SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
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Contents:
SASNET News:
• 46 panels at the 18th EASAS conference in Lund in July 2004
The 18th EASAS conference organized by SASNET and Lund University 6–9 July 2004 has attracted a great interest from researchers on South Asia related studies from all over the World. More than 300 researchers have already registered for the conference, which will have a total number of 46 panels, covering a wide scope of research fields from the social sciences and humanities to medicine and technology. Go for the full list of panels!
Full information on the conference, including registration forms, links to hotels in Lund, etc. is found at our conference web page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/EASAS18.html.
• Register to the conference before 1 May 2004
The last date for registration has been changed to 1 May 2004, and the conference fee should be paid before 1 June. A poster advertising the conference is now available (as a pdf-file). Please download it and put it up at your institution/department.
• Apply for SASNET planning grants before 15 June 2004
Applications are now invited for the coming round of SASNET planning grants for research and educational projects and programmes involving Swedish researchers in collaboration with colleagues/institutions in South Asia. SASNET has distributed 40 planning grants since the start in 2001. Go for the full list of these grants given.
Closing date for applications to the new round is 15 June 2004, and decisions will be taken in the end of August. More information.
• Full reports from the SASNET contact journey to Pakistan and Afghanistan now available
The SASNET director Professor Staffan Lindberg, and deputy director/webmaster Lars Eklund successfully completed their contact journey to Pakistan and Afghanistan lasting from Thursday 20 November – Sunday 7 December 2003.
The aim of the tour was to link up the SASNET activities with universities and research institutions in the two countries, They visited Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore in Pakistan; and Kabul in Afghanistan.
It turned out to be an extremely fruitful journey, both building on the already existing academic links between a few researchers/institutions in Sweden and Pakistan, and promoting new forms of cooperation there as well as in Afghanistan. Read full reports from our meetings during the journey!
Staffan Lindberg has also written on the visit to Pakistan in the magazine SYDASIEN. His article (in Swedish) ”Sufiska nätter och klubbliv i kolonial miljö. Pakistan för en nybörjare” is available on the Internet. Go for the article! (as a pdf-file)
• Use SASNET’s advanced search function
An advanced search function was created for SASNET two years ago 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 20 000 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
Community News:
• Report from conference on forest-related tribal groups of South India
An Interdisciplinary Conference on ”Livelihood strategies among forest-related tribal groups of South India: Contextual analysis of local livelihood strategies” was arranged at the Centre for Indian Studies, Mysore, India, 17–19 October 2003. The conference was jointly organized by the Dept of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, Sweden, and Centre for Research on Environment, Development, Innovations, Technology & Trade (CREDITTe), Bangalore, India, with support from SASNET. The focus for the conference was on forest-related tribals in South India, groups living within the four southern states of India. More information (including papers to download) and Christer Norström’s conference report.
• University Rectors’ Conference formed in Afghanistan
A University Rectors’ Conference has been formed in Afghanistan, with support from the German Rectors’ Conference HRK, and the German organization for Academic Exchange, DAAD. It is an important step in the the reconstruction of the Afghani higher education system, and it was launched by the Minister of Higher Education Professor Sherief A. Fayez (photo to the right) on 11 March 2004. The Chancellor of Kabul University, Professor Akbar Popal, has been appointed president for the Afghan Rectors’ Conference (ARC); and the woman Professor Zakina Banu from Balkh University, Mazar-i-Sharif, acts as vice-president. Besides the position as General Secretary has also been filled with a woman, an important indication of ARC’s ambitions, as well as of the German support organizations, that are actively engaged in the creation of a new university legislation in the country.
• Deadline in April for research applications to Sida/SAREC regarding 2005
Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, offers several types of grants, exchange programmes and scholarships, which can be related to South Asian studies, through its Department for Research Cooperation (SAREC). Sida/SAREC supports research organisations, universities and research institutes in partner countries as well as regional research networks and international research programmes, besides providing support for development research in Sweden.
