SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK
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Contents:
SASNET News:
• 21 applications for SASNET Planning Grants
21 applications were received for the Second Round of SASNET Planning Grants 2004. Last date for applications was 15 November, 2004. Out of the 21 applications 15 refer to new research programmes/projects, one to continued education projects/programmes, and five to new education programmes/projects. Total amount applied for is 1.66 Million SEK, whereas the amount available to distribute is approximately 450.000 SEK. Decisions will be taken on 15 February, 2005. More information.
• Apply for Planning grants 2005
Applications for the next round of SASNET planning grants are now invited. Closing date for applications is 15 June, 2005. More information.
• Masters Programme in South Asian Studies
A 60 credits Masters Programme (”Magisterutbildning med bredd”) in Asian Studies was successfully introduced at Lund University in the Fall 2003, with support from SASNET. The programme is divided into two tracks, one for East and South East Asian studies, and the other for South Asian studies, and is administered by the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE) at Lund University. Applications are now invited for the next Programme starting on 1 september 2005. Last date for applications: 31 January 2005. More information.
• William Radice’s Conference Diary published in Indian newspaper
The extensive Conference Diary prepared by Dr. William Radice during the 18th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, organised by SASNET 6–9 July 2004, has now been published in extenso in the 2004 Puja Festival magazine, published by the Indian newspaper The Statesman, Kolkata (October 2004). The article is illustrated with photos of Lund University. Radice’s article, called ”Swedish Rhapsody”, also appears here on SASNET’s web site (as a pdf-file)
• Indian lawyers visited SASNET’s root node office
The two practicing Indian lawyers Vasudha Nagaraj and Anuroopa Giliyal visited SASNET’s root node office at Lund University on Wednesday 24 November 2004, along with Oscar Hemer from the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University (Nagaraj, Giliyal and Hemer on the photo to the right).
Nagaraj is working for the Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh; and Giliyal is a member of the Alternative Law Forum, based in Bangalore. They have have been invited to Sweden in order to lead a workshop at the Third Space Seminar, arranged in Malmö and Lund 26–28 November 2004. More information.
• European Commission grant to the SASNET–Fermented Foods networking project
The Delegation of the European Commission to India, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka has decided to grant a sum of 63 280 Euro for the activities of the so called SASNET–Fermented Foods networking project, a joint project by the Dept. of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University (through Prof. Baboo Nair), SMC College of Dairy Science, Anand, India (through Dr. J.B. Prajapati), and the Institute of Rural management, also in Anand (through Dr. Pratap Reddy). The grant will be used for organising a series of three strategic meetings/workshops during the year 2005. The first seminar will be for informing R&D directors of food research institutions, and the second will be addressed towards food industries and the third one for important media people, including social workers, politicians and journalists. More information on the project, that has been supported by SASNET with planning grants.
• SASNET lecture by Dr. Suruchi Thapar-Björkert
Dr. Suruchi Thapar-Björkert from Dept. of Sociology at the University of Bristol gave a SASNET lecture on Tuesday 23 November 2004, 13.15–15.00. She lectured on ”Gendered Caste Conflicts in rural North India”. Dr. Thapar-Björkert (photo to the left), has been a visiting research fellow with the Dept. of Ethnic Studies at Linköping University, Campus Norrköping during the Fall 2004. The guest lecture in Lund was arranged in cooperation with the Development Study Group at the Dept. of Political Science and the Development Studies Seminar at the Dept. of Sociology.
• Wednesday 8 December SASNET lecture on Sikhs, Colonization, Gender and Ritual
Doris Jakobsh, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (photo to the right), will give a SASNET lecture on ”Innovation or Invention? The Sikhs, Colonization, Gender and the Feminization of Ritual” at Lund University, on Wednesday 8 December 2004, at 16.15. Venue: Room 438, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR), Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund. Jakobsh is a researcher specialized on Gender in Sikh Studies and visits Sweden in connection with the Nordic conference on ”Ritual Practices in Indian Religions and Contexts” held at Lund University 9–11 December 2004 (more information below, under the heading ”Conferences”).
Community News:
• Sida/SAREC grants to South Asia related research projects
In November 2004 Sida/SAREC's Developing Country Research Council (U-landsforskningsrådet) decided upon grants for support to Swedish developing country research. A large number of the projects that have been given grants refer to South Asia related research. Go to SASNET’s list of these projects.
