SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

Newsletter 76:

Potsdam July 200713 July 2007

SASNET NEWS

Research Community News

Educational News
Conferences and workshops
South Asia related Culture
New and updated information

Previous SASNET Newsletters/Archive

SASNET News

Anna Lindberg• Open letter from the new SASNET Director
Since 1 July 2007, Anna Lindberg is the new SASNET Director. Dr. Lindberg, till recently Assistant Professor at Penn State University in USA, has been appointed Director/Coordinator for SASNET on a 50 % basis from 1 July 2007 to 31 December 2009. Besides working as Director for SASNET, Anna Lindberg will also continue with an ongoing research project on ”Marriage traditions in South India from 1930 to the present”, being affiliated with Lund University’s Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE). The historian Anna Lindberg now succeeds Professor Staffan Lindberg, the driving force behind the creation of the Swedish South Asian Studies Network in the year 2000 and its Director since the formal launch of SASNET in 2001. In an open letter, Anna Lindberg declares her ambitions as Director for SASNET. Read her statement.

• SASNET’s South Asian Reference group meet in New Delhi
On Saturday 3 November 2007, a seminar meeting will be organised in New Delhi for SASNET’s South Asian Reference group, consisting of a number of senior researchers from the region, that closely observe SASNET’s activities and give constructive suggestions to the root node. SASNET’s new Director Anna Lindberg and the Deputy Director Lars Eklund will then meet and discuss with Dr. Rita Afsar, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta, Dept. of Paediatrics, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Dr. Tek Nath Dhakal, Campus Chief of Public Administration Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal; Professor Kumudu Wijewardena, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (SJP), Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Dr. Dipak Malik, Institute of Gandhian Studies, Varanasi, India. The meeting will be held at the Nordic Centre in India (NCI) in Nizamuddin, New Delhi. More information about SASNET’s South Asian Reference group.

• RUC/SASNET joint Seminar on Post-Exotic India
Post-Exotic IndiaThe Graduate School of International Development Studies, Roskilde University Centre (RUC) organises a two-days workshop titled ”Post-Exotic India – a new Narrative in Making?” in collaboration with SASNET on 26-27 September 2007 in Roskilde, Denmark. The seminar is prepared by Dr. Ravinder Kaur and Prof. Laurids Lauridsen from RUC and Prof. Staffan Lindberg, Lund University. The workshop aims to posit and explore the post-exotic India through the following themes: • processes and effects of 1991 economic liberalisation, • emergence of a vocal, mobile and astute middle class, • global ambitions of India, and • its regional implications in South Asia. Invited speakers include Nicholas Dirks, Columbia University, USA; Pritam Singh, Oxford University, UK; Thomas Blom Hansen, Amsterdam University, Netherlands; and Srirupa Roy, Amherst, USA, SSRC New York (TBC). Venue: Roskilde Universiuty Centre, Lille Auditorium. More information (as a pdf-file)
Besides being a workshop open to the public, it will also be an Intensive PhD workshop. The programme is the same with one exception, namely that the second day will end up in a paper presentation seminar – open only to PhD students upon application by July 15th to rkaur@ruc.dk. A maximum of 20 PhD students can participate in the workshop sessions. Each participant must prepare a short paper (no more than five pages), presenting her/his research design and setting, main questions regarding fieldwork and data collection techniques. More information (as a pdf-file)

• More information about SASNET and its activities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/sasnet.html

 

Research Community News

• Anthropological working papers discussed through e-seminars
EASA
The Media Anthropology Network, established in 2004 by the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) has launched a working papers series in order to create a space for discussion and reflection on the anthropology of media. The Network aims to foster the exchange of information and coordinate research and teaching projects on the anthropological study of media. It also hopes to contribute to the theoretical development of this area of anthropological research. Besides posting working papers on the website, a mailing list is used as an informal 'e-seminar' on them, allowing the network to discuss papers over a period of a week after their posting. Go the Media Anthropology Network’ Working Papers web page.
Kerstin Andersson During the period 12–26 June 2007, such an e-seminar was held over a working paper presented by Kerstin Andersson, Dept. of Social Anthropology, Göteborg University. Her paper, titled ”The online Durga”, focusing on the role of new ICT technologies in the creation, formation and maintenance of a Diaspora identity among the Kolkata intellectuals, was commented upon by Dr. Matthijs van den Bos, University of Amsterdam and many others. Follow the e-seminar on ”The online Durga”.

