Event Tag Archives: Centre for India and South Asia Research

Ethnographic Fieldwork in South Asia: A graduate student workshop led by Dr. Rémy Delage

This workshop focuses on the theory and practice of fieldwork in South Asia, primarily discussing religion and identity in South Asia. Dr. Delage has conducted fieldwork at Sufi shrines in India and Pakistan, and this workshop is an opportunity for graduate students to broaden their perspective on field methods. Some of the questions Dr. Delage […]

Bhavanjli: A Lecture-Demonstration to Indian Classical Music

A lecture demonstration to Indian classical music. Sargam UBC will be presenting the two forms of Indian classical music, namely, the Hindustani and the Carnatic styles. Performers: Sargam UBC is a group involved in promoting Indian Classical Music. It enables students to learn about this form of music through sessions conducted by various artists and also […]

SACPAN 2015: South Asia Conference of the Pacific Northwest

This year’s installment of the long-running SACPAN conference is themed “Works in Progress” and involves presentations of current research on South Asia by scholars and graduate students at a number of institutions across the Pacific Northwest. We are pleased to announce that SACPAN 2015 will feature three longer lectures by leading scholars in the field: Sumit Guha (University […]

An Evening with Shauna Singh Baldwin

“MIND-DANCING WITH LANGUAGE” A special evening with the acclaimed novelist Shauna Singh Baldwin Languages our families brought from the old country, and that welled up from this land, whisper in the rhythms of our stories. Will you stumble or glide with this tool you’ve received, this English language so filled with biblical references, colonial constructs, and […]

India’s New Globality: Modi’s Visits to Canada and China

More details coming soon. View PDF poster here. Please RSVP asimup@gmail.com Sponsor: Centre for India and South Asia Research, Institute of Asian Research By: Stewart Beck, CEO, Asia Pacific Foundation; Professor Yves Tiberghien, Director, Institute of Asian Research; Sukesh Kumar, KPMG; Professor Brian Job, Associate Director, Institute of Asian Research Type: Event Time: 12:00-1:00pm (Lunch), 1:00-2:30pm […]

Symposium on Nepal: Reconstruction and Regeneration After the Earthquakes

Join us for a discussion of Nepal’s experiences with relief and reconstruction after the devastating earthquakes of April and May 2015. Speakers will give brief presentations highlighting economic, engineering, linguistic and socio-political dimensions of earthquake response in Nepal, with a focus on Vancouver-linked initiatives. Moderator Dr Tsering Shakya, Institute of Asian Research, UBC Speakers Dr […]

Lecture: Divergences and Convergences of India: China Contemporary Relations

Ahmad Zahir Faqiri is a former Diplomat for Afghanistan and is going to be delivering a lecture in Room 120 of the C.K Choi Building, 4pm to 5:30pm on Wednesday September 30th. This lecture will focus on the dynamics and driving factors of the China -Indian relationship are with particular focus on maritime security, economics, energyscourge of regional terrorism and bilateral dialogue. […]

Mending Cracks: Trauma and Art Practice

Join us on Friday, November 13th, for a deeper look into the role of art in times of disaster, featuring Raghavendra Rao, an incredibly talented CISAR Research Associate. Raghavendra Rao is an artist from Bangalore living in Vancouver, Canada since 2012. He graduated from Ken School of Art; Bangalore in 1990 and over the last […]

Challenges of the Nascent Democracy in Bhutan

Dr. Bhaskar Chakrabarti will grace CISAR with his presence to present his research on Bhutan, a relatively mysterious and unique nation within South Asia. Bhaskar Chakrabarti is a Professor of Public Policy & Management at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta works in the area of local democracy, environment, and everyday politics.  Bhutan oscillates between […]

Elusive Sarasvati

Dr. Elizabeth Rohlman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary. Dr. Rohlman’s research considers the role of narrative literature in articulating and constructing religious identity in pre-modern South Asia. For this seminar, Dr. Rohlm an focuses on Sarasvati and her role in Hindu lore. It has been argued […]

Pakistan as an Alternative to the Idea of an Impossible India

By: Atiya Singh (PhD Candidate, University of Chicago) According to popular perceptions, Pakistan came into being as a result of a specific vision of the Muslim League shaped in the political milieu of the 1940s. Yet this perspective ignores the role played by the Communist-Left in India not only in articulating the idea of Pakistan, […]

Sikkimese Public Culture: Reconstructing Ethno-Cultural Histories through Visuality

By: Mr. Aadil Brar, Anthropology Aadil Brar is an Anthropology student who spent 3 months in Sikkim (India), conducting ethnographic research funded by MITACS Globalinks Research Award. This project explored the history of Buddhist thangka art in Sikkim from a visual anthropological perspective, but the broader aim was to visualize the Sikimese identity, cultural history, and […]

