• Contact journey to four South Asian
countries concluded SASNET’s director, Professor Staffan Lindberg, and the
deputy director/webmaster Lars Eklund have now completed their month-long
contact tour to East and North-East India (Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Patna,
Siliguri, Guwahati and Shillong); Bangladesh (Dhaka, Savar, Chittagong,
Rajshahi and Sylhet); Bhutan (Phuntsholing, Thimphu and Paro); and Nepal
(Kathmandu). They visited a large number of universities and research
institutions in the region and had fruitful meetings with vice-chancellors,
researchers, teachers and students everywhere. The aim of the journey
has been to spread information about SASNET and higher institutions of
learning in Sweden, and at the same time promote researcher cooperation
and student exchange. Full reports will soon appear on SASNET’s
web site. Go for the contact journey report.
• SASNET lecture on health professionals
and sex ratio in India Professor Tulsi Patel from the Department of Sociology, Delhi
School of Economics, University of Delhi, holds a SASNET lecture at Lund
University on Tuesday 31 January 2005, 13.15-15.00. She will lecture on
”Health Professionals, New Reproductive Technologies and Sex
ratio in India”. Professor Patel is a well-known scholar doing
research on gender, population and sustainable development in India, including
the issues of female foeticide and missing girls. She is currently holding
the India Studies Chair at the South Asia Institute/Dept. of Anthropology
at Heidelberg University, Germany. The open lecture is arranged by SASNET
in collaboration with the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies
(ACE) at Lund University. Venue: Conference room, ACE, Scheelevägen
15 D, Lund (Ideon, Alfa 1 building). More information
(as a pdf-file)
• SASNET board meeting on 14 February SASNET’s board will have its first 2006 meeting in Lund on
Tuesday 14 February 2006. The main issue will be to plan for the activities
of the network during the period 2006–2008. On the same day SASNET’s
planning grants reference group will meet in the morning, and decide upon
the 19 applications that were received for the second round of SASNET
planning grants 2005. Total amount applied for is 1.61 Million SEK, whereas
the amount available to distribute is approximately 475.000 SEK. More
information.
• Applications for the next round ofSASNET
planning grants are now invited. Closing date for applications is
15 June 2006. More information.
Research Community
News
• Doctoral dissertation on archaeological
finds in southern Sri Lanka Raj
Somadeva, Section for African and Comparative
Archaeology at the Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala
University, will defend his doctoral thesis on ”Urban Origins
in Southern Sri Lanka” on Wednesday 25 January 2006, 10.00.
The study focuses upon the development of urbanisation in southern Sri
Lanka during the proto, early and late historical periods c. 900 BC onwards,
and confirms the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa historical chronicles compiled
c.400-500 A.D in showing that the southern semi-arid zones of Sri Lanka
have maintained a distinct socio-political character throughout Sri Lankan
history. Faculty opponent will be Dr Sunil Gupta, Director for the Indian
Ocean Research Centre in New Delhi, India. Venue: Geijersalen, Hus 6,
Engelska Parken, Thunbergsvägen 6, Uppsala. More
information with abstract.
• Åsa Hole defended thesis on
Gujarati Hindu Women in the Diaspora Åsa Hole from the Dept. of Cultural
Anthropology and Ethnology, Uppsala University, defended her doctoral
dissertation on ”Neither Here – Nor There. An Anthropological
Study of Gujarati Hindu Women in the Diaspora” on Thursday
15 December 2005. Hole focuses mainly on the aspects of identity that
are found in gender discourse (women’s roles) and the diaspora discourse
among Gujarati Hindu women in Coventry, Britain, and Mariestad, Sweden.
Faculty opponent was Dr. Frank Korom from Boston University, USA. Venue:
Geijersalen, Engelska Parken, House 6, Uppsala. More
information with abstract.
• Doctoral dissertation on Indigenous
People's Development in Kerala Darley Jose Kjosavik from the Department of International Environment
and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences defended
her PhD thesis titled ”In the Intersection of Class and Indigeneity:
The political Economy of Indigenous People's Development in Kerala, India”,
on Saturday 3 December 2005. Kjosavik originally comes from Kerala, and
her resarch focuses on property rights dynamics and the effects of decentralised
and neoliberal development for indigenous communities in highland Kerala.
Besides the thesis she has also written a couple of publications together
with Dr. N. Shanmugaratnam at the same department, papers that will be
published during 2006. Read abstract of
Kjosavik’s thesis (as a pdf-file).
• Report from the Second South Asia
Sociology Workshop (SAW II) in Surajkund The Second South Asia Sociology Workshop (SAW II) took place
in Surajkund, India, 22–23 December 2005. It was the second meeting
of South Asian sociologists within a year made possible through a Planning
Grant from SASNET, and it was organised by the Indian Sociological Society
through Prof. Ravinder Kaur and Prof. Partha Mukherji. SASNET’s
Director, Prof. Staffan Lindberg, was present in the workshop along with
sociologists from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Read Staffan’s
report from SAW II.