• Inaugural Meeting of Asia-Europe Alumni Networks in Madrid
ASEF
An Inaugural Meeting of Asia-Europe Alumni Networks will be held in Madrid, Spain, 30 August – 1 September 2007. It will be organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) with the support of the Research Unit on International Security and Cooperation (UNISCI) of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the already existing ASEF University Alumni Network (ASEFUAN). The Madrid meeting will be an informal consultation process to derive ideas, reactions and substantive proposals from specially invited high-level representatives of existing bi- or international alumni networks, representing academic exchange programmes with an Asia-Europe dimension. This brainstorming session will be organised with workshops to facilitate an open and free discussion about the formation of a platform for co-operation among various Asia-Europe alumni networks. The meeting precedes the Sixth Annual Conference and General Meeting of the ASEFUAN, also held in Madrid 2–7 September 2007. More information about the ASEFUAN conference.

Shafiqul Sarker• Dissertation about how rotavirus diarrhoea in children can be effectively treated
Dr. Shafiqul Sarker from ICDDR,B (Centre for Health and Population Research) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, defended his doctoral dissertation at Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm, on 12 December 2006. The thesis is titled ”Passive immunotherapy and probiotic agents in enteric infections in children” and deals with diarrhoeal disease, one of the leading causes of global childhood morbidity and mortality throughout the World. Rotavirus and pathogenic Escherichia coli are the most common causes of acute diarrheal illness in children. The thesis presents results how the rotavirus diarrhoea in children can be effectively treated. Dr. Sarker has been involved in a sandwich PhD programme with the Division of of Clinical Immunology, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine at Karolinska Institute since 2001, where he was supervised by Prof. Lennart Hammarström. Read the abstact of the thesis.

• Roots of Democracy in the Himalayas theme for special issue of Sociological Bulletin
Sociological Bulletin, the journal of the Indian Sociological Society, plans for a special issue about ”CFP: Routes and Roots of Democracy in the Himalayas” likely to be published in early 2009. Contributions to this special issue are now invited, and selected contributors will be asked to submit full papers for anonymous peer-review by 30 January 2008. If interested, please e-mail abstracts indicating title, giving author’s name and institutional affiliation by 31 October 2007 to Prof. N. Jayaram, Professor of Scoiology at Goa University, and Dr. Vibha Arora, Assistant Professor in Sociology, Dept of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. More information about the Sociological Bulletin.

• ICAS Book Prize provides an international focus for publications on Asia
The International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize – IBP – is a global competition which provides an international focus for publications on Asia while at the same time increasing their visibility worldwide. The book prizes are awarded for: (1) best study in the humanities; (2) best study in the social sciences. Furthermore there is a prize for the most outstanding PhD dissertation in the field of Asia Studies. Eighty publications and 10 PhD theses were submitted for the latest round (deadline 31 December 2006). They were presented at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) 2007 Meeting held in March in Boston. The deadline for the coming IBP 2009 will be 31 December 2008. More information about the ICAS Book Prize.

• Grim scenario for South Asia according to IPCC Assessment Report
Rajendra PachauriThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is currently finalizing its Fourth Assessment Report "Climate Change 2007", also referred to as AR4. A summary for policy makers was released by the IPCC on 29 April 2007, which calls for urgent action globally. IPCC, chaired by Mr. Rajendra Pachauri (photo to the right), was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1998 to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The fuller final draft version of the Second Working Group of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, which may be watered down before final publication, lays out shocking scenarios for India and the rest of South Asia, including rising sea levels, falling crop productivity and increased mortality due to heat-related factors. This scenario is described in detail by Daphne Wysham, Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, and Smitu Kothari, Director, Intercultural Resources, Delhi and Visiting Professor at Princeton University, USA, in an article titled “Climate change will devastate India”, published in the Hindu 9 April 2007. Read the article.

