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Foundations of South Asian Studies Reading Group

The FSAS Reading Group bridges divides that naturally emerge among the many scholars working on diverse projects within different disciplines. Insofar as the fields represented at UB represent a broad range of expertise—from English and History to Religion, Political Science, and Anthropology, Psychology, Computer Science, and Engineering—these scholars are often unaware of the valuable work being done by others. The FSAS Reading Group will foster collaboration by bringing together a large and diverse community of scholars already working in the field of South Asian Studies at UB and other institutions of higher learning in WNY, establishing a shared framework for communication and scholarly cooperation.

Events

Spring 2015

Saturday, April 18, 9AM-4PM
Conference) “Articulating Ethnicity: Language and the Boundaries of the Himalayas”
830 Clemens Hall
Fall 2014

Friday, October 24, 12:00pm
280 Park Hall
Film Screening
“Litigating Disaster” (2004, 52 min)

Monday, November 17, 4:00pm
306 Clemens Hall
Christi Merrill, University of Michigan
“Versions of a Life: the artistry of Dalit activism”

 

FALL 2012

Thursday, September 13, 6PM

Early Urdu Literary Culture and History, part 1

We will be reading the first half of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s 2001 monograph, Early Urdu Literary Culture and History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press). It is available online by permission of the author: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/earlyurdu/srf_earlyurdu.html

Thursday, October 4, 6PM

We will be discussing a 2007 article by Yigal Bronner, “This is No Lotus, it is a Face: Poetics as Grammar in Daṇḍin’s Investigation of the Simile,” in preparation from his visit to UB October 16. Copies of this article are available by permission of the author by contacting Prof. Walter Hakala (walterha@buffalo.edu) directly.

Thursday, October 25, 6PM

Early Urdu Literary Culture and History, part 2

We will be reading the second half of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s 2001 monograph, Early Urdu Literary Culture and History (New Delhi: Oxford University Press). It is available online by permission of the author: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/earlyurdu/srf_earlyurdu.html

Thursday, November 29, 12:30PM

“What Is/Are Area Studies?”
Location: 734 Clemens Hall

We will be discussing David L. Szanton’s edited volume The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines (2004). Those who wish to participate are encouraged to read Szanton’s introduction and to select at least one additional chapter from the book. Included in this 2004 volume are chapters on

the Middle East

Latin America

Africa

Japan

the Soviet Union and its successor states

Eastern/Central Europe

China

South Asia

Southeast Asia

We will debate the relevance of area studies in light of its Cold War origins in the U.S. and its relationship with academic disciplines. An open access online edition of The Politics of Knowledge is available online through the University of California Press: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/59n2d2n1

We invite as wide a range of participants as possible, representing different disciplines and regional specializations. Please contact Walter Hakala with any questions.

Lunch will be provided, but **registration is required** 
(to register please visit http://j.mp/FSAS1129)

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