his doctoral dissertation on ”Regional Conflict Transformation: A Reinterpretation of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC)”, on 25 May, 2002. The dissertation is published as a book, and can be ordered from the Institute or from the author himself.
• Dissertation on Bangladeshi economics
Mohammed Nurul Alam, at the Dept of Business Administration, Lund University, defends his doctoral thesis on ”Financing Small and Cottage Industries in Bangladesh by Islamic Banks: An Institutional Network Approach”, on Thursday 24 October, 10.00. Venue: School of Economics & Management, room EC3:207. Faculty opponent is Professor Amjad Hadjikhani, Dept of Business Administration, Uppsala University.
• Call for Contributions for book on South Asians in Diaspora.
Professor Knut A. Jacobsen, Dept of Religion, University of Bergen, Norway, & Professor P. Kumar, editors of a proposed book on ”South Asians in the Diaspora: Histories and Religious Traditions”, to be published by E J Brill Academic Publishers in 2003, wish to invite interested scholars of South Asian studies to contribute to the book. Scholars can be from any of the disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences in general and or specialists of South Asian religions. Last date to submit the article to the editors is 31 August 2002.
Conferences and courses
• The Stockholm International Water Institute
organizes the World Water Week 11–17 August, 2002, with several seminars and workshops connected to South Asia. See the conclusions from the 2002 Stockholm Water Week.
A Seminar on ”Balancing Human Security and Ecological Security Interests in a Catchment – Towards Upstream/Downstream Hydrosolidarity” is arranged on Friday 16 August, 9.00–17.00, co-convened by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Here Dr J Bandyopadhyay from the Centre for Development and Environment Policy, India, will lecture on ”Linking Upland Ecological Security with Economic Security of Downstream Plains”, and Dr Arunachalam Rajagopal, SaciWATERs, Hyderabad, India, will lecture on ”Link to Downstream Aquaculture”.
• 17th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies,
a highlight for European South Asia researchers takes place at Heidelberg, Germany, on 9–14 September, 2002. The full list of panels can be seen on the conference home page, and abstracts of some papers are available. Please note the changed web page address!
• The 5th International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine
is held 18–24 August, 2002, at Martin-Luther-Universität in Halle in Germany. More details.
• The 7th Biennial Conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)
is held in Copenhagen, Denmark, 14-17 August, 2002. The theme for the conference is ”Engaging the World: Theoretical, methodological and political challenges for a 21st century anthropology”.
• A Workshop on ”Common-pool Resources and Institutions”
takes place in Mysore, India, 27–29 August, 2002. The Workshop is organized by Lund University, and the Centre for Advanced Research in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CARIKS) at Mysore. More information from Alia Ahmad, Dept. of Economics, or Neelambar Hatti, Dept. of Economic History, both at Lund University.
• A conference on ”Peripheral Centres, Central Peripheries: Anglophone India and its Diaspora(s)”
is organised by the Centre for Transcultural Anglophone Studies, University of Saarland, at Saarbrücken, Germany, 29 August – 1 September 2002. The conference brings together high-profile scholars from disciplines as diverse as Postcolonial Literary Studies, Sociology, Psychology, History, Anthropology and Indology as well as creative writers and media specialists.
• The Seventh International Metropolis Conference
will take place at Oslo on 9–13 September, 2002. The theme for the conference will be: ”Togetherness in Difference: Citizenship and Belonging”.
• The 10th General Conference of European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes, EADI, with the theme ”EU Enlargement in a Changing World – Challenges for Development Co-operation in the 21st Century” is arranged 19–21 September, 2002, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The programme, along with its themes and sessions, is published on the EADI website.
• Yoga conference at the Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic Research
The Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic Research, Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University, U K, organises its seventh International Conference on Indic Health: The Case of Modern Yoga, on 20-21 September, 2002.
• The 8th Himalayan Languages Symposium
will take place at the University of Berne in Switzerland, 19–22 September, 2002.