• More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas by 2008
UNFPAUNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, presented its 2007 State of World Population Report on Wednesday 27 June 2007. UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. It has its headquarters in New York, USA. The theme for the 2007 report is ”Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth”, and deals with the fact that in 2008, for the first time, more than half of the world’s population – 3.3 billion people – will be living in urban areas. This unprecedented shift could enhance development and promote sustainability – or it could deepen poverty and accelerate environmental degradation. Full information about the 2007 Report.
Coinciding with the World Population Day 2007 on July 11th, the World Bank publishes material about ”South Asia Urban Growth – A Challenge and an Opportunity”. It includes an interview with the South Asia Chief Economist Shanta Devarajan, plus reports on Population and Urban Development in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Go for the World Bank South Asia page.

• Finnish Government looks east – towards India, China, Japan and South Korea
The Ministry of Education Government of Finland, has also presented a strategy report regarding the Finnish government’s ambitions regarding collaboration with som selected Asian countries (India, China, Japan and South Korea) in the fields of education, research and culture. The report titled ”Suuntana Aasia/Målet är Asien” was published on 31 May 2007. Among the suggestions given are efforts to improve coordination between different agencies in Finland and to better make use of existing collaboration projects at Nordic and European levels, and also to increase and develop exchange programmes within education and research. Positions as Counsellor for research and culture are further suggested to be set up at the embassies of Finland in both New Delhi and Beijing. The full report is in Finnish, but a summary is available in Swedish. Read the summary.

• More information about South Asia related research at Swedish and Nordic universities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/research.html

 

Educational News

• National Knowledge Commission recommends educational reforms in India
Sam PitrodaThe Indian National Knowledge Commission is a a high-level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, with the objective of transforming India into a knowledge society (more information about the National Knowledge Commission). In an official letter, dated 29 November 2006, its Chairman Sam Pitroda (photo to the right) asks the Prime Minister to work for the establishment of 50 National Universities all over India in order to provide education of the highest standard. Pitroda also appeals for the creation of upto 1,500 new universities in the country, enabling India to attain a gross enrolment ratio of at least 15 per cent by 2015. A change of the system of regulation for higher education is also required, according to the letter, and an increase in public spending and diversification of sources of financing. Reform of the existing universities and promotion of enhanced quality are also pleaded for, and a thorough restructuring of the undergraduate so-called affiliated colleges. Finally Pitroda lists the need for ensuring access to university studies for all deserving students, and affirmative action to ensure that access to education for economically and historically socially underprivileged students is enhanced in a substantially more effective manner. Read the full letter with recommendations from the National Knowledge Commission (as a pdf-file)

• More information about South Asia related education at Swedish and Nordic universities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/education.html

 

Conferences and courses

• Tamil Nadu conference on Technology, Innovation and the Millennium Development Goals
A three-day International Conference on ”Technology, Innovation and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in India” is held in Tiruchirapalli, India, 12–14 July 2007. It is jointly organised by the Bharathidasan University and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris, France. The objective of the conference is to explore technological solutions, organizational routines, social norms and public policy to attain the MDG while facilitating exchange between academics, NGOs, firms, funding agencies and policy makers. It will be the first time in India that a conference is being specifically organized to bring about a dialogue between mainstream academics, NGOs, policy makers and private funding agencies on these issues. More information (as a pdf-file)

• Eighth World Hindi Conference inaugurated today
8th Hindi ConferenceThe Eighth World Hindi Conference is held in New York, USA, 13–15 July 2007. It is being organized in cooperation with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New York. The Conference will deliberate on issues relating to the growth and presence of the Hindi language in the world including teaching of Hindi in foreign countries, use of information technology and necessary measures to increase its popularity. So far seven World Hindi Conferences have been held at Nagpur (India), Port Louis (Mauritius, twice), New Delhi (India), Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), London (UK) and Paramaribo (Surinam). This time the conference is being organized in the Americas where a large number of Non Resident Indians (NRIs) or People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are settled. The conference will be inaugurated at the United Nations headquarters today, 13th July. A large number of distinguished guests and senior dignitaries from various countries are expected to attend the conference along with eminent Hindi scholars, writers and poets from across the globe.