• AHRB Centre for Asian and African
Literatures closed down After
five years of activities the AHRB Centre for Asian and African Literatures,
located at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University
of London, UK, finally closes down on 20 January 2006. The Centre has
had a wide and sustained impact on comparative literature/culture studies
in the UK and beyond, achieved through the interactions of over 600 scholars
(including a large number of PhD students) in the research meetings of
the Centre’s projects, the support of 37 PhD students on fieldwork
grants, and through publications. SOAS will keep the Centre website alive
as an archive open to the public.
Go for the Centre for Asian and African Literatures web site. It is
also possible to see details of all publications that have arisen from
the Centre's eight research projects at the following link. Go
for the list of research projects (as a Word document).
•
Call for papers to The 19th European Conference on Modern South Asian
Studies The First Call for Papers has now been published for the 19th
European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS) to be held
27–30 June 2006 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Go
for the First Call (as a pdf-file). A list of the 47 panels approved
for the conference is also available. Deadline for sending abstracts is 1 March 2006,
and a limited number of travel grants will be available for paper presenters
and/or panel organizers from developing countries. The conference will
be held in Leiden University’s Lipsius Building at Cleveringaplaats
1. More information on
the conference web site.
• Database on European Studies on India
now published A database on European Studies on India in the humanities and
the social sciences called ESIND – the European Studies on India
Database has been developed by the Research
Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap, Ghent University, Belgium.
ESIND currently includes data of nearly 1200 scholars within the 25 countries
of the European Union that are engaged in research on India. It offers
an invaluable source to facilitate collaboration and the creation of networks
among European institutions, scholars and students of India. The database,
updated once every month, is freely accessible to all on the Research
Centre's website. Any inquiries, comments and changes should be sent to
Raf Gelders. Go for the ESIND
database.
• India and Sweden signed an agreement
on cooperation in science and technology In December 2005 India and Sweden signed an agreement on cooperation
in science and technology, which seeks to give a major thrust to promote
joint research in frontier areas such as information technology, and biotechnology,
as also environment-related technologies. A memorandum of understanding
was signed by Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, and his Swedish
counterpart, Leif Pagrotsky, in Stockholm. The pact provides for facilitating
industrial research and development and promoting academic exchanges.
More
information.
•
WHO published a report on Violence Against Women The World Health Organisation WHO published a report on Violence
Against Women on Monday 23 November 2005. The report, titled ”Multi-country
Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Initial results
on prevalence, health outcomes and women's responses” presents initial
results based on interviews with 24 000 women in 19 countries around the
Globe by carefully trained interviewers. The study was implemented by
WHO, in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
(LSHTM), PATH, USA, research institutions and women's organizations in
the participating countries. The Swedish Development Cooperation Agency,
Sida, has supported the project from the beginning, and Prof. Lars-Åke
Persson, International Maternal and Child Health
(IMCH), Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala
University, has been responsible for the research work made in Bangladesh.
More
information with links to the full report.
• Nordic Centre in India presents new
web page
Since the office of NCI, the Nordic Centre in India consortium, moved
from Oslo to Uppsala in 2005 a new web page has now been estaslished,
giving full details about the courses arranged by NCI, its flat in New
Delhi, etc. Go for the new NCI web page.
• Millsaps College in Mississippi looking
for a sociologistspecializing in the study of South
Asia The Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Millsaps College,
Jackson, Mississippi, USA, seeks to hire a sociologist specializing in
the study of South Asia and/or the South Asian diaspora for a one-year
appointment, as a visiting assistant professor. The person in this position
will be expected to contribute to a department that is already committed
to a strong global focus. The department includes a sociologist with research
interests in China, and a scholar with a specialty in South Asia and/or
South Asians in the U.S. will help to augment the department’s existing
focus on the sociology of Asia and Asians in America. The department,
at a selective liberal arts college with a strong commitment to undergraduate
teaching, hopes that the person hired in this position will contribute
significantly to the ultimate goal of establishing an interdisciplinary
program in South Asian Studies. More information
(as a pdf-file)
• Canadian scholarships offered for
research on alternative transport fuels in India Applications are invited for two doctoral research scholarships,
available from May 2006, one at McGill University in Canada, and the other
at The University of British Columbia, for policy-focused research related
to alternative transport fuels in India. The doctoral research will be
conducted as part of a research programme focused on compressed natural
gas as a transport fuel in India. The research programme is funded by
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and is
led by Dr. Madhav G. Badami, School of Urban Planning and McGill School
of Environment, McGill University, Dr. Milind Kandlikar, Institute of
Asian Research and Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British
Columbia (UBC), and Dr. Geetam Tiwari, Transportation Research and Injury
Prevention Programme, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Deadline
for applications is 15 February 2006. More
information.
Educational News
• Time to apply for the Masters programme
in Asian Studies in Lund A
60 credits (three semesters) Masters Programme (”Magisterutbildning
med bredd”) in Asian Studieshas been successfully run at
Lund University since the Fall 2003. It focuses on the rapid development
of Asian societies over the last decades, and looks specifically at major
contemporary issues confronting the region, its governments and its peoples.
The programme is multi-disciplinary and addresses a broad range of topics
such as economic development, social change, the dynamic tension between
tradition and transformation, and the problems of migration and urbanisation,
among others, both from chronological and thematic perspectives. The programme
is divided into two tracks, one for East and South East Asian studies,
and one for South Asian studies, and is administered by the Centre for
East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE) at Lund University. The first
group completed their programme in December 2004. Last date for application
for the 2006-2008 session is January 29, 2006. More
information.
