SASNET: Newsletter 60

• Time to apply for three forms of SASNET grants
Applications for the next round of SASNET planning grants are now invited. In addition to the existing Networking grants for planning and continued activities in research and education programmes/projects SASNET now introduces two other forms of grants: Interdisciplinary Workshop Grants for organising an interdisciplinary South Asia related research workshop in Sweden or in South Asia; and a Guest Lecture Programme, offering grants for inviting a guest lecturer from South Asia, to give lectures at more than one Swedish university. Closing date for applications is 15 June 2006. More information about the new SASNET grants.

• Well-attended seminar on women in the South Asian export industry
In collaboration with the Association of Foreign Affairs, SASNET organised a seminar on ”Women in the export industry in South Asia – Exploitation or Emancipation?”, in Lund on Wednesday 29 March 2006. Dr. Gunilla Blomqvist from the Dept. of Peace and Development Studies (PADRIGU), Göteborg University, Prof. Staffan Lindberg, SASNET, and the freelance journalist Petter Larsson, Malmö, participated in the well-attended seminar. More information.

• Minutes from SASNET board meeting 14 February 2006
The SASNET Board met on Tuesday 14 February 2006, and decided about the budget for 2006–08, the period for which SASNET recently was granted new funding from Sida and Lund University. The board also approved six new planning grants (information about the selected projects), and decided to announce the position as Director of SASNET for the period 2007–09. New rules concerning planning grants were also set up, and a strategy group to plan for SASNET’s future was formed. The members of the group are Camilla Orjuela, Göteborg University, Jan Magnusson and Rajni Hatti Kaul, Lund University, Bo Lindblad, Karolinska Institutet Medical University, and Gunnel Cederlöf, Uppsala University. Finally the board decided that SASNET will organise a workshop on ”India/South Asia in the internationalisation of Swedish higher education” later this year. Read the minutes from the board meeting.

• SASNET lecture on 18 April about the role of microfinance in fighting rural poverty in Sri Lanka
SASNET arranges a guest lecture with Prof. S. S. Colombage och Dr. Chandrabose from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Sri Lanka Open University, on Tuesday 18 April 2006, 13.15–15.00. They will lecture about ”The role of microfinance in fighting rural poverty in Sri Lanka”. Prof. Colombage is an eminent economist specialised in macro-economic processes in Sri Lanka. Dr. Chandrabose is regional economist specialised in the tea plantation economy. Currently they are engaged in a study of microfinance and rural poverty in Sri Lanka financed by Sida. In this work they cooperate with Associate Professor Alia Ahmad, Dept. of Economics, Lund University. Venue: Conference Room, Centre for East- and South-East Asian Studies, Scheelevägen 15 D, Alfa 1, Lund.

• SASNET lecture on 7 June with Prof. Sucha Singh Gill from Punjabi University, Patiala
SASNET arranges a guest lecture with Prof. Sucha Singh Gill, Punjabi University, Patiala, India, on Wednesday 7 June 2006, 15.15–17.00. He will lecture about ”Marginalised Peasantry Seeking Safe Exit in India in the Era of Globalisation”. Prof. Sucha Singh Gill is professor of Economics at the Punjabi University and is a leading expert on agriculture and rural development. He has written extensively on agricultural economics and change, land reforms, resources mobilisation and farmers movements. In 2001 he authored ”Land Reforms in India, Vol. 6: Intervention for Capitalist Transformation in Punjab and Haryana”. During June 2006 he is a guest researcher at NIAS in Copenhagen and the Department of Sociology, Lund University. Venue: Department of Sociology, Sölvegatan 7, Library, 1st floor, Lund.

• Licentiate thesis on Harappan toy artefacts in Gujarat
Elke Rogersdotter from the Department of Archaeology and Sami Studies, Umeå University, defended her licentiate thesis ”The Forgotten: an Approach on Harappan Toy Artefacts” on 14 March 2006. Faculty opponent was Ass. Prof. Per Cornell, Dept. of Archaeology, Göteborg University. The work is based on a study of toy identified artefacts from the urban, Classical Harappan settlement at Bagasra in Gujarat, India. More information and abstract of the thesis.