The Democratic Transition in Nepal

Sponsor: Centre for India and South Asia Research, Himalaya Program, Faculty of Arts Speaker Fund By: Professor Chaitanya Mishra (Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal) What are the causes and correlates of democracy? The presentation will begin by reviewing key theories of democracy, corresponding to the three waves of democratization in world history. It […]

Changing Experience and Interpretation of Menstruation in Nepal: An Intergenerational Perspective

Sponsor: Centre for India and South Asia Research, Himalaya Program, Faculty of Arts Speaker Fund By: Professor Mira Mishra (Department of Women’s Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal) This presentation seeks to explore changes in the lives of women in Nepal, including women’s self image, gender role and the relations between women and men during the […]

CISAR / IAR Conference: Challenges of Urbanization

By: Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta (President, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi), Dr. Amartya Lahiri (UBC), additional speakers TBA Type: Conference University of British Columbia Center for India and South Asia Research and Institute for Asian Research Conference: Challenges of Urbanization Friday, April 29, 2016 Venue: Choi 120, IAR PROGRAM 9.30 am:          Welcome and opening […]

How Realistic are the Chances of India Maintaining an Annual Growth Rate of 8% or more?

**UPDATE: Due to the amount of interest expressed in this event, the location has now moved to Room 120 at the Institute of Asian Research (C.K. Choi Building)** About Vijay Mahajan Vijay Mahajan turned 18 in 1972, the year India celebrated its 25th Independence Day. Troubled by India’s poverty, and inspired by a number of pioneers from […]

“Persian Writings on Ayurvedic Medicine: The Construction of a Genre” by Dr. Fabrizio Speziale

This lecture examines the translation of foreign materials into post-Abbasid Muslim medical culture by looking at the production of Persian works dealing with Indian medicine. From the 14th century onwards, the composition of Persian texts on Ayurveda emerged in South Asia as a new genre of writing, which was actually a composite genre including various […]

“Literary Interaction in South Asia: Indo-Persian Narratives” by Dr. Pegah Shahbaz

This Presentation will bring up the study of Persian narratives of Indian origin, translated directly from Sanskrit or other South Asian vernaculars from the 14th century onwards; the stories which, retold and modified according to the recipient culture, helped to form a forthcoming exchange of knowledge between Muslims and Hindus, during the realm of Sultanates […]

Workshop: “Colonial Readers and Authors of Indo-Persian Texts” by Dr. Shahbaz and Dr. Speziale

Dr. Speziale is an Associate Professor (maître de conférences)  in Persian Studies at the Department of Arabic, Hebrew, Indian and Iranian Studies in University Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. He is also the principal investigator of the Perso-Indica project, whose aim is to produce a comprehensive survey of Persian works on Indian cultures, written between the 13th and the 19th centuries […]

Nationalism, Dogmatism and what more: The Crisis of Vision in Nepali Society

Nepal’s resources, natural as well as human, have good creative potential, but why is this potential not unleashed? In spite of some positive developments in political awareness, why is the leadership everybody wished for lacking? New ideas have been floated and some changes are brought, but instead of a breakthrough these have dismantled policy structures […]

Impact of Global Financial Crisis on India: an Analysis of Large Exporters in Indian Manufacturing

Dr. Chaterjee will present a paper that examines the impact of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 on Indian manufacturing firms, using data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Prowess database. While the crisis did not have its roots in India, the economy and firms were affected mainly due to trade linkages with […]

Experimentation and Ethnocentrism in Post-Colonial Indian Drama by Dr. Vijaya Jammi

This presentation deals with the essence of nationhood in the post-colonial Indian drama following an interdisciplinary approach. The presentation analyses the regional Indian theatre of this period from the ‘ethno-symbolic’ perspective, and underlines the element of tradition and experimentation in this genre. VIEW POSTER 

Minorities and Terror Attack in Bangladesh: A Roundtable Discussion

The grim list of those who have fallen victim to attacks by Islamist militants in Bangladesh is growing ever diverse. Secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, and members of religious minorities including Shia, Sufi and Ahmadi Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus have all been killed, many of them hacked to death. That a university professor […]

Understanding Caste and Class in Contemporary India

Dr. Anand Teltumbde, a leading civil rights activist, public intellectual, authour and professor of business analytics argues that caste and class is a duality which has killed a potential revolution in India, dragging India into a socio-political morass. While castes have been the lifeworld of people, as a system their attributes have undergone change due […]

At Home in the Green Mountains – Bhutanese Resettlement in Vermont

In a time of controversy, conflict, and urgency regarding forced migration and refugee populations worldwide, the resettlement of Bhutanese Lhotshampa over the past decade stands as a success story. A large proportion of the refugees in the camps in Nepal has relocated to new homes in North America, Europe and Oceania. While the arrival of the […]