• NCI offers full semester program for
Nordic students in Hyderabad The
Nordic Centre in India again organises a full semester program for Nordic
students at the University of Hyderabad in the Fall 2006. The Nordic Centre
has made an arrangement with the University of Hyderabad and its Study
India Program (SIP) to allow 15 Nordic students to be admitted there,
and to take courses on various social science and humanities subjects.
In most cases these should count towards degrees accepted at home. The
Hyderabad semester last from third week of July to first week of December
and from first week of January to first week of May. Students who are
applying for the coming semester (i.e. autumn 2006), are advised to arrive
in Hyderabad about July 15. Application deadline is 15 March 2006. More
information.
• NCI summer course on
'Contemporary India' in Hyderabad For the fourth time the course 'Contemporary India' will be
held in the Summer 2006 at the University of Hyderabad, in collaboration
with the Nordic Centre in India. The course, running 4–29 July 2006,
is tailor-made for Nordic students and introduces issues of politics,
culture and economy. It consists of the following five parts: •
Introductory course: The diversity of India: • The political system
and questions of identity: • Globalisation and the economy focusing
on the city of Hyderabad: • Development, environment and human rights:
and • Indian literature and cinema. The students coming from most
Nordic countries (and universities that are members of the Nordic Centre
in India) are given board and lodging in an excellent guest house. Application
deadline: 1 March 2006. More
information.
• Tamil Summer School in
Pondicherry
The Faculty of Linguistics of Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and
Culture (PILC) invites for a Tamil Summer School 10 July–19 August
2005. The Tamil Summer School is an intensive six-week course in spoken
Tamil. It was initiated in 1998 by the Department of Social Sciences,
French Institute, Pondicherry to offer training to language researchers
in Humanities and Social sciences. PILC has been organising this course
since 2004. The TSS focuses on Spoken Tamil rather than on the classical
and written forms being taught in European Universities. Two levels of
spoken Tamil courses are offered: Basic and Intermediate. Enrolment starts
on 1 March 2006 and registration will be closed on the 28 April 2006.
More information (as a pdf-file).
• 10th Summer Program in Punjab
Studies in Chandigarh
The 10th Summer Program in Punjab Studieswill be held at Chandigarh,
India, 2 July – 12 August 2006. The program, open to both graduate
and undergraduate students, provides six weeks of instruction in Punjab
Studies. The work includes the learning of Punjabi (50 hours), and history
and culture of the region (90 hours). The goal of the program is to impart
substantial academic information about the history and culture of the
region and provide an environment for discussion and exploration. Application
deadline is 3 March 2006, and the selection process will be completed
by 20 March. More
information.
Conferences and courses
• Nordic workshop on “War and
Peace in Sri Lanka in Uppsala A Nordic workshop on “War and Peace in Sri Lanka”
will be held in Uppsala, 26–27 January 2006. The workshop is organised
by the Dept. of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, and is
open for for scholars in the Nordic research environments. The aim is
to bring together scholars working on issues related to the violent and
longstanding conflict in Sri Lanka. For more information contact Dr. Kristine
Höglund.
• New Delhi conference on groundwater
for sustainable development An International conference on ”Groundwater for sustainable
development. Problems, Perspectives and Challenges” is held in New
Delhi, India, 1–4 February 2006. The so-called IGC 2006 conference
is organised by the Indian National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad;
the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi; Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi; and the International Groundwater
Arsenic Research Group at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden.
The goal of the conference is to provide a platform bringing together
earth scientists, professionals from chemical and engineering science
disciplines, public health professionals and social scientists involved
with the sustainable development of groundwater resources. More
information.
• International Education Meet (IEM)
2006 to be held in Kochi, Kerala The International Education Meet (IEM) 2006, a platform to
reposition the Higher Education sector of the Indian state of Kerala,
is taking place 4–7 February 2006. It will be attended by reputed
academic institutions, universities, educationalists and experts from
around the globe. The main core theme to be discussed during the four-day
conference is Excellence in Higher Education for Social Justice and Economic
Development. IEM 2006 will also act as a common meeting place for institutions
and individuals involved in higher education drawn from India as well
as abroad. The meet will help the domestic institutions to establish
global networks and alliances with international players and provide
an opportunity to show case Kerala as an International destination for
higher education. Venue: International Convention Centre, Le Meridien,
Kochi, Kerala.
• Two-day workshop
on trade and environmental justice at Lund University The Human Ecology Division at Lund University arranges an International
two-day workshop on the topic of ”Trade and Environmental Justice”,
15–16 February 2006. The objective is to discuss and compare
different non-monetary measures of commodity flows, such as ecological
footprints, eMergy, material flow analysis, and exchange of embodied labor,
in relation to overarching issues of political ecology, ecologically ”unequal”
exchange, ecological distribution conflicts, and environmental load displacement.
Scandinavian as well as international researchers will discuss different
aspects of Trade and Environmental justice. Among invited participants
are Joan Martinez Alier, Roldan Muradian and Simron Jit Singh Simron Jit
Singh, University of Vienna, Austria (who defended his dissertation on
”In the Sea of Influence: A World System Perspective of the Nicobar
Islands” at Lund University in December 2003). Researchers, PhD
students, undergraduate students and other interested are welcome to participate.
