SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Newsletter 12:

8 January 2002

SASNET News:

• SASNET board meeting on 24 January
The SASNET board will hold its second meeting in Lund on Thursday 24 January, 2002, 13.00–17.00. Venue: Department of Sociology, Paradisgatan 5, House G, Conference Room 1, third floor.

• Decisions on Planning grants
The same day, 24 January, 2002, the reference group for the second distribution of SASNET Planing grants will meet in the morning and make their decisions.

• The workshop on global networking
The final discussion round at the last day of SASNET´s workshop on global networking in August, 2001, a discussion which summed up the whole workshop, is now transcribed and available on the SASNET gateway. Go straight to it.

• Next SASNET Open House seminar will be held at Lund University on Monday 4 February 2002, 14.00–16.00, with Mr Shahid A Kamal, Pakistan ambassador to Sweden, as invited guest. Mr Kamal will lead a seminar on ”Possible themes for Pakistan–Sweden co-operation in the fields of research and education”, at the Dept of Sociology, Paradisgatan 5, House G, conference room 1. An introduction about higher education and research in Sweden that might be of relevance to future research co-operation, is given by SASNET director Staffan Lindberg.

• A public lecture by Mr Shahid A Kamal, on ”The conflict in Afghanistan, and the Pakistan–India relations”, is arranged in Lund the same day (Monday 4 February), in collaboration with the Lund Association of Foreign Affairs. The lecture starts at 19.30. Venue: Edens hörsal, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Paradisgatan 5. More information.

• SASNET symposium for PhD candidates and post-docs
SASNET is planning for a symposium for Swedish PhD students and post-docs dealing with South Asian studies, to be held in October, 2002, most probably in Göteborg. A group consisting of PhD candidates from different disciplines in Lund are making preparatory work for the symposium along with the SASNET root node, but PhD candidates and post-docs from all Swedish universities are invited to take part in the work. More information.

• Master’s Program in South Asian Studies at Öresund University
Discussions are progressing between representatives of the Universities in Lund, Copenhagen and Roskilde on how to realize a common Masters programme on South Asian studies – in which SASNET is involved through the so called Ørsa project. A meeting was held at the Asian Institute in Copenhagen on 11 December, in which the participants concluded that the efforts shall continue, not the least to ensure that the intended programme gets standardised – valid on both sides of Öresund.

Community News

• Palme Linnaeus International Exchange Programme
New applications for the Palme Linnaeus programme (the Swedish exchange programme for teachers and students at undergraduate and master's level of higher education, which at strengthening co-operation between institutions of higher education in Sweden and developing countries) for the contract period 1 July, 2002 – 30 June, 2003, have to be delivered to the International Office or equivalent authority at the local Swedish university not later than 1 February, 2002. More information from The International Programme Office for Education and Training, which decides upon the grants.

• NIAS Travel Grants 2002
NIAS, Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, in Copenhagen announces the possibility to apply for Travel grants to Asia in 2002. A maximum of 15 000 DKK is available per project, which should be in one of the following three forms: Conference scholarship; Networking scholarship; or Fieldwork scholarship. Last date for application is 31 January, 2002.

• NIAS invites externally funded researchers
NIAS also offers a chance for externally funded researchers, who should be scholars on contemporary Asia, to apply for a paid sabbatical leave to base themselves at NIAS in Copenhagen, where excellent research facilities are available.

• Environmentalist Anil Agarwal passes away
Anil Agarwal, Chairperson of the New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment, passed
away in Dehradun on 2 January after a prolonged illness. He was the Editor of Down To Earth, India's premier science and environment magazine. More information on CSE:s web page.

• 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. The focus of the articles can be historical, sociological, anthropological and other relevant methodological treatments of South Asian communities (Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsees, Christians and Muslims), their traditions, practices, etc, in their adopted countries. The total length of the article should be approximately between 5 000 and 7 000 words. Last date to submit the article to the editors is 31 August 2002.

• Contributors to Encyclopedia of Modern Asia wanted
Berkshire Reference Works in England is still seeking scholars and other experts who can write articles on a number of topics for the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. The Encyclopedia focuses on social history and cultural and economic issues, as well as ethnicity, women's issues, and current topics such as communications technology and the environment. The are 3,000 entries, in six volumes. Each article will be signed and will include a bibliography for further reading. The encyclopedia will be published by the U S publisher Scribner's in 2003. Those interested in contributing should send a message with information about research and interest, along with a paragraph about position and publications, to June Kim.

Conferences, courses and important lectures:

• Tamil Language Summer School at Pondicherry
A Tamil Language Summer School will again be organised this year, from 15 July to 26 August, 2002, in the Department of Social Sciences at the the French Institute of Pondicherry, India. More information at SASNET home page.

• Seventh International Metropolis Conference
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 conference is organised by IMER (International Migration and Ethnic Relations) programme at Bergen University. More information on the Metropolis Norway 2002 home page.

• Bodies and Voices in Copenhagen
The Triennial Conference of the European Association for Commonwealth Literature and Languages Studies (EACLALS), will be held at the Humanities Faculty of the University of Copenhagen on 21-27 March 2002. The conference has the theme ”Bodies and Voices” and will will focus on the body and voice cultures of the post-colonial world, including South Asia. A main feature of the conference will be a Writers' Festival held at a number of unique venues throughout the city of Copenhagen.

• Brittish Association for South Asian Studies invites for its annual conference at Lancaster, U K, on 15–17 April 2002. More information (as a pdf-file)

• The 8th Himalayan Languages Symposium will take place at the University of Berne in Switzerland, 19-22 September, 2002. The symposium will be hosted by the Institute of Linguistics, Section of Comparative Linguistics, and its director, Prof. Roland Bielmeier. The symposium brings together scholars working on languages and language communities of the greater Himalayan region, i e north-western and north-eastern India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Tibetan plateau; northern Burma and Sichuan; and Nuristan, Baltistan and the Burushaski-speaking area in the west. Abstracts for presentations from all fields of linguistics are invited.

Valuable reading

• Asger Christensen on Afghanistan
The Danish anthropologist Asger Christensen, who has worked for many years in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), wrote already in 1994 a report on the prospects for reconstruction of Afghanistan. One part of this report deals with the ethnic diversity of the country, and is republished in the latest issue of NIAS-nytt, no 4/2001. Read the article, ”Afghanistan – can the fragments be put together again?”.

• Göran Djurfeldt on feeding the World population
The sociologist Göran Djurfeldt, at Lund University, has written a book in Swedish, ”Mera Mat – Att brödföda en befolkning” on the uneven distribution of food, and what measures ought to be taken in order to ensure enough food for a growing World population in the future. More information on the book from the publishers, Arkiv.

New and changed items on the SASNET gateway

• Manohar Book Services in India distributes literature on Afghanistan, valuable for research. A comprehensive list of such books is listed here. We also give some general information on Manohar´s services. More information.

• Additions to the Library guide
• ELDIS – the Gateway jointly funded by Danida (Danish International Development Assistance) and Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), and hosted by the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK. A site that offers an easy route to the latest information on international development and environmental issues.
•Queen Elisabeth House, at the University of Oxford's centre for Development Studies. It offers access to all their Catalogued Working papers back to 1997.
• The Centre for Geopolitical Drug studies in Paris, which publishes regular reports on the drugs situation in countries around the World. Information available for Afghanistan; India; and Nepal.

 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