• India/Pakistan Sixtieth Anniversary discussed at Southampton conference
The Hartley Library in UK, which houses the Mountbatten papers, in conjunction with the Centre for the Study of Britain and its Empire at the University of Southampton holds a conference entitled, 'The Independence of India and Pakistan: Sixtieth Anniversary Reflections.' at the Avenue Campus, University of Southampton on 17-20 July 2007. The event will be divided into panel discussion and keynote plenary lectures. Papers will be of 30 minutes duration followed by questions. The following people have agreed to participate: Gyanendra Pandey, Urvashi Butalia, Gurharpal Singh, Akbar S. Ahmed, Joya Chatterji, Victoria Schofield, Sten Widmalm and Sikandar Hayat. More information.

• Hyderabad Workshop on Demand Side Management of Groundwater
An International Learning Workshop on “Demand Side Management of Groundwater” is held in Hyderabad, India, 23 July – 3 August 2007. It is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with Bharathi Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS) and the World Water Institute (WWI). The Learning Workshop will comprise of thematic discussions, group work, presentations, project work and field work. During the field work sessions, participants will be able to interact with farmers, farmers' groups and civil society institutions and experience different processes being used to facilitate demand side management of groundwater. The total number of participants will be 20 and from various countries. More information (as a pdf-file).

Bahadur Zafar Shah• Mutiny at the Margins theme for Edinburgh conference
A conference titled ”‘Mutiny at the Margins’. New Perspectives on the Indian uprising of 1857” will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, 23–26 July 2007. The conference, marking the 150th anniversary of the Indian Uprising will be organised by the Centre for South Asian Studies at University of Edinburgh. The ambition is to bring together British and Indian scholars with an interest in developing new approaches and exploring new perspectives on this seminal event. It is being organised as part of a wider programme of research funded by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) at Edinburgh University in Scotland – one of the premier centres for South Asian studies in the UK. The purpose is to commemorate the 150th anniversary of this event, reinterpret what happened, and to discuss its various legacies. More information.

• 338 panels accepted for the ICAS 5 conference in Kuala Lumpur
ICAS 5The Fifth International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS 5) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysa, 2–5 August 2007. The theme for 2006 ICAS conference is 'Sharing a Future in Asia' , focusing on the fact that even though Asia is often proclaimed as the fastest growing region in the world today, still nearly a billion of its population live in poverty. The conference is organised by the Institute of Occidental Studies (IKON), the Institute of The Malay World and Civilization (ATMA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), University of Leiden, the Netherlands. It will have 338 panels and more than 1500 participants. One of the keynote speakers is India born Prof. Arjun Appadurai, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at New School University in New York, USA. His most recent book is ”Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization” (1996, University of Minnesota Press; 1997, Oxford University Press, Delhi). More information about ICAS 5.

• 2007 World Water Week includes High Level Panel on Climate Change, Water and Vulnerability
World Water WeekThe 2007 World Water Week will take place in in Stockholm 12–18 August. The theme for the 2007 World Water Week will be "Progress and Prospects on Water: Striving for Sustainability in a Changing World." The World Water Week is the leading annual global meeting place for capacity-building, partnership-building and follow-up on the implementation of international processes and programmes in water and development, with large relevance to South Asia. It is filled with plenary sessions, seminars, workshops, side events and special activities. One of the key speakers is Ms. Sunita Narain, Director for the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India. Since the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was recently presented, the 2007 World Water Week willl include a High Level Panel on Climate Change, Water and Vulnerability. Full information about the World Water Week 2007.

• Asia-Europe Colloquium on Governance & Management in Kuala Lumpur
ASEFAn Asia-Europe Colloquium on Governance & Management will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5–6 September 2007. It is organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). The event addresses university leadership and representatives of university associations and networks from all ASEM countries – since 2006 also including India and Pakistan. The event will be organised in partnership with the European University Association (EUA), the Malaysian Vice Chancellors Committee (MVCC) and will be hosted by the Malaysian Open University. The colloquium aims to facilitate dialogue and discussion on key issues of institutional management and governance, in order to enhance exchange and cooperation prospects between Asian and European Higher Education Institutions. More information