Venue: LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies), Lund,
Geocentrum 1, Sölvegatan 10, 1st floor, Room “Världen”.
More information.
•
21st Annual South Asia Conference at the University of California The 21st Annual South Asia Conference at the University of California,
Berkeley, is arranged 17–18 February 2006. The conference is organised
by the university’s Center for South Asian Studies and will include
panels on contemporary or historical topics in fields such as anthropology,
political science, history, economics, and development studies, literature
and language, history of art and architecture, geography, environmental
management and health, film and communications, and religious and cultural
studies.
• New Delhi conference on Gandhi and
the freedom movement A conference on ”Rethinking the National Legacy: Gandhi
and the Freedom Movement” is held in New Delhi20–21
February 2006. It is organised by the Centre for Gandhian Studies at Jamia
Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. The aim of the conference is to
examine Mahatma Gandhi’s role and leadership of the national movement
– in particular, how he responded to the marginalised in and since
the late 1920’s; and the legacy of Gandhi and what this means for
contemporary politics in India. More
information.
• Wounded history and social healing
theme for New Delhi conference A conference on ”Wounded History and Social Healing: The
South Asian Experience” is held in New Delhi 23–25 February
2006. The conference is jointly organised by the Developing
Countries Research Centre at the University of Delhi, and Vidyajyoti
College of Theology. It is a follow-up event of a two day seminar titled
”Wounded History: Religion, Conflict, Psyche and Social Healing”
held in March 2004. Papers for the Conference should focus on explanations
of conflict situations in South Asia and analysis of their social, philosophical,
psychological impacts in the context of their being hindrances in the
path of peaceful coexistence; peace initiatives, movements, organizations,
or philosophies, cultural heritages, knowledge systems, and popular practices
having potentials to help bring about peace and reconciliation. Venue:
Convention Hall, University of Delhi, Delhi.
• Copenhagen conference on power, politics
and change in weak states A conference on Power, Politics and Change in Weak States is
held in Copenhagen, 1–2 March 2006. It is hosted
by Danida and the GEPPA research network(a research network for governance, economic policy and public
administration at the Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS).
The two-day conference provides an opportunity of interchange between
practitioners and researchers in the development community on experiences
and lessons learnt regarding power realities in weak states, and how development
practitioners can make use of knowledge about power, politics and change
processes in their daily work. It builds on previous events discussing
outside assistance to fragile states, notably the London conference held
in January 2005. Venue for the conference: Schaeffergaarden, Jægersborg
Allé 166, Gentofte, Denmark. More
information (as a pdf-file)
• Calcutta University conference on
environment, livelihood and development in South Asia An
International, interdisciplinary seminar on ”Environment, Livelihood
and Development in South Asia: Historical Probing in a comparative framework”
will be held at Calcutta University, Kolkata, India, 6–8 March 2006.
The seminar is organised as a part of the Post-centenary Golden Jubilee
Celebration (150 years) of the University of Calcutta (along with the
universities of Madras and Mumbai) beginning from January 2006 onwards,
as it has been decided to hold several academic programmes in the University
throughout the whole year of 2006-07. Scholars from many countries have
been invited to participate and present papers in the seminar. Among them
are the Swedish researchers Gunnel Cederlöf, Maria Ågren, Mirja
Juntunen, Beppe Karlsson, Hans Blomkvist and Emil Uddhammar, all from
Uppsala University that is involved in a formal collaboration project
with Calcutta University. More information
(as a pdf-file)
• Cambridge workshop on peace, security
and sustainability A workshop on ”Peace, Security and Sustainability: Exploring
Ethics in Development” is held in Cambridge, UK, 27–28 March
2006. It aims to bring together discussions on issues related to conflict
and development and conflict and human security issues on the one hand,
the potential role of environmental resources in triggering or exacerbating
conflicts on the other hand. The workshop is a collaborative effort of
the Development Studies Association (DSA) in Cambridge, the Capability
and Sustainability Centre at the St Edmond’s College, and the Centre
for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey. Venue: St Edmund's
College, Cambridge.
• Varanasi seminar on good governance
and peaceful civil society The Gandhian Institute of Studies in Varanasi, India, is organizing
a two-day seminar on ”Good Governance and Development Towards Building
A Peaceful Civil Society” towards the end of March,
2006. It will have sub-themes of (i) Re-Engineering of Civil Society and
Role of State, (ii) Development and Social Peace: Problems and Prospects,
(iii) Good Governance: Strategy and Initiative for Development and Social
Peace, (iv) Political and Social Movements Towards Building Civil Society,
and (v) Networking and Cooperation among Development Partners for Peace.
More information from the Director of the Gandian Institute, Dr.
Dipak Malik.
• Lund conference on education and learning
for sustainable development Föreningen Vetenskap för Hållbar Utveckling,
VHU (Association of Swedish Researchers for Sustainable Development) holds
a conference at Lund University, 30–31 March 2006. The conference
focuses on “Education and Learning for Sustainable Development”,
and is jointly organised by VHU, Region Skåne, the Swedish Council
for Sustainable Development (Hållbarhetsrådet) and the three
universities and university colleges of Lund, Malmö and Kristianstad.