– Applications for planning grants from Sida's Developing Country Research Council (u-landsforskningsrådet) regarding 2005 shoudl be made before 23 April 2004. The same date applies to applications for Networking grants, and funds for Thematic research on vital Global issues.
– Applications for Swedish Research Links for 2005 must be submitted before 30 April 2004.
More information on SASNET’s web page on Swedish and International funding agencies.
• Deadline for applications to the Swedish Research Council
The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) is an agency under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Science, which offers research grants to all the disciplines. It supports basic research that is of high quality in an international comparison, in all scientific fields. Deadline for applications regarding 2005: 20 April 2004. More information on SASNET’s web page on Swedish and International funding agencies.
• Deadline for applications to EU’s Asia-Link programme
EU’s Asia-Link programme offers project grants to institutions, networks, and postgraduate students, teaching staff and administrators of higher education institutions, in order to foster cooperation in the field of higher education between the European Union Member States and South Asia, South-East Asia and China. The project must involve at least two nations within EU, plus two Asian nations. Maximum project duration is 36 months, and the grants can be between 200 000 EUR and 300 000 EUR. Deadlines for applications in 2004: 15 April and 23 September. More information on SASNET’s web page on Swedish and International funding agencies.
• Proposal for Nordic South Asian studies research school rejected in second round
In 2002 NorFA, the Nordic Academy for Advanced Study, based at Oslo, Norway, issued a call for proposals for establishing research schools, and out of 50 proposals 10 were selected to prepare an actual application for funding. One of these proposals was NorfAsia, headed by Professor Björn Hettne, PADRIGU, Göteborg University, and planned to have its administration at the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, NIAS, in Copenhagen. The proposed research school, strongly supported by SASNET, would focus on societal dynamics, conflicts and human security in contemporary Asia – including South Asia. It would also give priority to history, politics and culture; work at different levels in Asia, i e village, sub- region, nation, and wider regions; and also promote a comparative approach. According to the proposal NorfAsia should become a virtual institution where students would be inscribed with their own Nordic academic institutions which would have the authority to conduct examinations and award degrees. NorfAsia was supposed to start its work on 1 January 2004 but unfortunately it failed to pass the second round of applications. Some of its proposals may however be realized in other forms. More information on the NorfAsia reserach school application (as a pdf-file).
Educational News
• Masters and PhD course on ”Religion, Conflict and Identity in South and Southeast Asia”
SASNET and Lund University arranges an independent, interdisciplinary researcher training course for masters and PhD students on ”Religion, Conflict and Identity in South and Southeast Asia” in the academic year 2004–05. Lectures and seminars constitute a 7.5 ECTS reading course, and an additional 7.5 ECTS course writing a paper. The course supplies the students with overviews of the broader religious developments in South and South East Asia, as well as with in-depth analyses of three cases where religious affiliation has served as important identity markers and sources of conflict. Course leaders are Dr. Catarina Kinnvall, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Sidsel Hansson, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR); and PhD Candidate Ann Kull, CTR. Registering for the course should be made to Sidsel Hansson before 15 August 2004. More information (as a pdf-file).
• Trans-disciplinary PhD course on Sustainability at Lund University
The Centre for Environmental Studies, MICLU, at Lund University arranges a trans-disciplinary PhD course in connection with a lecture/seminar series on ”Seven challenges for Sustainability” in late Spring 2004. The course invites students from all faculties, interested in sustainable development from a broad perspective. The seven challenges are: 1. Global climate change. 2. The three big epidemics, HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. 3. Global food security. 4. The global water crisis. 5. Loss of biodiversity through deforestation. 6. Depletion of oceanic fish stocks. 7. Desertification and degradation of cropland.
The course starts on Thursday 15 April 2004. More information.
• Indology courses at Stockholm University
The Section for Indology at the Dept of Oriental Languages every year runs courses on the ancient as well as modern languages and cultures of South Asia, with special emphasis on India, up to the level of Bachelors and Masters degrees. The Indology courses are separated into one track specialized on Ancient and Medieval India – with Sanskrit studies, and another track specialized on Modern India – with Hindi studies. During the Spring 2004 the Section for Indology also runs a 5 credits course on Indian Philosophy. More information.
