Newsletter 44 - 5 October 2004
Last updated: 11 November 2011
SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
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Contents:
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SASNET News:
• Updated information and photos from the 18th ECMSAS conference in Lund
SASNET successfully arranged the 18th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies in Lund 6–9 July 2004. Full updated information on the Lund conference, now also included a summary of the discussion after the Joint session on Poverty and Health in South Asia.
• An extensive Conference Diary was prepared by Dr. William Radice. Read his report called ”Swedish Rhapsody”! (as a pdf-file)
• Behnoush Payvar’s photos from the five days of the conference are now published on the web. Go for the photo albums!
• Applications for SASNET planning grants
Aopplications are now invited. Closing date for applications is 15 November, 2004. More information.
• Magazines/Library at SASNET’s root node office
A large number of South Asia related magazines are available at the SASNET root node office in Lund. Besides these SASNET keeps a small library with a collection including a majority of the doctoral and licentiate theses on South Asia related issues from the Nordic universities since 2001, and in some cases even earlier. Go to SASNET’s list of dissertations.
• The root node library also keeps a limited selection of useful reference literature on South Asia, in most cases donated to us or bought during contact journeys in the region. It includes the six-volumes The Encyclopedia of Modern South Asia. More information.
• Karl Reinhold Haellquist Memorial Collection now being catalogued
The renowned Swedish scholar Karl Reinhold Haellquist passed away in 2000. He was a historian specialised on South Asia and worked for more many years at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen. His wife Inger in 2004 has donated 5,000 volumes from Haellquist’s private library to SASNET. It is currently being catalogued and will be placed at Lund University’s Asian Library (Asienbiblioteket, at the ground floor, Alfa 1 building, Ideon Research Village, Scheelevägen 15, Lund – in the same house as SASNET’s root node office). A minor part of the collection is already available. More information.
Community News:
• Universities of Lund and Copenhagen take over the ownership of NIAS
The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School and Lund University have agreed to share the future ownership of the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen. The official agreement between the three partners will be signed at a reception at the Nordic Council of Ministers (NIAS' current owner), in Copenhagen on Wednesday 6 October 2004 and the new ownership of NIAS will be effective by 1 January 2005. The Institute, headed by Jörgen Delman (photo to the right) will have a Nordic Board and the University of Copenhagen will be the host institution. More information
• New professor of South Asian languages and cultures appointed in Uppsala
Professor William Smith, now working at the Section for Indology, Department of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University, has been appointed new professor of South Asian languages and cultures, at the Section for Asian and African Languages and Cultures, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University. William Smith will take up the position in Uppsala from 15 October 2004. The professorship has been vacant since Prof. Gunilla Gren Eklund retired in 2003. More information on the department.
• Evaluation Report of Courses in Oriental and African Languages in Uppsala and Stockholm
The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education in April 2004 published its Evaluation Report of Courses in Oriental and African Languages and Middle Eastern Studies at Swedish Universities and Colleges (No 2004:9). The evaluation report includes findings from a thorough scrutiny of the courses in Indology, Hindi, Tamil and South Asian Studies at Uppsala University, and Indology at Stockholm University, giving recommendations for the future. Read the report (in Swedish only, as a pdf-file)
• The 2004 Right Livelihood Honorary Award to Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer
The 2004 Right Livelihood Honorary Award, often referred to as the ”Alternative Nobel Prize” goes to two distinguished Indian religious figures who have worked unceasingly for social justice and communal harmony for more than two decades. The Right Livelihood Award Jury honours Swami Agnivesh, a leading Hindu social reformer active with the Bonded Labor Liberation Front, and Asghar Ali Engineer, prominent Muslim scholar at the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai (photo to the right), and activist , “for their strong commitment and cooperation over many years to promote the values of co-existence, tolerance and understanding in India and between the countries of South Asia”. The award presentation ceremony in the Swedish Parliament will be held on 9 December 2004. More information.