It is open for researchers, teachers and decision makers within the universities,
but also for people working with sustainable development in the public
and private sectors, and NGO’s. In order to participate please register
to Mikael Backman before
15 February 2006. More information
(in Swedish only).
• Professor Zoya Hasan holds the 2006
BASAS Nirman Foundation lecture The
British Association for South Asian Studies, BASAS, holds its Annual Conference
2006at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, on
19–21 April 2006. 14 panels have been selected, reflecting a diversity
of disciplinary approaches and themes. Scholars, commentators and experts
on South Asia are invited to submit papers. The Annual BASAS Nirman Foundation
Lecture will be delivered at the conference by Professor Zoya Hasan (Professor
of Political Science, Centre for Political Studies, and Director of the
Women’s Studies Program, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi).
Topic to be announced later. Deadline for registration is 24 March 2006.
Venue: Birkbeck College, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London. More
information.
• Manchester conference on alternative
futures and popular protest Manchester Metropolitan University in UK organises the 11th
conference on ”Alternative Futures and Popular Protest”, 19–21
April 2006. The 2006 conference focuses on ”Social Movements”,
and the aim is to explore the dynamics of popular movements, along with
the ideas which animate their activists and supporters and which contribute
to shaping their fate. Reflecting the inherent cross-disciplinary nature
of the issues, previous participants (from over 40 countries) have come
from such specialisms as sociology, politics, cultural studies, social
psychology, economics, history and geography. Papers are invited,
they should address issues like • contemporary and historical social
movements and popular protests; • social movement theory •
utopias and experiments, or • ideologies of collective action. To
offer a paper, please contact either of the conference convenors, Colin
Barker at the Dept. of Sociology or Mike
Tyldesley at the Dept. of Politics and Philosophy. Abstracts are due
by 6 February 2006.
• Bangkok conference on education strategies
of Asian countries A three-day conference entitled ”Digital Learning
Asia 2006” organised by the New Delhi based Centre for Science,
Development and Media Studies will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, 25–28
April 2006. It is arranged in conjunction with the major Asian e-government
conference ”Egov Asia 2006”
taking place at the same place. The aim of ”Digital Learning Asia
2006” is to deliberate and learn from the current National ICT
and Education strategies of Asian countries and to understand the recent
trends in e-learning practices. The objective of the conference is to
create a platform for interchange of views among experts, professionals,
researchers and academicians on theoretical and practical aspects
of ICT implementation in education in Asia. Venue: Rama Gardens
Hotel and Resort, Bangkok.
• Södertörn conference on
Orientalism and Postcolonialism A conference on ”From Orientalism to Postcoloniality”
is held at Södertörn University College in Huddinge, south of
Stockholm, 27–30 April 2006. It is organised by the the university
college’s School of Languages and Culture, and includes a workshop
on ”The Religious Other: Postcolonialism and Religious Studies”,
and probably also one on ”Contemporary Indian Fiction in English”.
More information.
• Copenhagen course on the impact of
outsourcing to developing countries A Researcher-training course on ”Globalisation and the
impact of outsourcing on firms, industries and labour in developing countries”
is arranged on Copenhagen 31 May–2 June 2006. The course is jointly
organised by the Centre for Business and Development Studies, Copenhagen
Business School (CBS), and the Dept. of International Development Studies,
Roskilde University. It iso pen to all PhD students. The aim of the course
is to present and discuss selected theoretical approaches to understand
globalisation and the impact of outsourcing on firms, industries and labour
in developing countries, discuss associated methodological issues and
identify strategies and policies at firm, sector, national and international
level. More information (as a pdf-file)
• WIDER organises conference on principles,
policies and performance around aid The World Institute for Development Economics Research of the
United Nations University (UNU-WIDER), based in Helsinki, organises a
conference on ”Aid: Principles, Policies and Performance”
in Helsinki, 16–17 June 2006. The conference is intended for policymakers
and for researchers from the academic, government, and development communities.
It is not suitable for students undertaking an undergraduate or Masters
degree. Applications to participate must be received by 28 February 2006.
More
information.
• 3rd International Conference of Journal
of South Asian Popular Culture The Journal
of South Asian Popular Culture (SAPC) invites to its 3rd International
Conference, to be held at the University of Manchester, UK, 27–28
June 2006. SAPC’s 3rd meeting invites interdisciplinary contributions
from across the different subject disciplines in the arts, humanities
and social sciences to engage with notions of popular culture, defined
in a broad and inclusive way to incorporate lived and textual cultures,
the mass and new media, different ways of life, and discursive modes of
representation. Contributions are invited from academics, postgraduate
students, and from cultural practitioners (film-, radio-, television-,
and web media-makers, artists, arts personnel, cultural activists, fashion
designers, and sexuality campaigners). Deadline for the submission of
abstracts: 28 February 2006. Venue: Centre for Screen Studies in Drama,
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester.