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• Last date for applications for the Uppsala Masters programme in South Asian Studies
A new round of the 60 credits (90 ECTS credits) interdisciplinary Master’s Programme in South Asian Studies – Cultural Pluralism, Political Institutions and Socio-economic Processes, will start at Uppsala University on 1 September 2004. The three semesters programme, located within the disciplinary domain of Arts and Sciences, brings together the disciplines of Indology, Political Science, History, Religion, Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology, Economics, and Peace and Conflict Research. Teachers come from all the disciplines. The programme offers an interdisciplinary perspective in Arts and Sciences, with language studies (Hindi or Tamil), fieldwork in the region and optional internship. Language of instruction is English. Last date for applications: 15 April 2004.
• Deadline for courses in Indology, Hindi and Tamil at Uppsala University
The Section for Asian and African Languages and Cultures, at the Dept. of Linguistics and Philology, every years offers courses in Indology, Indian languages (Hindi and Tamil), and Iranian languages.
More information on Indology studies, which are carried out up to D-level. A new 20 credits A-level course starts in the Fall 2004. Last date for applications: 15 April 2004.
More information on Tamil studies. A new 20 credits A-level course starts in the Fall 2004. Last date for applications: 15 April 2004.
More information on Hindi studies, which are carried out up to D-level. A new 20 credits A-level course starts in the Fall 2004. Last date for applications: 15 April 2004.
Summer schools
• Summer course for Nordic students in Hyderabad, India
The Nordic Centre in India organises a four-weeks summer course for Nordic students on ”Contemporary India” in Hyderabad, India, in July 2004. The course, which was run also last year, is is organised by the Study India Programme at the University of Hyderabad, and is open to students from all Nordic universities and institutions of higher learning. Students from from the NCI member institutions can join the course at a much reduced cost compared to other participants. More information on the Hyderabad summer course.
• Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies at Oslo University
The University of Oslo in 2004 offers a Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies (on PhD level) titled ”Dreamworld and Catastrophe: The State in the 'Third World”. The course is led by Professor Stuart Corbridge, University of Miami, USA; and London School of Economics, UK, expert in the fields of international political economy and development studies, and who for about 25 years has carried out fieldwork in mainly rural areas of eastern India. Apply before 1 May to the course which will be held at Blindern, University of Oslo, 26–30 July 2004. More information on Oslo University’s summer schools.
• Invitation to Heidelberg Summer School in South Asian studies
The third University of Heidelberg Summer School in South Asian studies will be held this summer, 24 July – 14 August 2004. The themes of the course are: Modern South Asia: Analyzing Political, Economic and Cultural Change; Thematic Modules: South Asia and the Impact of a Globalized Economy, Politics, Past and Present; and Society and Culture in a Changing South Asia. The course is based on lectures, group work, roundtable discussions as well as one week of guided research and will be addressing historical, political, and religious aspects of the region as well as questions of the economy and development. Cooperation partners include: Dr. Willem van der Geest (EIAS), Prof. Roger Jeffery (University of Edinburgh), Prof. Subrata K. Mitra (University of Heidelberg), Prof. Pamela Gwynne Price (University of Oslo), and Dr. Marie Saglio-Yatzimirsky (INALCO).
Important lectures and seminars
• Senthil Ram lectures at Lund University on the The Tibet Issue
Dr. Senthil Ram from the Dept. of Peace and Development Research, PADRIGU, Göteborg University, lectures at Lund University on Tuesday 27 April, 15.15–17, on ”The Tibet Issue, 1987 -1997: Internationalization and Media Mobilization”. Venue: Hanlin hall, ACE, House Alfa 1, Ideon Research Park, Scheelevägen 15, Lund. The lecture is organized by the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies together with SASNET.