• Swedish Research Council grants to South Asia related research projects
Four South Asia related research projects within the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences were given major grants from the Swedish Research Council. Decisions were announced on 5 November 2004. The projects awarded grants are run by Aida Lagergren Aragao, Uppsala University, Göran Djurfeldt and Staffan Lindberg, Lund University, Martin Gansten, Lund University, and Peter Schalk, Uppsala University. More information.
• Anders Närman passed away
Associate Professor Anders Närman from the Department of Human and Economic Geography, Göteborg University, tragically passed away on 15 November 2004. Närman was mostly working on Africa, but was also since many years working with Sri Lanka related projects, including a comparative study of the Hambantota and Gampaha districts (a project carried out in collaboration with the University of Kelaniya). He was also closely connected to SASNET. More information on his research.
• Doctoral disssertation on Islamic parties in Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan
Ann-Kristin Jonasson from the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, Göteborg University, will defend her doctoral dissertation on ”At the Command of God? On the Political Linkage of Islamist Parties”, on Friday 26 November 2004, 13.15. It is a comparative study of Islamist parties in three countries (Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan), focusing on their political linkages and the way these parties relate to the people of their respective country. Faculty opponent is Prof. Lars G Svåsand, University of Bergen. Venue: Hall 10, University Main building, Vasaparken, Göteborg. More information with abstract.
• Doctoral dissertation on Peace Work and Identity Politics in Sri Lanka
Camilla Orjuela, Department of Peace and Development Research, Göteborg University, will defend her doctoral dissertation on ”Civil Society in Civil War: Peace Work and Identity Politics in Sri Lanka” on Friday 3 December 2004, 10.15. Faculty oppoment will be Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe, Chairman of the Foundation for Co-Existence (FCE), based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Venue: Världshuset, Brogatan 4, Göteborg. Read the abstract.
• Sociological dissertation on working children’s unions in Karnataka
Aina Winswold (photo to the right), Dept. of Sociology, Lund University, will defend her doctoral dissertation on ”When Working Children mobilize. A study of three Unions in Karnataka, India”, on Thursday 16 December 2004, 10.15. Venue: Kulturens hörsal, Tegnérsplatsen, Lund. Faculty opponent is Associate Professor Per Bolin Hort, Södertörn University College, Huddinge. More information on Aina Winswold’s thesis.
• Vacant position as Director for the Nordic Centre in India
A part time position (25p.c.) as Director for the Nordic Centre in India ( NCI) has been announced. The new director, to succeed the present incumbent of the post Dr. Arild Engelsen Ruud, should possess a creative mind with administrative experiences and be able to consolidate existing programmes and at the same time keep the visions and ambitions alive to expand activities further. The Nordic Centre in India, recently approved by the Government of India, today runs a summer school and a semester programme, besides keeping a guest house in New Delhi. Candiadtes for the post should have a sense of dedication to South Asia besides administrative experiences, and preferably a work situation that allows him or her to spend sufficient time on the Nordic Centre. The director will work from the Nordic region although travels to India will be necessary. Applications before 1 December 2004. More information.
• 10th anniversary celebration for Örebro University’s Sweden–India Project
Örebro University’s so-called Sweden–India Project celebrates its 10th anniversary with a two-days seminar on ”Transcultural Sensitivity”, 16–17 December 2004. The Sweden–India Project is run by the Social Work programme at Örebro University but involves other Swedish universities as well, and consists of field based training programme for social workers, nurses, lawyers, doctors and teachers. The field practice has its base in Pune, Maharastra, India, and over the years altogether 450 participants have gone through the training. Full information on the Sweden-India Project, including programme for the anniversary seminar.
• Useful data provided by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests on the Internet
An extensive web site giving environmental data, useful for researchers, has been launched by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests. It is called EIC, the Environmental Information Centre, and includes an integrated environmental database on India, derived from using the Geographical Information System (GIS), and also includes pollution data. The aim of the EIC is to provide high quality environmental information on India in a timely and cost-effective manner, to improve Environmental Studies and the decision-making process. Go to the EIC website!
• Swedish Forum on Human Rights arranged in Stockholm
A Swedish Forum on Human Rights was arranged in Stockholm 15–16 November 2004. More than 1 000 participants discussed terrorism, trafficking, practical police work, parallel reports, human rights education, the right to health, non-state actors, reconciliation and much more, at this third biannual forum organised by The Academy of Democracy (DemokratiAkademin), a Swedish network of 60 organizations created in 1993, in collaboration with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and the Stockholm School of Theology. Among the main speakers were Vandana Shiva, Right Livelihood Award Winner, and Deepika Udagama, Head of the Faculty of law, University of Colombo, besides being member of the national human rights commission of Sri Lanka and alternate expert member to the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights. Vandana Shiva also organised a panel on ”Trading Health – the Right to Medicine”. In another panel on ”Minorities and Constitutional Process in Afghanistan” Dr Hussein Yasa from Mazar el-Sharif, Afghanistan, participated.