• 13th World Sanskrit Conference to
be held in Edinburgh The 13th World Sanskrit Conference will be held in Edinburgh,
Scotland, 10–14 July 2006. The conference will be organised by the
International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS) and the School of
Asian Studies (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures), University
of Edinburgh. It will operate in 17 parallel sections (with four sessions
running concurrently) organised by scholars specialising in particular
fields. More details will be announced in the 3rd circular (April 2006),
to be distributed solely by e-mail. More
information.
•
Abstracts now welcome for the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm The First Announcement and Call for Abstracts has now been posted
for the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm. Abstracts to be considered
for presentation at the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm are being sought
now and are welcome until February 1, 2006. “Beyond the River
– Sharing Benefits and Responsibilities” is the theme
of the 2006 World Water Week, which takes place August 20-26, 2006,
and will address livelihood improvement, land-based activities within
a river basin, and society’s ability to cope with natural disasters,
among other aspects. More
information.
• Fourth Norwegian Research Conference
on Asia to be held in Ringerike The Fourth Norwegian Research Conference on Asia, NORASIA IV,
will be held at Sundvolden Hotell, Ringerike, 8–10 September 2006.
The main theme for the conference, organized by the Norwegian Network
for Asian Studies, will be ”Legal Pluralism, Conflicts and Human
Rights in Asia”. Among the organisers are Prof. Pamela Gwynne
Price, Dept. of History, Oslo University, member of SASNET’s board.
More information.
• Birmingham conference on on accelerating
excellence in the built environment The
World Conference on Accelerating Excellence in the Built Environment (WCAEBE)
will be held 2–4 October 2006, in Birmingham, UK. The conference
focuses on strategic leadership, regeneration, innovation and productivity,
and provides the opportunity to bring together industry, government and
experts to share knowledge and to advance international best practice.
WCAEBE 2006 will be hosted by the West Midlands Centre for Constructing
Excellence in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
It is anticipated that the United Nations and the World Bank will participate
in the conference. More
information.
• British Development Studies Association
conference 2006 in Reading The Development Studies Association (DSA) in Great Britain holds
its 2006 Conference in Reading on Saturday 11 November. The theme for
the DSA 2006 conference is “The Private Sector, Poverty Reduction
and International Development”. Jointly organised by the School
of Business and the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, the
conference will be located on the University of Reading’s Whiteknights
Campus. Keynote Speaker is Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under Secretary General
and Director of UN-ECA.
• GADNET organises global conference
together with DAWN in Bangalore The Swedish research network GADNET,
Gender and Development Network, organises a Global conference on ”New
Challenges for Gender Justice fundamentalisms, markets and rights”
in Bangalore, India, 13–15 December 2006. The conference will be
organised in collaboration with the Development Alternatives with Women
for a New era (DAWN), and be held at the Indian Institute of Management
in Bangalore. Keynote speakers include Prof. Naila Kabeer, Institute of
Development Studies, Sussex, UK, and Prof. Björn Hettne, Dept. of
Pace and Development Studies (PADRIGU), Göteborg University. Deadline
for sending abstracts: 10 March 2006.
• Pervez Musharraf lectures in Oslo The
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Norwegian Institute
of International Affairs (NUPI) jointly organises a lecture by H.E. Pervez
Musharraf, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in Oslo on Tuesday
24 January 2005, 12.00–13.00. President Musharraf will talk about
”Pakistan’s Role for Peace and Development in the Region and
Beyond”. Venue: The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Drammensveien 19,
Oslo. People interested to visit the lecture should have notified their
participation to the organisers by sending an e-mail to seminar@nupi.no
no later than 18 January. All attendants must show their ID card. More
information.
• Copenhagen Workshop about the Nordic
Countries and Asia A Workshop about the Nordic Countries and Asia is held in Copenhagen
on Tuesday 24 January 2006. It is organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers
in collaboration with the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, and is titled
”Norden og Asien: Globalisering og partnerskab”. Participation
is by invitation only. More
information (as a pdf-file)
• Gudmar Anéer and Olavi Hemmilä
lecture at India day in Falun Dalarna
University (Högskolan Dalarna) in Falun arranges an India day on
Monday 30 January 2006, 16.30–19.30, as part of the 2006 Multicultural
Year celebration. Professor Gudmar Anéer, Department
of Religion, will lecture on bhakti traditions in Indian religions,
”Kärleken som skulle utplåna kastgränser –
om några bhaktitraditioner i indiska religioner”. Thereafter
Indian students at the university’s Masters programme in Computer
Technology will serve Indian food, and finally Dr. Olavi Hemmilä,
Department of Comparative Literature, will
lecture on Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize medal that was stolen
from the Visva-Bharati museum in Shantiniketan in 2004. The Swedish Nobel
Foundation in an totally unprecedented manner then decided to present
the Indian government replicas of the stolen medal, and these were reinstalled
in May 2005 (more information on this).
Olavi Hemmilä was himself present at the reinstatement ceremony in
Shantiniketan. His lecture (in Swedish) is titled ”Jakten på
den försvunna medaljen”. All are welcome to the open lectures,
but report your participation before 20 January to Anette
Timmerlid, coordinator for multiculture.