• Gudmar Anéer appointed Professor of Science of Religion in Falun
Gudmar Anéer, previously working at the Dept. of Religious Studies, Göteborg University, has been appointed Professor of Science of Religion, with emphasis on History of Religions, at Högskolan Dalarna, Campus Falun,from September 2004. Aneer defended his dissertation in 1973 on a thesis called ”Akbar the great Mogul and his religious thoughts”, and he now heads a department that for several years have run D level courses focused on South Asia. More information.
• MoU on research training between Pakistan and Sweden to be signed in Stockholm
A formal agreement on collaboration in research and research training between Pakistan and Sweden is likely to be finalised soon. Dr Atta-ur-Rahman (photo to the left), eminent Pakistani scientist within the field of Chemistry, besides being Federal Minister of Science and Technology and Chairman of the Pakistani Commission of Higher Education will visit Stockholm 1–2 November 2004. He is invited by the Swedish University Chancellor in order to finalise the proposed collaboration. Pakistan plans to send 50 PhD students for training in Sweden every year, an effort SASNET has been involved with (read our meeting report with Atta-ur-Rahman in Karachi, November 2003). A proposal for a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, has been prepared by the Swedish Institute. In Stockholm Atta ur-Rahman will visit Karolinska Institutet Medical University and the Royal College of Technology, KTH; institutions that are likely to house a large number of the Pakistani PhD students to come.
• Three Swedish universities selected to arrange Erasmus Mundus programmes
Among the 82 European universities (joined together in 19 consortia) that now have been selected to arrange EU funded Erasmus Mundus courses for non-European students three universities are Swedish – Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå; and Uppsala University. They will be involved in programmes on International Health (Karolinska), International Humanitarian Assistance (Uppsala), and European Forestry (SLU) respectively.
The Erasmus Mundus programmes starting this academic year will offer scholarships for teachers and students from non-European countries. The European Union has ser aside a budget for 230 Million Euros for the period up to 2008. More information on the Erasmus Mundus programme.
• The Nordic Association for South Asian Studies organises conference in Denmark 2005
The Nordic Association for South Asian Studies, NASA, that had its latest conference (that should be bi-annual) in Voss, Norway in 2001, has finally decided to organise a new conference. It will be arranged by the University of Aarhus in Denmark in June 2005. More details will follow after the organising committee has decided upon the theme for the conference.
Educational News
• Lund University offers first course ever in Scandinavia on Sikhism
The Dept. of History of Religions at Lund University during the Spring 2005 will arrange a 5 credits course on Sikhism. It is probably the first course on Sikhism organised at any Scandinavian university so far, and the teaching will be carried out by Kristina Myrvold, researcher specialised on sikh studies. A 5 credits course on Indic Philosophies will also be arranged during the Spring 2005.
• South Asian participants in Lund University course on Conservation and Management of Historic Buildings
The Department of Housing Development and Management at the Division of Construction & Architecture, Lund Institute of Technology; Lund University regularly arranges Sida-sponsored short courses directed to planners, architects, civil engineers, administrators and others working with construction, housing and human settlements. A postgraduate training course on Conservation and Management of Historic Buildings started in September 2004 in collaboration with the Department of Architectural Conservation and Restoration, Lund University. The first three-weeks part was held in Lund with five participants from South Asia, and the course then continues with a two-weeks course in Johannesburg, South Africa and Amman, Jordan, in the spring 2005. More information.
Important lectures/symposia
• Sten Widmalm lectures on India after the Hindu Nationalism
Sten Widmalm from the Dept. of Government, Uppsala University, lectures on ”India after the Hindu Nationalism” at Stockholm University, Wednesday 6 October 2004, 13–15. The lecture is arranged by the Center for Pacific Asia Studies (CPAS). Venue: Hall B/CPAS, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 4 B, Stockholm.