Summer schools/Vacant positions
• 9th Summer Program in Punjab Studies to be held in Chandigarh
The 9th Summer Program in Punjab Studies will be held at Chandigarh, India, 3 July – 13 August 2005. The program, open to both graduate and undergraduate students, will provide six weeks of instruction in Punjab Studies, including Punjabi teaching (50 hours), and history and culture of the region (90 hours). Application deadline is 1 March 2005.
• Vacant positions as Lecturer and Faculty Assistant at University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison announces positions as Lecturer and Faculty Assistant for its South Asian Language summer courses in 2005. Lecturer and Faculty Assistant vacancies are available in the following languages (elementary, intermediate and some advanced levels): Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan, and Urdu. Languages are taught in a summer intensive format. Dates of employment: 6 June–5 August 2005.
Important lectures/symposia
• Göteborg lecture on challenges and prospects for the Peace Process in Sri Lanka
Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe from Foundation for Co-existence lectures on ”The Peace Process in Sri Lanka: Challenges and Prospects” at Göteborg University, Thursday 2 December 2004, 13.15–15.00. Rupesinghe has 25 years of experience of academic scholarship, as well as practical mediation and conflict resolution work. He is the founder of the Foundation for Co-existence, a non-governmental organisation engaged in peace work in Sri Lanka, but has also previously been Director of International Alert and the author of ”Civil Wars, Civil Peace” and a vast number of other publications. Venue: Världshuset, Brogatan 4, Göteborg. Rupesinghe visits Göteborg because he is faculty opponent to Camilla Orjuela, who defends her doctoral dissertation the day after.
• Måns R. Broo lectures on the Guru institution of Gaudiya Vaishnavism
The 8 December SASNET lecture with Doris Jakobsh (see under SASNET news) follows immediately after another public lecture with Dr. Måns R. Broo from the Dept. of Comparative Religion, Åbo Akademi, Finland (photo to the left). This lecture, organised by the Division for Indic Religions at CTR, Lund University, starts on Wednesday 8 December 2004, at 15.00, and is titled “Guru! – synpunkter på en hinduisk institution” (in Swedish). Broo who defended his doctoral dissertation on the Guru institution of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in 2003 is now working on a translation of a Vaishnava ritual text (together with Dr. Kenneth Valpey, Oxford). Venue: Room 438, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR), Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund.
• Copenhagen seminar on the future of the secular state in South Asia
A Seminar on ”Religious conflict and the future of the secular state. Lessons from South Asia” will be held at the University of Copenhagen on Thursday 9 December 2004, 13.15–17.00. The seminar is arranged by the university’s History of Religions Section, Department of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. Among the lecturers are Paul Brass, Emeritus professor, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington (photo to the right), who will lecture on ”Secularism, Intercommunal Dialogue, and Hindu-Muslim Riots in Contemporary India”; Professor Gyanendra Pandey, Anthropology Department, Johns Hopkins University, USA; and Thomas Blom Hansen, Professor at the Department of Anthropology, Yale University. The moderator will be Associate professor Stig Toft Madsen from the International Development Studies, Roskilde University. Venue: Auditorium U3, Snorresgade 17-19, Carsten Niebuhr Institute, University of Copenhagen. More information (as a Word document).
• Lund conference on sociological and anthropological Corruption Reseach
The Development Studies Seminar at the Dept. of Sociology, Lund University, arranges a conference on ”The Corrupt World: Corruption Reseach at the departments of Sociology and Social Anthropology”, on Thursday 9 December 2004, 15–18. The conference, open to everyone who is studying or working at Lund University, takes place on the International anti-corruption Day. Venue: Lecture hall, Eden, Paradisgatan, Lund. Those who would be interested in giving a short presentation at the conference should contact Steven Sampson.
• Public lectures durring the Lund conference on Ritual Practices in Indian Religions
During the Nordic conference “Ritual Practices in Indian Religions and Contexts” at Lund University, 9–11 December 2004, four lectures on Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism are given by renowned international scholars. These lectures, organised by the Dept. of History and Anthropology of Religion at Lund University, are open for the public, while the remaining conference program is only for registered participants.
– Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University, USA, lectures on ”Local Ritual: Buddhism and the Hunter (Vedda) in Vellassa, Eastern Sri Lanka” on Thursday 9 December, 14.30. Venue: Nya Festsalen, Akademiska föreningen, Sandgatan 2, Lund.
– Dr. Peter Flügel, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK, lectures on ”Clandestine rituals: Jaina relic worship and the cultural unconscious”, on Friday 10 December, 9.30. Venue: Sångsalen, Akademiska föreningen, Sandgatan 2, Lund.
– Prof. Gurinder Singh Mann, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, lectures on ”Literature pertaining to rituals in the early Sikh tradition”, on Friday 10 December, 14.00. Venue: Sångsalen, Akademiska föreningen, Sandgatan 2, Lund.
– Dr. Elisabeth Schömbucher, University of Heidelberg, Germany, lectures on ”Hysteric or Holy? Women and possession in anthropological writings”, on Saturday 11 December, 9.30. Venue: Nya Festsalen, Akademiska föreningen, Sandgatan 2, Lund. More information.
Conferences and courses
• Examining the Law theme for the third Space Seminar in Malmö and Lund
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 Sarat Maharaj. 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.
• 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. Keynote speakers are Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University, Gurinder Singh Mann, University of California at Santa Barbara, Elisabeth Schombucher, University of Heidelberg and Peter Flugel, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Presented papers will be considered for publication in the journal Chakra. More information on the conference.
• 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. It will be a forum for scientific discussion between scholars in Sweden who deal with poverty and/or capacity-building issues in lower income countries. Researchers and graduate/post graduate students in Sweden are invited, but research colleagues from other countries and officials and policy makers in fields connected to the theme of the conference are also welcome. Relevant topics of discussion will include: Biodiversity, children and youth, climate, corruption, environment, ethnicity, food and water, gender, hazards, health, infrastructure, law, religion, urbanity, war and violence, and welfare. Deadline for delivering abstracts is 5 November, and for registration 15 December 2004. Venues: Aula Magna and the House of Geo Sciences at Stockholm University Campus Frescati. More information.
• Other conferences connected to South Asian studies arranged all over the World
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html#conf
Culture
• Rajasthani music ensemble Musafir on Sweden tour
The World famous Rajasthani music ensemble Musafir now returns to Sweden, and tours the country 12–27 November 2004. The Musafir group, a creation by the master tabla player Hameed Khan (who is also artistic director of Jaipur Kawa Brass Band), has been touring Europe successfully for many years, appearing at festivals like the Re-Orient Festival in Stockholm. They will now perform in Skellefteå, Östersund, Gävle, Göteborg, Kungsbacka, Lund, Kristianstad, Växjö, Linköping, Stockholm (Södra Teatern) and finally in Ytterjärna outside Stockholm. More information.
• Cross-cultural tabla concert with Suranjana Ghosh in Uppsala
Suranjana Ghosh from Kolkata (photo to the left), one of India’s few professional tabla players, is presently on a tour to Sweden and will give a concert in Uppsala on Saturday 27 November 2004, 15.00. She will perform together with the Uppsala Tabla Orchestra and the jazz group Movie, in a cross-cultural musical show called ”Ganges möter Fyris”. Venue: Rådhussalen, Vaksalagatan 2, by Stora Torget, Uppsala. More information on Suranjana Ghosh and the concert
• Exhibition with Jagath Dheerasekara’s photos
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Stockholm presents “Camera Sketches”, a solo exhibition of black & white photography by Jagath Dheerasekara 6–8 December 2004 at the Embassy premises, Strandvägen 39. Jagath is an amateur photographer and has exhibited his photographic talents in several countries including at the Royal Photographic Society of the UK and Hasselblad Austrian Super Circuit. His work mostly has captured candid streets, people and landscape of Sri Lanka.
New and updated items on SASNET web site
• More Swedish departments where research on South Asia is going on:
Added (and updated) to the list of research environments at Swedish universities, presented by SASNET. The full list now includes 133 departments. Go to the presentation page.
• Several new articles and books recommended for reading
Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/recreading.html for suggestions on interesting new articles on South Asia in International media. Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/newbooks.html for suggestions on new South Asia related books.
• Links to South Asian studies departments worldwide
SASNET offers an extensive list of links to South Asian studies departments, associations and networks around the World, a list that is constantly updated. Go to SASNET’s links page!