• Stockholm seminar on business opportunities
in India and China The
Sweden-China Trade Council and the Sweden-India Business Council jointly
invites to a half-day seminar called ”Gränslösa Affärer:
Kina & Indien”, 21 February 2006, 11.45–18.45. The seminar
will deal with the possibilities that the two largest economic markets
of the World can offer to Swedish companies. Among the lecturers are Michael
Treschow, Svenskt Näringsliv, Ericsson och Electrolux; Klas Eklund,
SEB; and Anders Flodström, Rector, Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH). Venue: Operaterrassen, Karl XII:s Torg, Stockholm. Report your
particpation to info@sctc.se eller sibc@bredband.net
before 14 February. More
information.
South Asia related culture in
Scandinavia
•
Culture award to founder of Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine
Arts A Bharata Natyam dance school called Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution
of Fine Arts was started in 2004 in Huddinge south of Stockholm. The school
is run by Usha Balasundaram, originally from Kerala and trained at the
famous dance institution Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai,
India. Currently the school has 60 students of Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi,
Swedish, Russian, Polish and Brazilian origin. Performances have been
frequent during the past two years in the Stockholm region, most recently
for example at functions organised by the Hindu temple Association in
Stockholm, by Karolinska Institutet, and the Indo-Swedish Association.
In December 2005 Usha Balasundaram was given the 2005 Cultural Award by
Huddinge Municipality for her extraordinary contributions. More
information on Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine Arts.
•
Tribute to Professor Ajaz Anwar in Lahore The Lahore Museum in Pakistan now pays a tribute to Ajaz Anwar,
Professor at the National College of Arts (NCA), exhibiting his watercolour
paintings depicting old Lahore motives, at Tollinton Market in Lahore,
from Thursday 19 January 2006, 11.00. The exhibition is on display in
the newly renovated Tollinton Market, one of the landmark buildings of
Lahore. More information on Prof. Anwar, that
Lars and Staffan met during their contact journey to Pakistan in 2003.
New and updated items on
SASNET web site
• More Swedish departments where research
on South Asia is going on: Constantly added to the list of research environments at Swedish universities,
presented by SASNET. The full list now includes 152 departments! Go
to the presentation page
• 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. Many new items added, especially on Pakistan, India, and the South
Asia region.
• New books on South Asia academic issues
by Scandinavian authors
Several new items added, including books by Gunnel Cederlöf, Bengt
G Karlsson and Karen Valentin. http://www.sasnet.lu.se/newbooks.html
• Important South Asia research Institutions
around the World
SASNET links up with hundreds of universities and research centres focused
on South Asia related reserach. Go to our links page, that is constantly
added with new institutions, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/links.html.
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 D, S-223 70 Lund, Sweden Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 1 (first floor,
room no. 2040), 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
SASNET - Swedish South Asian Studies Network/Lund
University
Address: Scheelevägen 15 D, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Phone: +46 46 222 73 40
Webmaster: Lars Eklund
Last updated
2010-11-30
SASNET’s board will have its first 2006 meeting in Lund on
Tuesday 14 February 2006. The main issue will be to plan for the activities
of the network during the period 2006–2008. On the same day SASNET’s
planning grants reference group will meet in the morning, and decide upon
the 19 applications that were received for the second round of SASNET
planning grants 2005. Total amount applied for is 1.61 Million SEK, whereas
the amount available to distribute is approximately 475.000 SEK. More
information. 
Raj
Somadeva, Section for African and Comparative
Archaeology at the Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala
University, will defend his doctoral thesis on ”Urban Origins
in Southern Sri Lanka” on Wednesday 25 January 2006, 10.00.
The study focuses upon the development of urbanisation in southern Sri
Lanka during the proto, early and late historical periods c. 900 BC onwards,
and confirms the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa historical chronicles compiled
c.400-500 A.D in showing that the southern semi-arid zones of Sri Lanka
have maintained a distinct socio-political character throughout Sri Lankan
history. Faculty opponent will be Dr Sunil Gupta, Director for the Indian
Ocean Research Centre in New Delhi, India. Venue: Geijersalen, Hus 6,
Engelska Parken, Thunbergsvägen 6, Uppsala. More
information with abstract. 
After
five years of activities the AHRB Centre for Asian and African Literatures,
located at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University
of London, UK, finally closes down on 20 January 2006. The Centre has
had a wide and sustained impact on comparative literature/culture studies
in the UK and beyond, achieved through the interactions of over 600 scholars
(including a large number of PhD students) in the research meetings of
the Centre’s projects, the support of 37 PhD students on fieldwork
grants, and through publications. SOAS will keep the Centre website alive
as an archive open to the public.
Go for the Centre for Asian and African Literatures web site. It is
also possible to see details of all publications that have arisen from
the Centre's eight research projects at the following link. Go
for the list of research projects (as a Word document). 
•
Call for papers to The 19th European Conference on Modern South Asian
Studies
•
WHO published a report on Violence Against Women
A
60 credits (three semesters) Masters Programme (”Magisterutbildning
med bredd”) in Asian Studies has been successfully run at
Lund University since the Fall 2003. It focuses on the rapid development
of Asian societies over the last decades, and looks specifically at major
contemporary issues confronting the region, its governments and its peoples.
The programme is multi-disciplinary and addresses a broad range of topics
such as economic development, social change, the dynamic tension between
tradition and transformation, and the problems of migration and urbanisation,
among others, both from chronological and thematic perspectives. The programme
is divided into two tracks, one for East and South East Asian studies,
and one for South Asian studies, and is administered by the Centre for
East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE) at Lund University. The first
group completed their programme in December 2004. Last date for application
for the 2006-2008 session is January 29, 2006. More
information.
