Update on SASNET and our current activities Lund
Dear colleagues,
After the national conference on 14-15 October in Lund, SASNET was contracted
by Sida to build a Swedish South Asian Studies Network during 2001 and
2002. The work is now in full swing and follows the plan laid down after
the conference.
For information about the plan, the timetable, the working group, and
the October conference, please visit our preliminary website: http://sasnet.soc.lu.se
What’s happening in SASNET now?
Planning grants and workshop on global networking
We have already announced planning grants for 2001 (deadline for application:
15 March), and we have invited suggestions for participants in a workshop
on Global networking in South Asian studies taking place on 27-28 August
2001 (deadline for suggestions: 11 February). We are going to send you
a reminder about this soon.
Organising SASNET
We have now established an office at Lund University’s International
Office and are preparing SASNET’s organisation and board for the
first three years. The post of co-ordinator and webmaster/secretary
will be opened for application during the spring with a deadline on
15 May.
Gateway
We have started to build a gateway for South Asian studies. The editor
of the magazine Sydasien, Mr. Lars Eklund, has been employed to do this
work during a period of 6 months on a part time basis. We will soon
send you a brief questionnaire about this.
Visiting tour
In late January and early February we have helped the Swedish Institute
to organise a Swedish tour for the visiting Professor R K Jain from
the Centre for American and West-European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University in New Delhi.
Working group
The work is lead by the same working group that made the application
to Sida and planned the work during the fall of 2000, that is, Staffan
Lindberg, Olle Qvarnström, Rajni Hatti Kaul, Shisher Kumra, Jan
Magnusson, and Boel Billgren.
Driving force
Staffan Lindberg is continuing as acting co-ordinator on a part time
basis, but Jan Magnusson has taken leave to work with his doctoral thesis,
so Lisbeth Andersson, doctoral student from the department of History
of Religions, is replacing him as acting part time program secretary.
Boel Billgren at the International Office is co-ordinating the organisational
efforts.
Interim reference group
Until the board has been fully established by the middle of 2001, our
work is being monitored by a reference group consisting of Tomas Kjellqvist
and Jan Essner (Sida), Gunnar Jacks (Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm),
Bo S Lindblad (ICHAR, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm), Gunilla Gren-Eklund
(Indology, Uppsala), Hans Blomkvist (Dept. of Government, Uppsala),
Björn Hettne and Bent Jörgensen (PADRIGU, Göteborg),
Kjell Härenstam (Karlstad), and Pamela G. Price (History, Oslo).
More news to come
You will soon get new newsletters and reminders from us. We welcome
information on South Asian studies of all kinds. Help us spread information
about important events, courses, new programs, etc!
Distribution list
With this letter we are also testing our new distribution list for SASNETSWEDEN,
which at present contains 309 e-mail addresses. If you know of anybody
who is not on the list but would like to get it, please ask her/him
to e-mail us. If you do not want to get information from SASNET, please
mail us back and tell us so that we can remove you from our list.
All the best
Staffan Lindberg
Co-ordinator
Our office is now manned weekdays in the afternoon between 13-17, and
open to visitors between 13-14. You are welcome to call us then, but
we prefer e-mail communication.