International Mother Language Day Celebration 2017

UNESCO proclaimed February 21 as the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in 1999 to celebrate and protect the diverse languages of the world. While IMLD is an effort to honor people’s right to speak their mother tongues, to preserve their culture and identity, and to safeguard the many endangered languages of the world, it is also a tribute […]

“Mending Cracks” Exhibition Closing Reception and “Trauma, Memory and the Story of Canada” Project Launch

This is the closing reception for the exhibition “Mending Cracks” by Raghavendra Rao K.V., as well as the launch of Canada 150 Commemoration project “Trauma, Memory and the Story of Canada,” which explores the intersections of history, memory, and migration, integrating the arts, research, and performance. Sponsors: Centre for India and South Asia Research, Museum of […]

Contested Governance, Competing Nationalisms, and Disenchanted Publics: Kashmir beyond Intractability?

Spiralling unrest has continued in the Kashmir Valley since the July 2016 killing of the home-grown Hizbul commander Burhan Wani by the security forces. Never before has the Valley seen such unrelenting violence, literally on a daily basis. And never before has the Valley witnessed Kashmiri people from all walks of life and from every […]

An Art for Everyone: The Rāmāyaṇa Scrolls of Bengal

This talk will be followed by a reception honouring Prof. Bose’s services to CISAR. Please RSVP. There will be food and drinks at the reception! For hundreds of years India’s villages have been sites of rich cultural production, especially paintings of varied forms, representing the imaginative, spiritual and historical experience of common people. A particularly […]

India’s Innovation Journey — Scripted Digitally

Abstract: India embarked on a Telecom Revolution in the 1980’s under Rajiv Gandhi’s National Technology Mission , which was led by Sam Pitroda.  Combined with economic reforms, this journey paved the way for several other innovations and transformatory changes in subsequent decades.  This talk will present a ringside view of that journey, along with present […]

Another Tagore: A Campaigner of Emancipation of the Peasantry in Bengal

Presented by: Professor Atiur Rahman, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka (formerly Governor of Central Bank of Bangladesh) Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel Laureate in Literature, a versatile genius and a product of the European renaissance was indeed much larger than his own life. He was deeply touched by the deprivations of the peasantry […]

Research and Training in India: Funding Opportunities for Faculty & Students

Join us for an information session about new funding opportunities available to UBC students and faculty interested in working in India. Learn about grants and scholarships the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute offers for language training and research in India. Led by: Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute RSVP | Event poster

Workshop: Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957): Rethinking Literary Modernity in Colonial Punjab

For many, the name Bhai Vir Singh is synonymous with Punjabi literary and religious reform. A poet, novelist, exegete, theologian, historian, journalist, and pamphleteer, Vir Singh is often said to have single-handedly ushered “modernity” into Punjabi language and literature, and was a major force in shaping the Sikh and Punjabi politics of the undivided Punjab.

The Ebb and Flow of Everyday Contacts: Forging Literary Communities in Early Modern Panjab by Dr. Purnima Dhavan

Texts in Punjabi have for much of its history been written in multiple scripts and engaged deeply with myriad textual, aural, and oral communities. The words and letters of literary agents in 17th century Punjab, this lecture argues, actively shaped communities and networks, pointing to the boundaries some wished to enforce, and the boundaries that others transgressed.

Nepal’s Prolonged Transition: End in Sight? with Deepak Thapa

Join us for the first Himalaya Program event of the 2017-18 academic year! Nepal has been undergoing a political transition since the end of the Maoist conflict in 2006. This talk will discuss whether this means if the transition is coming to an end, and what the contours of the Nepali state are likely to be in the future.

Canada at 150: Trauma, Memory and the Story of Canada

Artists’ Roundtable Date: September 29, 2017 Time: 3:00PM – 5:00PM Location: Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall Join artists curator Raghavendra Rao K.V., and members of the South Asian Canadian Histories Association to explore this artistic intervention in the story of Canada at 150+. Sameer Farooq’s work for the exhibition, entitled Pouf, Sausage, Weight, Arc […]

Decoding Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar: Ideas and Praxis by Dr. Vivek Kumar

Join us for this annual lecture on Dr. Ambedkar by Dr. Vivek Kumar. Dr. Vivek Kumar is a Professor of Sociology & Professor Dr. Ambedkar Chair (I/C), Member Committee on Global Studies Programme in the Center for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru  University, New Delhi. This event is co-sponsored by Chetna […]

A Tryst with Destiny? The Politics of Buddhist Heritage and the Making of Modern India by Douglas Ober

An information session hosted by Douglas Ober, Research Associate, UBC IAR One of the more curious incidents in the making of modern India occurred on the eve of Independence when a group of seventy-two women entered New Delhi’s Constituent Assembly and unfurled the newly chosen national flag. In a last minute change decided only three weeks prior, the Gandhian charkha or spinning wheel, was replaced by […]

Information Session: Student Opportunities in India and Beyond with the Globalink Research Award

In this presentation, Andrea Globa will provide information about the programs Mitacs offers to support international collaborations, with a focus on an award that supports student travel to the India Institutes of Technology. Students from all disciplines are welcome to apply: in addition to STEM subjects, many of the IITs maintain strong programs in the social sciences and humanities.