• 13th International Association for Ladakh Studies Colloquium in Rome
IALSThe International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS) organises its 13th Colloquium in Rome, Italy, 7–11 September 2007. Only in the last three decades has Ladakh (northwest India) been readily accessible for study, but in that short time it has been the focus of much attention by students in many disciplines. These have been attracted by the interest of its physical situation at high altitude in the rain-shadow of the geologically active Himalaya; by the natural ecology of this rugged desert and the skilful adaptations of pastoralism and agriculture; by the sociology, history and cultural tradition, especially as a surviving example of Tibetan Buddhism; and by the problems presented by modern development and conservation. The first international Colloquium on Ladakh was organised at Konstanz (Germany) in 1981 and eleven more have been organised by IALS since then in various European countries and Ladakh. More information

• London conference on Indian Mass Media and the Politics of Change
SACREDCOW, SOASA one-day conference about ”Indian Mass Media and the Politics of Change” will be held for for Postgraduates & Early Career Researchers at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, on Saturday 13 October 2007. It is jointly organized by Sacredmediacow, an independent student-led research centre on Indian media, and the Centre for Film and Media Studies at SOAS. A significant portion of the activities around the conference will take place on Sacredmediacow’s website. The aim is to include the people talked about when researching Indian media as much as possible in the dialogue and debates through the possibilities allowed by new technologies: by distributing conference material online, by creating an online platform where the questions raised can be debated during the conference and by allowing distance participation as much as possible through teleconferencing, video broadcast and other such means. Venue: Khalili Lecture Theatre. More information.

• First International Sanskrit Computational Linguistics Symposium in Paris
Sanskrit Computational SymposiumThe First International Sanskrit Computational Linguistics Symposium will be held in Paris, 29–31 October 2007. The Workshop will have as main focus standardization issues concerning the inter-operability of the various tools available for the computer processing of Sanskrit texts. It is organised by the Rocquencourt Laboratory of INRIA (French National Institute for Informatics and Automatics) in collaboration with the Department of Sanskrit Studies at University of Hyderabad, India, and the NLP Department of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha at Tirupati. Recently, the three institutions have formed a joint team in Sanskrit Computational Linguistics, that now will hold its first workshop. It has been decided to open the meeting also to outside researchers. More information.

• Stockholm conference on the War in Afghanistan
An International two-day conference on ”the War in Afghanistan. Local, Regional and Global Aspects” will be held in Stockholm, 8–9 November 2007. It is organised by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), and will feature some of the World’s leading authorities on the situation in Afghanistan and the role of its neighbouring countries. In order to participate, please send a mail to seminar@sak.se. The invited speakers include Hanif Atmar, Minister of Education in Afghanistan; Horia Mosadiq, Director of Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium, Kabul; Research Director Svante Cornell, Silk Road Studies Program, Uppsala University; Aziz Rafiee, Director of Afghanistan Civil Society Forum, Kabul; and the well-renowned journalist/writer Ahmed Rashid. Venue: Polstjärnan Konferens, Sveavägen 77, Stockholm. More information (as a pdf-file)

• 3rd International Conference on Gross National Happiness in Bangkok
Gross National HappinessThe 3rd International Conference on Gross National Happiness will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, 22–28 November 2007. The theme for the conference, co-organized by the Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation and the Center for Bhutan Studies in Thimphu, will be ”Towards Global Transformation – World Views make a Difference”. The concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), originated in Bhutan, challenges development models dominated by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and un-sustainable economic growth. The Bangkok conference offers a creative platform for exchanges, networking and policy development towards transformation at individual, local, national and international levels. It will be held in partnership with a network of Thai and South East Asian NGO’s and youth groups; and the Ministry of Social Development & Human Security, and ‘Well-being Index Network’, Government of Thailand. Invited speakers include Vandana Shiva from India, and Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, President of the Center for Bhutan Studies (CBS) and former Prime Minister of Bhutan. More information.

• Thiruvananthapuram conference on the Kerala People’s Plan
An International Conference on ”Kerala People’s Plan Revisited” will be held in Thiruvananthapuram, India, 14–15 December 2007. It will be organized by Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) in New Delhi, in co-operation with Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). The conference will focus on the People’s Plan Campaign launched in mid-1990s in Kerala, which was a historic landmark in formulating a methodology of decentralised planning with people’s effective participation. The two-day conference will pool and share the experience of local planning in Kerala, rest of India and other countries. Papers are invited from social scientists, planners, innovative NGOs and administrators. More information.