• Doctoral dissertation on pain transmission in the spinal cord
Mahinda Don Kommalage from the Unit of Comparative Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, defended his doctoral dissertation on ”Spinal acetylcholine release – Mechanisms and receptor involvement” on 14 October 2005. Faculty opponent was Professor Ernst Brodin, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm. There are two aspect in relevance in the dissertation project. One has been trying to investigate Organophosphate, which is a common agro-poisoning in Sri Lanka, and its involvement in poisoning effect on animals. The other apect of importance has been pain transmission in the spinal cord. More information on the project.

• Karolinska Institutet Medical University signs MoU with Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Karolinska Institutet Medical University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, India, for cooperation in research and education. In the first week of March 2006, a delegation from KI, consisting of the KI President Prof. Harriet Wallberg Henriksson (photo to the left), Prof. Hans Wigzell and Associate Prof. Carani B. Sanjeevi, went to Bangalore, India, to conclude this agreement that covers sharing of knowledge and conducting joint research on infectious diseases, metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
KI and IISc also organized a joint 'Indo-Swedish workshop on Innovations in Life sciences' 4–5 March 2006 on behalf of Vinnova at the IISc campus in Bangalore. This was attended by 25 Swedish experts and 50 Indian experts in the field of Infectious Medicine (HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis), Cardiovascular Medicine and Metabolic diseases. KI's President inaugurated the workshop. More information.

• Time to apply for project grants from Sida/SAREC

Sida's Research Council for Developing Countries (U-landsforskningsrådet) now invites for applications for its 2006 project grants (and doctorate, postdoc, guest research, institutional support, research network) for the period 2007-09. Last date for submitting applications is Friday 21 April 2006. Individual researchers or groups of researchers working at Swedish universities and colleges or other research institutions in Sweden may apply for a grant, as well as Swedish citizens working at Nordic Asian Institute (NIAS) in Copenhagen. Applications are submitted by a web-based application system. More information.

• South Asia related project grants from Sida/SAREC for the period 2006-08
In November 2005 U-landsforskningsrådet decided upon the 2005 grants applications. More than 25 South Asia related research projects received funding for the period 2006-08. Go for SASNET’s list of South Asia related projects.

• Time to apply for Swedish Research Links programme 2006
Applications for the Swedish Research Links programme 2006 are now invited. Swedish Research Links aims to stimulate contacts between Swedish researchers and researchers in selected regions in the Third World, including South Asia. The programme is funded by Sida in Sweden but administered by the Swedish Research Council in collaboration with FAS, Formas and Vinnova. The basic proposal of the proposed programmes is that researchers from mentioned regions/countries together with Swedish partners submit applications for collaboration based on joint research interest. In the Call for Proposals for Swedish Research Links 2006, applications for research co-operation between India and Sweden in the areas of biotechnology, IT and environment (primarily environmental technology) are especially encouraged. These applications should have an innovative approach. Deadline for applications: Thursday 4 May 2006. More information.

• South Asia related Swedish Research Links grants for the period 2006-08
In November 2005 ten South Asia related projects were given Swedish Research Links grants for the period 2006-08. More information.

• Other grants to apply for from the Swedish Research Council
The Swedish Research Council also announces a large number of other grants for projects, postdoctoral fellowships and positions, and junior research positions in all faculties. Deadline for applications is Thursday 25 April 2006. More information on all grants.

• Subscribe for British FCO’s travel advises – or use SASNET’s information
The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) gives advice on safety aspects on travelling to all countries in the World, much more detailed than the recommendations provided by the Swedish Foreign Office. It is possible to subscribe for updated e-mail alerts on the security situation in any given country, directly from the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
However, for your assistance SASNET follows FCO’s shifting recommendations on the situation in the eight South Asian nations, and presents its constantly updated information on our Travel information page. Read the current security alerts regarding travelling in South Asia.