• Evening with India at the Royal Institute of Technology
The International Affairs section at KTH. the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, arranges an ”Evening with India”, on Wednesday 6 October 2004, from 17.00. The programme includes speeches by the KTH vice president of international affairs Ramon Wyss on ”A travel to India – KTH delegation lost and found”; KTH president Anders Flodström on ”Perspectives on India-Sweden Collaboration within Science and Technology”; and by the Ambassador of India to Sweden Ms. Chitra Narayanan on ”The Past, the Present and the Future”. Venue: Kollegiesalen, Valhallavägen 79, Stockholm.
• HIV/AIDS: Global Threat, Local Action theme for Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs conference
“HIV/AIDS: Global Threat, Local Action” is the theme for the fifth annual Conference on Development, arranged by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Stockholm on Friday 15 October 2004, 8.15–16-00. The conference is an integral part of Sweden’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Venue: Vinterträdgården, Grand Hotel, Stallgatan 6, Stockholm. Registration deadline 1 October 2004. Note that the conference is free of charge, but late cancellations and no-shows will be charged SEK 1,500. More information
• Uppsala seminar on Gender Equality in the North and the South
Uppsala University’s Seminar for Development Studies organises a seminar on ”Gender Equality in the North and the South” on Monday 18 October 2004, 13.15–16.00. Naila Kabeer from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton (presently guest Professor at PADRIGU, Göteborg University) will discuss the general relevance of northern experiences in promoting gender equality, with Dr. Monica Erwér, Centre for Global Gender Studies, PADRIGU (who will also bring in her own work on women in politics and social movements in Kerala, India). Venue: Room 24, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Gamla Torget 3, second floor, Uppsala.
• Naila Kabeer lectures at Stockholm University
The International Development Studies Seminar (IDSS) at Stockholm University organises a seminar with Professor Naila Kabeer, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex, UK, on Tuesday 19 October 2004, 13.00. Professor Kabeer currently holds the Kerstin Hesselgrens Guest professorship at the Department for Peace and Development Research (Padrigu), Göteborg University, during the full year of 2004 and is also associated to the Centre for Global Gender Studies (CGGS). Venue: ”Spelbomskan”, a minor hall in the Aula Magna building at Stockholm University, Frescati. More information from Henrik Berglund, Dept. of Political Science, Stockholm University.
• BASAS annual workshop on Chauvinism in South Asia
The British Association of South Asian Studies, BASAS, organises its Annual Workshop 2004 on Saturday 13 November 2004, 10.30–16.45. The theme for the workshop will be ”Chauvinism in South Asia”, and includes lectures by Neil DeVotta, Hartwick College, on ”Chauvinism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka”; Prasun Sonwalker, University of the West of England, on ”Assamese Chauvinism and the Political Dynamics of North East India”; and Emma Mawdsley, Birkbeck College, on ”The Abuse of Religion and Ecology: The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Tehri Dam”. Venue: Governance Research Centre, University of Bristol, UK. More information.
Conferences and courses
• 33rd Annual Conference on South Asia at UW-Madison
The Center for South Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison arranges its 33rd Annual Conference on South Asia 15–17 October 2004. The Annual Conference on South Asia attracts 500+ scholars and other interested parties annually, and features over 70 academic panels and roundtables. It also features association meetings and other special events. As part of the conference Prof. Marc Katz, Dept. of Religions, Karlstad University, on Sunday 17 October, 10.45, will show his new documentary film ”Banaras Muharram and the Coals of Karbala”, providing a rare glimpse of Muslim life in the Indian city of Varanasi. Venue: Madison Concourse Hotel, 1 West Dayton St, Madison, WI, USA. More information.
• Coventry workshop on the 1984 Delhi Anti-Sikh Pogroms
A workshop on ”The 1984 Delhi Anti-Sikh Pogroms: Assessment and Reflections Twenty Years On” is held at Coventry University, UK, on 30 October 2004. The workshop is organised by the university’s Centre for South Asian Studies and the Association for Punjab Studies (UK). Venue: Coventry Business School, William Morris Building W1.28. The programme includes papers by Prof. Dipankar Gupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Urvashi Butalia, Kali for Women, New Delhi.