Monsoon Mosques: Reading Kerala’s Muslim Monuments by Sebastian Prange

Join us to hear Sebastian Prange of UBC Department of History talk about the mosques of Kerala. This talk will highlight different layers of evidence that are yielded by these mosques—stylistic features, architectural changes, epigraphs, literary references, historical context—to show that their significance extends far beyond their immediate purpose as places of worship. Rather, they serve as primary sources for the development of Muslim communities in South India, their links to wider Indian Ocean networks, and the place of Islam within this predominantly Hindu society.

A Roundtable: Understanding the Rohingya Crisis

Join us for a discussion on the Rohingya Crisis with a panel of speakers at this event. The speakers for the event are: Mohammad Zaman (Independent Consultant), Kai Ostwald (Political Science & SPPGA, UBC), Douglas Ober (CISAR, UBC), Sara Shneiderman (Anthropology & SPPGA, UBC), Theressa Etmanski (Law, UVic) Dr. Douglas Ober is a Research Associate in the Centre for India […]

Documenting Punjabi Canada: Student video projects and discussion

Event Poster | RSVP Organized through a partnership between the Departments of Theatre and Film and Asian Studies, and made possible by the Onkarbir Singh Toor Memorial Punjabi Studies Enhancement Fund and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, with the support of the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program, the Centre for India […]

South Asia Conference of the Pacific Northwest (SACPAN) at UBC

Organized by CISAR, Institute of Asian Research/School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, with the support of the UBC Departments of Asian Studies and History, Dean of Arts, IC-IMPACTS, and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. The Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program is made possible by the generous support of the Sidhu family, in loving memory of […]

The Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Program: Celebrating Punjabi Language and Culture at UBC

With film screenings and discussion with special guest, award-winning Punjabi language filmmaker Gurvinder Singh Friday, 2 March 2018 7:30-9 p.m. UBC Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver “Awazzan” (“Voices,”2016): A documentary on the UK-based Punjabi language poet Amarjit Chandan. Saturday, 3 March 2018 7:30-9:30 p.m. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Downtown Vancouver “Anhe Godhe da Daan” (“Alms […]

Catastrophe in Context: Household Recoveries from the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes

The 2015 Nepal earthquakes had catastrophic impacts on the lives and property of Himalayan peoples. Join the UBC Himalaya Program as Dr. Spoon discusses his study which focuses on four settlements in two of the hardest hit districts with differing access, aid, and populations. We randomly selected 400 households in these locations and conducted two […]

Film Screening and Discussion with Director – Connecting Threads: Made In India Fabrics for Africa

Documentary Film (Director, Dr. Renu Modi) – 21 minutes A Centre for African Studies and Observer Research Foundation production   About the film The documentary portrays the transoceanic journey of cloth – primarily Kangas and Vitenge – unique textile genres that are exported from India to various entrepôts in Africa. It showcases the power of […]

The Literary Anthology and Readership in Colonial India by Kedar A. Kulkarni

This lecture will discuss the most reprinted book in the Marathi language, Selections of the Marathi Poets, first published in 1854 under the auspices of the Bombay Education Society. Selections has continuously been in print since then, most recently reprinted in 2014. Within its colonial milieu, Selections of the Marathi Poets underwent significant transformations in its first three decades as […]

A Musical Welcome: CISAR Rings in the New Academic Year with Virasat Foundation

Join us for a concert with sarod, sarangi, and tabla with acclaimed musicians! The event will be preceded by CISAR Annual Reception at 5:00 PM in the lobby of the Liu Institute for Global Issues. About the Artists   Dilshad Khan is a renowned Sarangi player and belongs to the Sikar Gharana of music, which has given […]

More-Than-Human Democracy: On the Political Lives of Gods, Rivers, Trees, and Animals in India’s Central Himalaya by Dr. Radhika Govindrajan

Abstract: This talk examines the ways in which nonhumans – mountains, rivers, cows, and gods – are drawn into politics as intentional, subjective actors in India. Through an examination of the inclusions and exclusions at the heart of this process, it probes the possibilities and limits of more-than-human democratic politics. About the Speaker: Radhika Govindrajan […]