• Academic Network launched to promote European Research related to India
The European Commission has recently launched a new project, the 'Academic Network for European Research related to India' (ANERI). The project aims to strengthen the ties between the European Union and India. It also seeks to promote funding for specific types of India-focused research. The project will be implemented by a team consisting of Dr Willem van der Geest, European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) in Brussels, Dr Kunal Sen, University of East Anglia, UK (economic analyst), and Dr Lawrence Saez, London School of Economics, UK (political analyst). On Wednesday 3 May 2006 Dr. Kunal Sen will visit Lund University, and discuss the further development of ANERI with SASNET’s Director, Prof. Staffan Lindberg. More details about the ANERI project.

• 49 panels approved for the 19th ECMSAS conference in Leiden
The 19th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS) will be held 27–30 June 2006 in Leiden, the Netherlands. A list of the 49 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 keynote lecture, titled ”Is there a South Asia? Beyond Colonial Modernity and its Binaries” will be given by Prof. Sujata Patel of the Sociology Department of the University of Pune, India. On one of the conference days a special roundtable will be held in the framework of the newly established research programme ”Illegal but Licit: Transnational Flows and Permissive Polities in Asia”. The roundtable is organized by Prof. Willem van Schendel (University of Amsterdam and International Institute for Social History) and Dr Sikko Visscher (University of Amsterdam/Asian Studies in Amsterdam). The conference will be held in Leiden University’s Lipsius Building at Cleveringaplaats 1. SASNET will be represented at the conference both by Prof. Staffan Lindberg (chairing panel No. 32 on ”Post Green Revolution Agrarian Transformation in South Asia: Ecology and Peasant Life under Globalization”) and by Lars Eklund. More information on the conference web site.

• 2006 Stockholm Water Prize to Professor Asit K. Biswas
The Indian-Born scientist Professor Asit K. Biswas wins the 2006 Stockholm Water Prize. On 22 March 2006 Biswas, a tireless water proponent who constantly challenges the “status quo“ and who helped foster a critical re-think among United Nations agencies, national governments, professional associations and others about how to improve delivery of water and sanitation services and management of our water resources, was named the 2006 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. He will be given the prize from the hands of HM King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, during the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm, to be held 20–26 August. More information.

• Swedish network for researchers on Peace, Conflict and Development formed in 2005
A Swedish Network of Peace, Conflict and Development Research was formed in 2005, being funded by Sida/SAREC. It is a joint effort of three university departments conducting research on these topics, in Uppsala (Dept. of Peace and Conflict Research), Göteborg (Dept. of Peace and Development Research, PADRIGU, School of Global Studies) and Umeå (Peace and Conflict Studies, Dept. of Political Science). The aim of the network is to support Swedish research on peace and conflict dimensions in developing studies, and to assist Swedish peace researchers in collaboration with researchers in the developing world. Prof. Ashok Swain, Uppsala University, is the coordinator of the network. More information on the network’s web page.

• The Swedish Gender and Development Network organises December 2006 conference in India
GADNET (Gender and Development Network) is another Sida/SAREC funded multidisciplinary national network of Swedish researchers and doctorate students. The network, with specific research interests in gender and development, was formed in April 2004 and is institutionally based at the Centre for Global Gender Studies (CGGS) at Göteborg University. In 2006 GADNET will arrange a Global conference with the theme, ”New Challenges for Gender Justice fundamentalisms, markets and rights”. The conference will be organised in collaboration with the Development Alternatives with Women for a New era (DAWN) on 13–15 December 2006. Initially it was planned to be held at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, but plans have since changed. The exact venue for the conference will be published later. Deadline for sending abstracts is 18 April 2006.