• Guwahati Conference on Northeast India and its Transnational Neighbourhood
Brahmaputra
An International Conference on Northeast India and its Transnational Neighbourhood will be held in Guwahati, Assam, India, 16–18 January 2008. The interdisciplinary conference will provide a forum for scholars and policy makers, as well as visual artists and others involved in the material and visual representation of this region. It is being planned by the newly formed Asian Borderlands Research Network (more information). All scholars who are currently, or have previously been actively involved in research in this region are invited to participate, irrespective of nationality. However, it is hoped that scholars from countries such as India, China, Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand will make a significant contribution. The conference is organised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden, the Netherlands. Venue: IIT Campus, 20 km north of Guwahati. More information.

• Ahmedabad Seminar on Vernacular Settlements
The Fourth International Seminar on Vernacular Settlements will be held in Ahmedabad, India, 14–17 February 2008. It will be hosted by the School of Architecture at CEPT University (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) in Navrangpura, Ahmedabad. The theme of the seminar is "Vernacular Settlements and Architecture in Transition". Keynote Speakers will be Prof. Balkrishna Doshi, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects; and Dr Hasan-Uddin Khan, Professor of Architecture and Historic Preservation at Roger Williams University and Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

• South Asia related panels at the 16th IUAES conference in Kunming
KunmingThe 16th International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) will be held 15–23 July 2008 in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The conference has the overall theme ”Humanity, Development and Cultural Diversity” and includes a large number of panels organised by researchers from India and Bangladesh. Full information about the IUAES conference.
– A panel entitled ”Diverse Ethnic Rites of Passage” is organised by Associate Professor Zulfiquar Ali Islam, Dept. of Sociology, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Associate Professor Md Mustafa Kamal Akand from the Dept. of Anthropology at the same university. Read their call for papers (as a pdf-file)
– Dr. Zulfiquar Ali Islam also convenes a second panel (together with Prof. A H M Zehadul Karim, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Rajshahi), titled ”Indigenous Knowledge for Ecological Resource Management”. Read their call for papers (as a pdf-file)
Rana PB Singh– A panel entitled ”Pilgrimage Landscape, Cosmogram and Planning the Heritage Cities” is organised by Prof. Rana P. B. Singh (photo to the left), Banaras Hindu University, India and Prof. Masaaki Fukunaga, Centre for South Asian Studies, Gifu Women’s University, Japan. Read their call for papers (as a pdf-file)
– A panel on ”Ethnographic Discourse of the Other in the 21st Century Asia’” vill be organised by Senior Research Fellows Eswarappa Kasi from the Dept. of Anthropology, and Ramesh C: Malik from the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies (CALTS), bott at University of Hyderabad. Read their call for papers (as a pdf-file)
– Other South Asia related panels at the Kunming conference include a panel on ”Himalaya: Ecology, Adaptability and Culture”, organised by Prof. Ajai Pratap Singh, Commission on Anthropology of Small Islands; a panel on ”Anthropology of Water”, organised by S. Narayan, A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies in Patna; and a panel on ”Female Child Migration and Trafficking in Asia”, organised by Vijay Prakash Sharma, Advisor of USAID/India – REFORM Project.

• Other conferences connected to South Asian studies arranged all over the World
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html#conf

 

South Asia related culture in Scandinavia

• Information about South Asia related culture in Scandinavia
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/culture.html

 

New and updated items on SASNET web site

• 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 214 departments, with detailed descriptions of the South Asia related research and education taking place! Go to http://www.sasnet.lu.se/environment.html

ƒ Dept. of Systems and Software Engineering (APS), School of Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona/Ronneby

ƒ Dept. of Electroscience, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University

ƒ Dept. of Zoology, Stockholm University

• 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, and new books published at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/newbooks.html.

• Useful travelling information
Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/travelling.html. Updated travel advises from the The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office about safety aspects on travelling to the countries of South Asia.


 Best regards,

       Anna 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, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 1 (first floor, room no. 2040 & 2041), 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: Anna 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 2010-02-17