February 22, 2019
The Mittal Institute Newsletter
The Mittal Institute engages in interdisciplinary research to advance and deepen the understanding of critical issues in South Asia and its relationship with the world. Our weekly newsletter highlights the work of the Institute and its affiliates.
NEWS AND EVENTS

In January, Dr. Dominic Mao and a team of Harvard undergraduate students and one alum set out to create a program in Manipur, India to engage students and teaching assistants in a Western-style educational format. They returned to Cambridge with new perspectives and greater cultural understanding — and left a large impact on the students and teaching assistants of Manipur. To read more about their experience, click here.

Ali Asani , professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, has recently been appointed Chair of the new Working Group on Symbols and Spaces of Engagement at Harvard College. The group, made up of students, faculty, and staff, will identify new possibilities for spaces and programs that will engage Harvard's diverse student body. Click here to read Professor Asani's interview with the Harvard Gazette .

Last week, Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta , Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University in India, visited the Mittal Institute to speak with faculty and doctoral students. He discussed the creation of Ashoka University, its unique commitment to the liberal arts in India, the plans for its future, and the importance of creating valuable degrees. To read more about Dr. Mehta's visit and Ashoka University, click here.

Last December, the Mittal Institute, the Department of History of Art and Architecture, and the Harvard Art Museums organized a symposium that brought together scholars of South Asian art, history, and culture. Dr. Jinah Kim and others spoke about their own work and research to further inform our understanding of art in South Asia through different times and regions.

To learn more about the discussions at this event, click here.

Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi , Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at Columbia University, will join us next Tuesday for an analysis of architect Minnette de Silva's impact on modern architecture in Ceylon, Sri Lanka. Professor Siddiqi will examine de Silva's labors as a cultural narrator through both her architectural efforts and her memoir. Interested in attending? Learn more here.

Tuesday, February 26, 6:00 PM
CGIS South, S153

Next Wednesday, Roluahpuia , the Mittal Institute’s Raghunathan Family Fellow, will discuss his research into the relationship between orality and nationalism at two levels through the lens of the Mizo case in northeast India. He will show how the creation of a vernacular language among the Mizos reveals peoples’ agency to construct their own sense and understanding of a nation. To learn more about this event, click here.

Wednesday, February 27, 12:00 PM
CGIS South, S250
ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Mittal Institute has launched its new faculty research grant program. Through Exploratory Research Project grants, Harvard faculty can bring together scholars from different fields and regions whose research relates to South Asia. Advanced Research Project grants allow Harvard faculty to build on pre-existing research or projects. Up to five grants will be awarded each year. To learn more, click here.

Deadline: April 29, 2019

There's still time to apply for our Raghunathan and Babar Ali fellowships! Through these fellowships, selected recent PhDs from South Asia who are researching topics related to any period of South Asian history or contemporary South Asia can come to Cambridge to continue their research. Read more about each fellowship by clicking the links above.

Deadline: March 4, 2019