• South Asia courses running at Göteborg University
India Today

During the Spring 2006 the Centre for Asian Studies, CEAS, School for Global Studies, Göteborg University, arranges a 10 credits special course called ”South Asia today”, involving a large number of the South Asia specialists at Göteborg University, including Björn Hettne, Camilla Orjuela, Gunilla Blomquist, Bent Jörgensen, Monica Erwér and Jan Johansson.
CEAS also runs a programme on basic and intermediate level (1–20 credits and 21–40 credits) in Asian studies, which includes teaching on South Asia. During the Spring 2006 a B level 20 credits course (fortsättningskurs) is running.

• Course on India in Literary Fiction at Högskolan Dalarna in the Fall 2006
The Department of Comparative Literature at Högskolan Dalarna, Campus Lugnet in Falun, arranges a 5 credits (7,5 ECTS-credits) graduate course on ”Images of India in Literary Fiction”, with the aim to let the students acquire knowledge about how India has been perceived in literary texts throughout history. It will be held in the Fall 2006, as a half-time distance course. Last date for applications: 15 April 2006.

• International Master of Science program on ICT for Development at Campus IT University in Kista
The Campus IT University in Kista, the joint venture between the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, and Stockholm University, launches a new 80 credits International Master of Science program on ICT for Development from August 2006. It is a two-year program intended for students and professionals who are keen to broaden and deepen their knowledge of business administration and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), its management and applications to the developing world. The program is organised by the Dept. of Computer and Systems Sciences, a part of the IT University in Kista. Deadline for applications (for those not requiring a new visa to Sweden): 15 April 2006.

• Lund University organises courses on Sikhism and Jainism in the Fall 2006
The Indic Religions Division at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, introduces a new 5 credits course on Sikhism in the Fall 2006 . It is the first course on Sikhism at any Scandinavian university, and the teaching will be carried out by Kristina Myrvold, researcher specialised on Sikh studies. The course will run from 6 November 2006 till 18 January 2007. Last date for applications: 15 April 2006.
The Indic Religions Division will also organise a 5 credits course on ”Jainism, Non-violence and Vegetarianism” during the Fall 2006. Last date for applications: 15 April 2006.

• Ljungskile Folkhögskola invites for another India course in the Fall 2006
A new World course (”Världens kurs med Indienresa 2006”) on Justice, Peace and Environment, including a three weeks tour to north India, will be arranged at Ljungskile Folk High school during the period August–December 2005. The tour includes a three weeks stay at the village folk high school Jagriti Vihara in Ranchi, Jharkhand. An information day is arranged at the school in Ljungskile on Saturday 13 May 2006. Those interested to participate in the course will be interviewed on this day. More information.

• One year course on Ecology and Global Solidarity at Nordens Folkhögskola Biskops-Arnö
Biskops Arnö

Nordens Folkhögskola Biskops-Arnö organises another 36 weeks course on Ecology and Global Solidarity from August 2006. This course is arranged every year, and always includes a two months stay in India. The India stay will be in January–February 2007, and the students will study local projects working against the globalisation and for an ecologically and socially sustainable society. Those interested to participate in the course should come to the school in Biskops-Arnö on Sunday 2 April 2006 to be interviewed. More information.

• South Asia course at Österlen folk high school in collaboration with Lund University
A one-year undergraduate social science course on India/South Asia, giving 10 academic points, has been arranged since 2001, in co-operation with the Department of Sociology at Lund University. A new course started in August 2005, with field work in south India during January–April 2006. After an initial common course at Kerala the students visit different places in India and Bangladesh where they make individual field work. The students give regular reports through Internet travel diaries. A new one-year course will start in August 2006. Deadline for applications: 1 May 2006. More information.

• Week-long International conference on Traditional Societies in Baluchistan
The Pakistani Institute for Development Studies and Practices (IDSP-Pakistan) and Shikshantar India conduct a week long International conference, entitled ”Learning and Living with Traditional Societies”, in Quetta, Pakistan, 14–19 April 2006. The conference is an effort to examine diversified aspects of learning in traditional societies and its effects on people. Thinkers, activist, and scholars from neighboring countries and other parts of the world will participate in the conference to share their thoughts and experiences in this context. One of the themes for the conference will be the Balochistan experience of generation and regeneration. Interested individuals and groups are encouraged to register their participation in the conference not later than 8 April 2006.