• PhD researcher training course at Bornholm
The Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University, Denmark, arranges a PhD researcher training course with the theme ”Twilight Institutions and Local Politics in Developing Societies” 24–27 September 2002. Venue: Hotel Romantik at Bornholm.. More information.
• Second World Conference on Music and Censorship at Copenhagen
Freemuse – Freedom of Music Expression arranges the Second World Conference on Music and Censorship at Copenhagen, 28–29 September, 2002. . A full session on 29 September is dedicated to the issue of Afghanistan, with several invited musicians from Afghanistan. A parallel session on ”The future of Afghan music” will be held within the premises on the first day of the conference. Venue for the conference: World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe, Scherfigsvej 8, Copenhagen. More information.
• Symposium on Central Asia in Copenhagen
A Symposium on Central Asia, including Afghanistan, will be arranged by the Dept. of Near Eastern Studies, at Carsten Niebuhr Institute, University of Copenhagen, in the second week of October 2002.
• Seminar on 21st Century Reality in New Delhi
The Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University in New Delhi, India invites for a National Seminar on ”21st Century Reality: Language, Culture and Technology”, on 29–31 October, 2002. Read full announcement.
• Conference on Human Rights Research in New Delhi
The Institute for World Congress on Human Rights (IWCOHR) organises a conference with the theme ”Globalisation, Development and Human Rights”, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 22-24 November, 2002.
• The 17th International Asian History Conference
of the Association of Historians of Asia is organised by the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 18 December, 2002. The conference’s theme is ”Asia: History and Civilization”.
• A conference on ”Cultures of Masculinity in south Asia; Exploring the Contexts”
is organised in Delhi, India, on 20 December 2002, by the Delhi school of Economics, and the Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
• The Second South Asia Water Forum
is arranged by the Global Water Partnership South Asia, at Islamabad, Pakistan, 17–19 December, 2002. More information.
• A global conference on Mountain Ecotourism
will be held at at Namche Bazaar, Khumbu, Nepal, on 24–26 May, 2003. The conference is arranged by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal, in collaboration with Bridges-PRTD (Projects in Rational Tourism Development), and the Laboratory of Geoecology, Hokkaido University, Japan.
• Conference on peripheral communities in Härjedalen next summer
An international multidisciplinary conference on the theme ”Peripheral Communities. Crisis, Continuity and Long-Term Survival” will take place in the forest village of Ängersjö in Härjedalen, Sweden on August 14-17, 2003. The conference will explore the historical and contemporary conditions of peripheral communities from a broad multidisciplinary perspective.
Important lectures and workshops
• Workshop on South Asian Religions in Oslo
NoFSA, the Norwegian Forum for South Asian Studies, organises a workshop on South Asian Religions at the University of Oslo, Norway, on Saturday 24 August, 2002, 10.00–18.00. A large number of Norwegian scholars on South Asian religions will present their research in the workshop, which is open to all interested persons. The presentations will later be published in a book, with the title ”South Asian religions and religious life” (in Norwegian only). Venue: P A Munchs Hus, room 454, Blindern. More information.
• Ananta Kumar Giri lectures in Lund
Dr Ananta Kumar Giri from Madras Institute of Development Studies holds a lecture on ”The Vision and Experiments of Integral Education in Contemporary India”, at Lund University, Monday 19 August, 2002, 14-16, Venue: Department of Education, Allhelgona kyrkogata 14, room 221.
News on courses and education
• A Classical Tamil Winter School
is organised by the Centre of the Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in Pondicherry, India, 20 January–15 February, 2003, with the collaboration of Eva Wilden, Hamburg University. The participants will get a basic knowledge of modern Tamil or another Dravidian language.
• New Course on South Asia Religions at Uppsala University
A 20 credits course on ”Religions in South Asia” is arranged during the Fall 2002, at the Dept of Theology; History of Religions, Uppsala University.
• South Asian studies course at Uppsala University
A second South Asian Studies course with a multidisciplinary approach commences at Uppsala University in September 2002, at the Dept of Asian and African Languages. It is a co-operation project between the departments of the Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences at Uppsala University. More information.
