Dr. Brenda Beck is a professor at the University of Toronto and has invested nearly fifty years in the study of Tamil culture and society, making the foucus of much of her research a folk tale she happened upon quite by accident while doing fieldwork in India in 1964-1966. Dr. Beck’s mission has been to capture this localized epic story; known locally as the Annanmar Kathai; and bring it to the world with new insight, new life, and new technology.
Dr. Beck’s love affair with India began as a teenager when, in 1954, she set out with her family on a trek that would take them from Beirut, across Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and finally into the South of India. A decade later, as a doctoral student at Oxford’s Institute of Social Anthropology (Somerville College), Dr. Beck elected to return to South India to immerse herself in Tamil culture. Settling in the village of Olappalayam in early 1965, she began what she thought would be a routine cultural documentation project centred on social customs. When she found out that story telling was the preferred form of entertainment in the life of the village, however, her adventure brought unexpected discoveries.
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Sponsor: The Centre for India and South Asia Research
By: The Centre for India and South Asia Research
Type: Event