• BASAS conference held at Birkbeck College in London
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.

• Literary salon with Bangladeshi writer included in Huddinge conference
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”. As part of the conference a Literary Salon will be organised, where one of the participants will be the Bangladeshi writer Dilruba Ara, settled in Lund, Sweden. She will recite from her new novel ”A list of Offences”. More information.

• Researcher Training Course on Postcolonial sexualities to be held in Roskilde
A PhD Researcher Training Course on ”Postcolonial sexualities: Politics and discourses” is held in Roskilde, Denmark, 2–6 May 2006. The course merits 7 ETCS points, and is organized by The Graduate School of International Development Studies, Roskilde University in cooperation with the Research Program on Sexuality, Gender and Society in Africa (run by the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala). One of the teachers will be Tejaswini Niranjana, Director for the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society in Bangalore, India. She will lecture on ”Indian Nationalisms and the Sexuality Question: History and the Present in India and Trinidad”. More information.

• International Workshop in Denmark on Pathogenesis in Helicobacter Infections
The 7th International Workshop on Pathogenesis and Host Response in Helicobacter Infections” is held in Helsingør north of Copenhagen, 1–4 July 2006. It is organised by the European Study Group on Pathogenesis and Immunology in Helicobacter Infections (ESGPIHI), which is affiliated to the European Helicobacter Study Group (EHSG) founded in Copenhagen in 1987. Professor Torkel Wadström, Division of Bacteriology; Department of Medical Microbiology, Dermatology and Infection, Lund University, is one of the two chairmen of ESGPIHI:s executive committee. Venue: LO-skolen Gl. Hellebækvej 70, Helsingør, Denmark.

• 2006 South Asia Anthropologist Group Meeting at Goldsmiths College in London
The 2006 South Asia Anthropologist Group Meeting will be hosted by Goldsmiths College, University of London, 3–4 July 2006. The title of the meeting, hosted by the Anthropology Department of Goldsmiths College, is ”The Future for South Asia: Revolution? Disaster?”. It focuses on what the future of South Asia might look like, given its complex relationship with the past and the often-turbulent present. Papers specifically addressing questions of social change and continuity, temporality, and the ways in which transformation is imagined, experienced and understood, are invited. Papers abstracts should arrive no later than 1 May.

• 6th Asia Europe People's Forum (AEPF) in Helsinki includes South Asian NGOs
The 6th Asia Europe People's Forum (AEPF) will be held in Helsinki, Finland, 3–6 September 2006. The AEPF is a forum for hundreds of non-state and non-corporate NGOs and civil society groups from all European and Asian countries. It aims to bring the voice of the civil society in the official Asia Europe Summit, ASEM (held at the same time in Helsinki, and being a forum that explicitly excludes South Asian nations), and to ”create alternatives to ASEM’s neoliberalistic agenda”. The main themes of the the 6th Asia Europe People’s Forum are: ”Peace and Security”, ”Economic Security and Social Rights”, and ”Democracy and Human Rights”.

• Leiden conference on Culture and Commerce in the Indian Ocean
A conference on ˝Culture and Commerce in the Indian Ocean” is held in Leiden, Netherlands, 25–27 September 2006. It is organised by the Indian Ocean Project, a joint initiative set up by Leiden University and the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. The conference will analyse the historical roots of commerce as well as the new markets of the post-colonial yet globalised era – from spices to Bollywood.

• Nordic conference on New Asian Dynamics in Science, Technology and Innovation
A Nordic conference called ”New Asian Dynamics in Science, Technology and Innovation” will be held in Gilleleje, Denmark, 27–29 September 2006. The aim is to assess Asia's innovative potential and the implications for the Nordic countries and Europe, and it is organised by the Swedish School of Advanced Asia-Pacific Studies (SSAAPS) in cooperation with among others the Copenhagen Business School and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in Copenhagen. Deadline for participation: 15 May 2006. Gilleleje Kursuscenter, Gilleleje (north of Copenhagen). More information.