• Hugh van Skyhawk lectures on Twelver Shias rituals in a Pakistani setting
Prof Hugh van Skyhawk from the Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany, lectures in Oslo Wednesday 28 April, 16.15–18. He will lecture on ”Nauroz in Hispar: Liminality and the renewal of community in the rituals of the Persian New Year among Twelver Shias of a remote high-altitude village of the Karakoram”. von Skyhawk is an indologist and linguist specialized on India and Pakistan. Venue: Nils Henrik Abels hus, seminar room 410, University of Oslo at Blindern.
Conferences and courses
• Workshop at Lund University on Piracy in Asia
A Workshop on ”Piracy and Non-traditional Threats to Maritime Security in Asia” is held at Lund University 7–8 May 2004. The workshop is organised by the Centre for East and Southeast Asian Studies, in collaboration with the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), Copenhagen. Scholars in the field working on South Asia are most welcome to take part in the workshop. Funding for travel and other expenses will be available for a limited number of scholars from the Nordic countries. More information.
• Generational Interaction and Change in focus for Pakistan workshop
The Pakistan Workshop will be held at Rook How in the idyllic Lake District of United Kingdom, 7–9 May 2004. The theme for the workshop will be ”Generational Interaction and Change”, but papers on other topics are also welcome. Pakistan Workshops have been organized yearly since 1986 by Brittish/European anthropologists and other social scientists, as a forum for discussion on current research related not only to Pakistan, and the Pakistani diaspora, but also to Muslims in South Asia in general.
• PhD course on PhD Course on Conflict and Development in the Developing World
A PhD Course on ”Conflict, Human Security, Governance and Development in the Developing World” is held at Aalborg Airbase in Denmark, 9–12 May 2004. The PhD course is organized by the Danish PhD Network on Development and International Relations, and the Research Center on Development and International Relations. Applications are invited before 1 April from Danish and foreign Ph.D. candidates for participation in the intense four-day course.
• SOAS workshop on Tradition in the World of Gujarati Culture
A One-Day Workshop on Gujarat called ”Engagements With Tradition In The Gujarati World” is held at the Centre of South Asian Studies, SOAS, University of London, on Friday 14 May 2004. Specialists on Gujarat whose interests range from anthropology, art history, literature and politics to diaspora studies, development and economics, are invited to the workshop that will reflect on Gujarati tradition and identity. Venue: SOAS, Room G59, SOAS, London. More information.
• PhD Course on Political Economy of Aid and Poverty in Finland
A PhD Course on ”Political Economy of Aid and Poverty” is held in Kellokoski, Finland, 23–26 May 2004. The researcher training course is arranged by DEVESTU (the Finnish Graduate School in Development Studies), Helsinki University. All registered PhD candidates in Development Studies or related disciplines are welcome to attend. More information on DEVESTU.
• Amsterdam Conference on India–China relations
A conference on ”India–China relations: State and society” is held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 26–28 May 2004. The conference is organized by Prof. Peter van der Veer from the University of Amsterdam, and Prof. Christophe Jaffrelot from the Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales (CERI), Paris, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden University. Send a mail for more information.
• Göteborg workshop on Religion, Power and Politics in Asia and Africa
OGSAA (Oslo Gothenburg School of Asia and African Studies) organizes a workshop on ”Religion, Power and Politics in Asia and Africa”, on 27–28 May 2004, at the Centre for Asian Studies (CAS) in Göteborg. The OGSAA work-shop is open for scholars and graduate students based at either University of Oslo, Norway or Göteborg University, Sweden. It will include one pabel on ”Political Dynamics in Islam and Hinduism”, convened by Pamela Gwynne Price and Jörgen Hellman; and one panel on ”Political and Religious Authority in Buddhist Asia”, convened by Gustaaf Houtman, Per Lundberg, Koenraad Weelens and Marcus Jacobus Teeuwen. The key note speaker will be Professor William Pinch, Wesleyan University, USA, who has written a well-received study, Peasants and Monks in British India (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).
• Heidelberg workshop on Subaltern Health in South Asia
A workshop on ”The Ills of Marginality: New Perspectives on Subaltern Health in South Asia” is arranged by South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University, Germany, 17–18 June 2004. Venue: SAI, Im Neuenheimer Feld 330, Heidelberg. More information from the Prof. William Sax.