• Tampere seminar on Governing 'Good Governance' in Developing Countries
An international seminar ”Governing 'Good Governance' in Developing Countries” will be held at the University of Tampere, Finland, 9–11 November 2004. The seminar is organised by the university’s Research Program on Good Governance, and sponsored by the Academy of Finland. Keynote speakers of the seminar are Professor Roy Mukwena from the University of Namibia, Professor Salahuddin Aminuzzaman from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Professor Tek Nath Dhakal from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Registration before 15 October 2004. More information.
• Lund conference on Ritual practices in Indian religions and contexts
A Nordic conference on ”Ritual practices in Indian religions and contexts” is held at Lund University 9–11 December 2004. The conference is arranged by the seminars of Indian Religions and Ritual Studies at the Department of History and Anthropology of Religion, Lund University, in cooperation with the academic journal Chakra – Tidskrift för indiska religioner. Scholars and PhD students engaged in research concerning Indian religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism) and rituals are invited to take part. Presented papers will be considered for publication in the journal Chakra. More information.
• Stockholm research conference on Structures of Vulnerability
A research conference on the issue of ”Structures of Vulnerability” is held at Stockholm University on 12–14 January 2005. The conference is organised by the university’s Dept. of Social Anthropology and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Venues: Aula Magna and the House of Geo Sciences at Stockholm University Campus Frescati. The aim with this conference is to offer Swedish scholars dealing with poverty and/or capacity-building issues in low income countries a forum for scientific discussion, where they can present current research and be encouraged to develop important lines of research within this field. More information.
• 2nd KTH-Dhaka University International Seminar on Natural Arsenic in Groundwater of South Asia
The 2nd KTH-Dhaka University International Seminar on Natural Arsenic in Groundwater of South Asia (NAGSA-2005) is going to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 15–17 January 2005. The conference is jointly organized by Department of Geology, Dhaka University and the Groundwater Arsenic Research Group (GARG) at the Dept. of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. Read the first cirkular (as a pdf-file)
• Uppsala conference on Pluralism in Balochistan
The 3rd international conference on Balochistan with the theme ”Pluralism in Balochistan” will be held in Uppsala 18–21 August 2005. Balochistan has throughout history been one of the important meeting points between the Indian Subcontinent and the Iranian Plateau. Today's Balochistan is divided between Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the conference wants to highlight various aspects of plurality in presentday Balochistan. Researchers are invited to present papers with a focus on socioeconomic, religious, linguistic, literary and cultural plurality in Balochistan. The conference is organised by the Iranian Studies division at the Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University. More information (as a pdf-file)
• Other conferences connected to South Asian studies arranged all over the World
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html#conf
Vacant research positions/Fellowships
• Director wanted for Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore
The Institute of South Asian Studies within the National University of Singapore (NUS) seeks a Director to develop it into a centre of research excellence. The Director must be a scholar of high international standing with an established record of research on South Asia. He or she should have a policy background with strengths in Economics, Business or Law, and thus, the ability to manage an Institute with a multidisciplinary approach involving these fields and other relevant disciplines. An ability to network with policy makers and business leaders having interests in the region would be an advantage. A key qualification is the commitment to building an Institute of international repute. The Director is expected to take up office by mid-2005. Applications will be accepted until 15 November 2004. More information.
Cultural Events in Scandinavia connected to South Asia:
• South Asian artists perform at Oslo World Music Festival
The Oslo World Music Festival will take place 2–7 November 2004 with several artists from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Eorld famous Pakistani qawwali musician Faiz Ali Faiz performs on Wednesday 3 November at 20.00 in Kulturkirken Jakob; and the Indian choreographer Rukmini Chatterjee presents a dance performance called ”Rhytms” at the saame place on Thursday 4 November. The festival also includes a Bhangra show with the group DCS. 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 125 departments. Go to the presentation page.
ƒ Dept. of Religion, Dalarna University, Campus Falun
ƒ Dept. of Chemical Technology, School of Engineering, Jönköping University
ƒ Socionomprogrammet/Social Work; Department of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences, Örebro 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.