• International Conference on Radiation Biology in Varanasi
An International Conference on Radiation Biology will be held in Varanasi, India, 20–22 November 2006. It will be the 8th Annual Meeting of the Indian Society of Radiation Biology (ISRB) and at the same time the 5th LOWRAD (Low Radiation) International Conference on Low Dose Radiation Effects on Human Health and Environment. The conference is organised by Prof. Yamini B. Tripathi, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi. For more information, contact Prof. Tripathi.

• Dhaka conference on Gender and Access in South Asia
An International Seminar on “Gender and Access in South Asia”, will be organised by the IUSSP Panel on Gender, and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in November 2006. The seminar will focus on the following aspects of gender inequalities in South Asia: (1) Access to public services such as health care and education; (2) Access to opportunities such as employment and credit; and, (3) Access to Public Institutions and Public Spaces such as political participation and leadership, legal protection, religious institutions and freedom from sexual harassment in accessing public spaces and transportation systems. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 April 2006. More information.

• Montreal conference on Sex, Power and Slavery in the Indian Ocean World
An interdisciplinary conference on ”Sex, Power and Slavery: The Dynamics of Carnal Relations under Enslavement in the Indian Ocean World” (defined as Africa from the Cape to Cairo divide eastwards, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia including the Indonesian Archipelago and Australasia, and the Far East) will take place on the campus of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 19–21 April 2007. The conference is organised by the Centre for Developing-Area Studies (CDAS), the Indian Ocean World Centre (IOWC), and the Department of History at McGill University. Among the themes for the conference are: the sex slave traffic; concubines; eunuchs; rape; enslavement, sex and disease; and sex and enslavement as reflected in traditions, myths and literature. Deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 August 2006. More information.

• Sten Widmalm lectures in Stockholm about the Kashmir conflict
Dr. Sten Widmalm from the Dept. of Government, Uppsala University, will lecture on ”Kashmirkonflikten efter jordbävningen” (the Kashmir conflict after the earthquake) in Stockholm on Wednesday 12 April 2006, 13–15. It is one of the Wednesday lectures arranged by the Centre for Pacific Asian Studies, CPAS, at Stockholm University. Venue for the lecture: B-salen, Dept. for Oriental Langiages, Kräftriket 4 (earlier Roslagsvägen 101), Stockholm.

• Lund seminar on Sida’s Sustainable development policy
AGESI, the Arena for Global Equity and Sustainability Issues, at Lund University, invites to a seminar on ”Swedish International Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development”, on Thursday 20 April 2006, 13.15–15.00. Mats Segnestam, Head of the Environment Policy Division at Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, will give a presentation about the overall goal of SIDA to contribute to making it possible for poor people to improve their living conditions. Sustainable development permeates all Sida's activities. The seminar, organised by Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), will highlight changes in attitudes over the years with regard to environmental aspects of development, as well as the development of approaches and methods within Swedish international development cooperation. Venue: Lund university, Geocentrum I, Sölvegatan 10, Room Världen.

• Uppsala seminar on GAVI and Multi-stakeholder Partnership
The Seminar for Development Studies at Uppsala University invites for a research seminar on”GAVI and Multi-stakeholder Partnership. An analysis of a global health initiative”, on Monday, 24 April 2006, 10–12. Helena Buhr, Dept. of Business Studies at Uppsala University has studied how, since the 1990s, the multi-stakeholder partnership model has proliferated as a new means to promote development, and in cases like this, to improve global health. The term multi-stakeholder partnership refers to formalized collaboration among actors with different forms and functions, such as states, international governmental organizations, NGOs, and commercial firms. Buhr’s study draws on a qualitative analysis of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and demonstrates how ideas of the partnership are spread and eventually transform the very structure of the field. The discussant will be Associate Professor Beth Maina Ahlberg. No registration is required. Venue: Akademihotellet, Övre Slottsgatan 5, room 4, Uppsala. More information.