• SOAS conference on South Asian Literature
A conference on Narratives Of ‘Home’ In South Asian Literature is arranged by the Centre of South Asian Studies at SOAS, University of London, UK, 24–25 June 2004. The objective for the conference is to problematise ‘home’ and its experience in different contexts and in different ways. Venue: Room VG01, Vernon Square Campus, SOAS, London. More information.
• Paris seminar on Theory and method in Indian intellectual history
A seminar on ”Theory and method in Indian intellectual history” is arranged in Paris 28–30 June 2004. The seminar is organized by the Équipe de recherche LACMI, the international research group 'Sanskrit Knowledge Systems on the Eve of Colonialism' (University of Chicago) and the the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden University, the Netherlands. More information from Prof. Jan Houben.
• NORASIA III to be held at Christian Michelsens institutt, Bergen
The Third Norwegian Research Conference on Asia, NORASIA III, will be held at Christian Michelsens institutt, Bergen, on 9–11 September 2004. The conference is organized by the Norwegian Network for Asian Studies. More information.
• Second edition of Third Space Seminar at Malmö/Lund in November
A second edition of the Third Space Seminar (first held in November 2002) will be arranged in Malmö and Lund 26–28 November 2004. The conference, co-hosted by the cities and universities of Malmö and Lund, gathers some of the world’s leading artists and intellectuals for a three-day programme of seminars, exhibitions, workshops and panel discussions. The overall theme will be ”Examining the Law”, and among the key speakers are Homi K Bhabha from Harvard University, USA. Academic programme coordinators are Oscar Hemer and Carl Henrik Svenstedt, School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University; and Max Liljefors, Department of Art History, Lund University. More information.
• More conferences connected to South Asian studies arranged all over the World, see SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html#conf
Cultural News
• Norwegian Masalamagic cooking book on the Internet
Indian cooking is an important part of the South Asian cultural tradition. Niru Kumar in Oslo, Norway, has prepared a cooking book on the Internet, and presented it in an artistic form well adapted to the media. Go for Niru Kumar’s Masalamagic cooking book!
• Bangladeshi theatre group performed in Stockholm
The Bangladeshi Theatre troupe Rupantar, part of a Khulna-based NGO working professionally with drama, dance, and music, gave performances in Stockholm 27–28 March 2004. Rupantar has an ambition to increase people’s consciousness about democracy, equality, environment and children’s rights through their plays. They have also drawn attention to the plight of Bangladesh’s unique mangrove forests, the Sundarbans. This is combined with with developing a new way of expressing themselves called ALT (Alternative Living Theatre), inexpensive performances based on body language and frequent use of make-up. The performances in Stockholm were arranged by Svensk Teaterunion, and took place at Aliasteatern, Hälsingegatan 3, Saturday 27 March; and at Etnografiska Museet, Sunday 28 March. The Bangladeshi group’s visit to Sweden is part of a five-year Sida-sponsored project called Voices of the Children, aimed at strengthening children’s theatre in Asia. More information.
New and updated items on SASNET web site
• 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 116 departments. Go to the presentation page.
ƒ Dept. of Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm
ƒ Kungl Musikhögskolan, Stockholm (Royal College of Music)
ƒ Dept. of Ethnic Studies, Linköping University, Campus Norrköping
ƒ Dept. of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University & Kungl Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm (Royal Institute of Technology)
ƒ Dept. of Linguistics, Stockholm University
• Several new articles recommended for reading
Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/recreading.html for suggestions on interesting new articles on South Asia in International media. New items added, especially on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.
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, Scheelevägen 15 B, S-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 1 (first floor, room no. 2042), in the premises of the Centre for East and South East Asian Studies at Lund University (ACE).
Phone: + 46 46 222 73 40
Fax: + 46 46 222 30 41
E-mail: sasnet@sasnet.lu.se
Web site: http://www.sasnet.lu.se
Staff: Staffan Lindberg, director/co-ordinator & Lars Eklund, webmaster/deputy director