The
Nordic Centre in India again organises a full semester program for Nordic
students at the University of Hyderabad in the Fall 2006. The Nordic Centre
has made an arrangement with the University of Hyderabad and its Study
India Program (SIP) to allow 15 Nordic students to be admitted there,
and to take courses on various social science and humanities subjects.
In most cases these should count towards degrees accepted at home. The
Hyderabad semester last from third week of July to first week of December
and from first week of January to first week of May. Students who are
applying for the coming semester (i.e. autumn 2006), are advised to arrive
in Hyderabad about July 15. Application deadline is 15 March 2006. More
information. 
•
21st Annual South Asia Conference at the University of California
An
International, interdisciplinary seminar on ”Environment, Livelihood
and Development in South Asia: Historical Probing in a comparative framework”
will be held at Calcutta University, Kolkata, India, 6–8 March 2006.
The seminar is organised as a part of the Post-centenary Golden Jubilee
Celebration (150 years) of the University of Calcutta (along with the
universities of Madras and Mumbai) beginning from January 2006 onwards,
as it has been decided to hold several academic programmes in the University
throughout the whole year of 2006-07. Scholars from many countries have
been invited to participate and present papers in the seminar. Among them
are the Swedish researchers Gunnel Cederlöf, Maria Ågren, Mirja
Juntunen, Beppe Karlsson, Hans Blomkvist and Emil Uddhammar, all from
Uppsala University that is involved in a formal collaboration project
with Calcutta University. More information
(as a pdf-file) 
The
British Association for South Asian Studies, BASAS, holds its Annual Conference
2006 at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, on
19–21 April 2006. 14 panels have been selected, reflecting a diversity
of disciplinary approaches and themes. Scholars, commentators and experts
on South Asia are invited to submit papers. The Annual BASAS Nirman Foundation
Lecture will be delivered at the conference by Professor Zoya Hasan (Professor
of Political Science, Centre for Political Studies, and Director of the
Women’s Studies Program, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi).
Topic to be announced later. Deadline for registration is 24 March 2006.
Venue: Birkbeck College, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London. More
information. 
•
Abstracts now welcome for the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm
The
World Conference on Accelerating Excellence in the Built Environment (WCAEBE)
will be held 2–4 October 2006, in Birmingham, UK. The conference
focuses on strategic leadership, regeneration, innovation and productivity,
and provides the opportunity to bring together industry, government and
experts to share knowledge and to advance international best practice.
WCAEBE 2006 will be hosted by the West Midlands Centre for Constructing
Excellence in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
It is anticipated that the United Nations and the World Bank will participate
in the conference. More
information. 
The
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Norwegian Institute
of International Affairs (NUPI) jointly organises a lecture by H.E. Pervez
Musharraf, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in Oslo on Tuesday
24 January 2005, 12.00–13.00. President Musharraf will talk about
”Pakistan’s Role for Peace and Development in the Region and
Beyond”. Venue: The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Drammensveien 19,
Oslo. People interested to visit the lecture should have notified their
participation to the organisers by sending an e-mail to seminar@nupi.no
no later than 18 January. All attendants must show their ID card. More
information.
Dalarna
University (Högskolan Dalarna) in Falun arranges an India day on
Monday 30 January 2006, 16.30–19.30, as part of the 2006 Multicultural
Year celebration. Professor Gudmar Anéer, Department
of Religion, will lecture on bhakti traditions in Indian religions,
”Kärleken som skulle utplåna kastgränser –
om några bhaktitraditioner i indiska religioner”. Thereafter
Indian students at the university’s Masters programme in Computer
Technology will serve Indian food, and finally Dr. Olavi Hemmilä,
Department of Comparative Literature, will
lecture on Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize medal that was stolen
from the Visva-Bharati museum in Shantiniketan in 2004. The Swedish Nobel
Foundation in an totally unprecedented manner then decided to present
the Indian government replicas of the stolen medal, and these were reinstalled
in May 2005 (more information on this).
Olavi Hemmilä was himself present at the reinstatement ceremony in
Shantiniketan. His lecture (in Swedish) is titled ”Jakten på
den försvunna medaljen”. All are welcome to the open lectures,
but report your participation before 20 January to Anette
Timmerlid, coordinator for multiculture. 
The
Sweden-China Trade Council and the Sweden-India Business Council jointly
invites to a half-day seminar called ”Gränslösa Affärer:
Kina & Indien”, 21 February 2006, 11.45–18.45. The seminar
will deal with the possibilities that the two largest economic markets
of the World can offer to Swedish companies. Among the lecturers are Michael
Treschow, Svenskt Näringsliv, Ericsson och Electrolux; Klas Eklund,
SEB; and Anders Flodström, Rector, Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH). Venue: Operaterrassen, Karl XII:s Torg, Stockholm. Report your
particpation to info@sctc.se eller sibc@bredband.net
before 14 February. More
information. 
•
Culture award to founder of Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine
Arts
•
Tribute to Professor Ajaz Anwar in Lahore