• Stockholm conference on internationalisation of Swedish companies’ R & D
A conference on the internationalisation of Swedish companies’ research and development, titled ”På spaning efter tillväxt”, is arranged in Stockholm on Wednesday 26 April 2006, 9.00–16.30. It is organised by ITPS, the Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies (a Swedish Government agency for understanding growth and for evaluating government policies). One of the key issues to be discussed is the trend that a large number of multinational companies, including Swedish, choose to locate R&D in connection with their production works in other countries, close to growing arkets or specialised knowledge centres. India has become one such alternative, attracting European companies, and the World Bank consultant Raja M. Mitra will lecture about the new role of India (”Indiens utveckling som global FoU-makt”). Venue: Norra Latin, Drottninggatan 71 B, Stockholm. Registration no later than 20 april 2006.

• Yasmin Mandani lectures at Stockholm University researchers day
The Department of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University, arranges a researchers day with open lectures on Friday 28 April 2006. Lectures wil be given by researchers in all the fields that are covered by the department, from the Middle East to East Asia. PhD candidate Yasmin Mandani (photo to the right) from the Section for Indology will give a 30 minutes introduction to her dissertation project on ”Indian Partition Literature”, starting at 12.15. More information with full programme (as a pdf-file).

• Tejaswini Niranjana lectures at Roskilde seminar on Situating Postcolonial Sexualities
An open one-day seminar titled ”Situating Postcolonial Sexualities” is arranged at Roskilde University, Denmark, on Tuesday 2 May 2006, 09.00-16.00. The seminar will examine sexuality within the discourses of gender, race and ‘modernity’, wedding important elements of the postcolonial project with those of internationalization and ‘development’. Acclaimed scholars from various disciplines, national contexts and research backgrounds will speak from their current projects to give insight into mechanisms of sexual control in diverse contexts. One of the invited speakers is Tejaswini Niranjana from the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society in Bangalore, India. She will lecture about ”Music, Race and Sexuality in Contemporary Trinidad”. Venue: Room 8.1, International Development Studies, Roskilde University. More information (as a pdf-file)

• Classical Indian and Iranian music performed by Ghazal duo on Sweden tour
A duo called Ghazal, consisting of the Indian sitarist Shujaat Khan and the Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor visits Sweden during the period 27 March to 9 April 2006. They have been invited to Sweden Sweden by Rikskonserter, and perform in 10 cities from Kiruna in the north to Malmö in the south. The final performances are in Malmö (Jeriko) on Saturday 8 April, and in Halmstad (Kulturverket Onsjö) on Sunday 9 April.

• Films about India to be screened at 8th Göttingen International Film Festival
Several documentary films about India will be screened at the 8th Göttingen International Film Festival due to take place in Göttingen, Germany, 24–28 May 2006. As before, the film festival is organized by IWF Knowledge and Media Institute, and is open to all filmmakers, but especially those from Anthropology, Sociology, Folklore and neighbouring disciplines. The India related films to be shown are: Hammer and Flame by Vaughan Pilikian, on the maritime graveyards of Northern India where ocean liners are broken down piece by piece in an unending labour using only the simplest tools (Great Britain 2005); The Age of Reason by David MacDougall (Australia 2004); July Boys (From the Coding Culture Series) by Gautam Sonti (India 2006); Final Solution (Part one) by Rakesh Sharma (scene from the film on photo above), documenting the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat (India 2004); and Notes From the Crematorium by R.P. Amudhan (India 2005). Venue: IWF premises, Nonnenstieg 72, Göttingen.

• 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 170 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.

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/coordinator & Lars Eklund, webmaster/deputy director

Back to SASNET

Search the SASNET Web Index

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 2011-04-08

SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

Newsletter 60:

7 April 2006

Best regards,

Staffan Lindberg Lars Eklund

SASNET/ Swedish South Asian Studies Network