• Internet based course in Hindi at Uppsala University
The Dept of Asian and African Languages also introduces a new course in the Fall 2002. It is a special 10 credits Internet based course in Hindi, led by Mirja Juntunen.
Cultural Events connected to South Asia in Scandinavia
• Bengali cultural evening on Sunday in Oslo
Two guest artists from Kolkata: Sudeshna and Nabankur Bhattacharya, perform on Sunday, 11 August, 2002, at 17.00, at Kampen Menighetshus (behind Kampen Church) in Oslo. They play the sarod and tabla respectively. Two Bengalis living in Norway, Babla Khan and Surabhi Barua, will also play and sing Baul songs and Nazrul songs. Besides there will be an indian dance performance. For more details contact Babla Khan, phone +47 92 29 77 83.
• Exhibition of photos from Afghanistan
An exhibition of Asim Rafiqui’s recent documentary photography work from Afghanistan will be shown at Galleri Kontrast in Stockholm from 28 August, 2002, and four weeks onwards. Rafiqui, now based in Sweden, has documented how hundreds of thousands of refugees leave their camps in Pakistan and Iran and head back to their villages and lands inside Afghanistan. There they face severe problems as they attempt to rebuild their lives in a country raked by nearly 35 years of uninterrupted war and civil conflict. More information on the exhibition will soon be put on Galleri Kontrast’s web page.
• Asian Comments festival in Denmark
The Danish Center for Culture and Development is in charge of the cultural program Asian Comments, which takes place 19–21 September, 2002, in Copenhagen, as a prelude to the 4th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 4) with the participation of Asian and European heads of state and government. Asian Comments is the first phase in Denmark's particular focus on Asian art and culture, culminating with the national festival Images of Asia in August-September 2003. Note that South Asia plays only a marginal role in these programs and activities, which is mainly devoted to the 10 so called ASEM countries.
• The 18th Göteborg International Book and Library Fair
on 19–22 September, 2002 has few South Asia highlights this year, even though Homi K Bhabha, Professor of English Literature and Cultural Theory, at the University of Chicago is coming and will hold two seminars. Information on the South Asia related activities.
New and updated items on SASNET web site
• A learned article on the ”Indo-Pakistani Crises and Wars”
by PhD Stig Toft Madsen, Roskilde University, Denmark, is published exclusively through the SASNET web site, on our page with Recommended reading. The article (in Danish) is available as a pdf-file.
• More Swedish departments where research on South Asia is going on:
Added to the list of research environments at Swedish universities, presented by SASNET. The full list now includes nearly 60 departments. Go to the presentation page.
ƒ Dept of Medicinal Chemistry, Division of Pharmacognosy, Uppsala University
Best regards
Staffan Lindberg Lars Eklund
SASNET/ Swedish South Asian Studies Network
SASNET is a national network for research, education, and information about South Asia, based at Lund University. The aim is to encourage and promote an open and dynamic networking process, in which Swedish researchers co-operate with researchers in South Asia and globally.
The network is open to all sciences. Priority is given to co-operation between disciplines and across faculties, as well as institutions in the Nordic countries and in South Asia. The basic idea is that South Asian studies will be most fruitfully pursued in co-operation between researchers, working in different institutions with a solid base in their mother disciplines.
The network is financed by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and by Lund University.Postal address: SASNET – Swedish South Asian Studies Network, International Office,
Lund University, P O Box 117, S-221 00 Lund
Visiting address: Gamla Kirurgen, Sandgatan 3, first floor, room no. 230
Phone: + 46 46 222 73 40
Fax: + 46 46 222 96 65
E-mail: sasnet@sasnet.lu.se
Web site: http://www.sasnet.lu.se
Our office is manned weekdays 9-17, and open to visitors.Staff: Staffan Lindberg, director/co-ordinator &
Lars Eklund, webmaster/programme secretary
