CISAR Newsletter: October 15, 2019
Upcoming CISAR Events
Singing Nanak: Anahata Sabd (The Unstruck Melody)  *Tomorrow*

This event is the second in our series with Green College, "Mehfil: Music, Text and Performance of South Asia."   Stay tuned for events all year long.

Date:  October 16, 2019
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Coach House, Green College
Presenter: Chaar Yaar
Co-sponsored by: UBC Green College, the Interdisciplinary Histories Research Cluster, UBC Asian Studies, and CISAR.
 
In this special concert, in the intimate setting of Green College's Coach House, Chaar Yaar weave a musical journey through the sacred texts of the first Sikh Master, Guru Nanak Dev, celebrating the cosmic and the worldly, the transient and the timeless, the self and its other. This is their grateful remembrance of the Guru in the 550th year since his birth.

The group Chaar Yaar came into existence about 17 years ago.  As the name Chaar Yaar or "Four Friends" suggests, it comprises 4 musicians : Composer, vocalist, poet Madan Gopal Singh, guitarist and banjo player Deepak Castelino, sarod player Pritam Ghosal and the multiple percussionist Amjad Khan.

Date: October 17, 2019
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Location: C.K. Choi 120
Presenter: Heba Ahmed
Co-sponsored by: Interdisciplinary Histories Research Cluster, Department of Asian Studies, and CISAR.

Since the 2014 formation of the central government by the Bharatiya Janata Party  (BJP) in India, violence against minorities has increased significantly. Of particular note is  the violence against Indian Muslims, the largest religious minority in India. Databases  compiled by different civil society organisations¹ have documented incidents of Muslims  being lynched to death, mostly on accusations of cow slaughter or petty theft. This talk will
examine the discourse of anti-Muslim violence in contemporary India, and attempt to answer  why hate crimes against Muslims are rising with little to negligible public indignation.  Violence against Muslims in India today will be interrogated vis-à-vis India's anti- colonial/postcolonial pasts, which witnessed militant 'cow protection movements' in which  the beef-eating Indian Muslim was identified as the chief antagonist. Indian Muslims have  also been burdened with the guilt of the Partition of India. The cumulative effect of these  disputed pasts is that in the present, Muslims can hardly take legal recourse against the hate  crimes committed against them without being further victimised. This has led to Indian  Muslims existing under conditions of what Judith Butler has called "precarious life" (2004).

This event is the third in our series with Green College, "Mehfil: Music, Text and Performance of South Asia." Stay tuned for monthly events all year long.

Date:  October 24, 2019
Time: 5 :00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Coach House, Green College
Presenter: Arijit Mahalanabis
Co-sponsored by: UBC Green College, Indian Classical Music Society of Vancouver (ICMSV), Asta Alliance, UBC Asian Studies, and CISAR.
 
Most scholars of Indian music consider dhrupad, and its cognate form dhamār, to be the oldest extant subgenres of Hindustānī music. The practice and performance of this art has grown in popularity in recent times, though a wider understanding of the art remains elusive. Practitioners, scholars, and hereditary keepers of the tradition often choose to exude an air of esotericism, rather than offering a practical and logical explanation for the objectives, structure, function, and performance of the art. In this talk, we touch on each of these aspects, particularly delving into a model of dhrupad that defines it as a musical entity in multiple dimensions. Specifically, we consider dhrupad from the perspective of alāp syllables, the tonal complex of the rāga, time and rhythm, tonal dynamics, and textual content. In each of these dimensions, we introduce a logical calculus that governs the progression of content. Taken in totality, these calculi, when followed, uniquely define a well-formed dhrupad performance. We hope that this talk will allow the attendee to more critically listen to and understand a dhrupad performance. 

Date:  October 25, 2019
Time: 12 :00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Liu Institute for Global Issues
Co-sponsored by: Asian Library, Alumni UBC, the Equity and Inclusion Office, and CISAR.
 
Diwali or Deepavali, which means "a row of lights", is the most widely celebrated festival in India and throughout the Indian diaspora. It is celebrated on Amavasya (darkest night or no moon day), it usually takes place at the end of October or the first week of November. Diwali marks the victory of good over evil, and the beginning of the New Year in India. The festival celebration, which typically lasts from five to seven days, is celebrated by several South Asian Communities, and by many Indians regardless of faith. On Diwali, people decorate their houses with diyas, candles as well as colourful lights, and they share gifts and recite prayers.

UBC students, staff and faculty members are cordially invited to experience the diversity of South Asian culture through music, henna, and delicious refreshments.  All Diwali activities are free and no registration is required.

Date:  October 26, 2019
Time: 11 :00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location: C.K. Choi 120, Liu Institute, Roy Barnett Recital Hall
Presenters: Mandakranta Bose, Thomas Hunter, Arijit Mahalanabis, Lakshmi Sreeram, Prajakta Trehan, and Sudnya Mulye
Organized by: Indian Classical Music Society of Vancouver (ICMSV) and Asta Alliance, with support from CISAR, UBC Green College, UBC School of Music, UBC Bangladeshi Students Association, UBC Pakistani Students Association, UTSAV - UBC Indian Students Association, and UBC Sargam
 
The Shastra Aur Prayoga Conference aims to explore the intersections between text and practice in Indian performing art traditions by bringing together academics, musicians, dancers, and connoisseurs in dialogue. The conference is unique in its approach, analyzing topics in Indian classical performing arts through a interdisciplinary lens. It represents the breadth of geographies Indian classical performing arts extends its reach within and outside of India. 

The conference is divided into a symposium and a concert. The symposium constitutes of a lecture by Mandakranta Bose ( Bharata and his Nāṭyaśāstra: A descriptive/prescriptive text on dramaturgy), and a panel discussion with scholars, musicians, and dancers ( Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra and its Impact on Śāstra and Prayoga). The concert will feature Arijit Mahalanabis (Dhrupad Vocals) and his student Kishan Patel (Pakhawaj). 


South Asia at UBC Beyond CISAR

Date: October 15, 2019
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location:  Lobby Gallery, Liu Institute for Global Issues, 6476 NW Marine Drive, UBC
Presenters:  Tsengdok Rinpoche, Patrick Dowd, and Sonam Chusang.
Organized by: UBC Himalaya Program

On October 15th, the Liu Institute and the Himalaya Program are hosting an exhibition reception to mark the opening of "Golden Letters Arrayed Like Stars and Planets: The Tibetan Culture of Language and Letters". The exhibition features sacred Tibetan scriptures, calligraphy, and other textual objects gathered from three continents. The curator of the exhibition, Anthropology doctoral student Patrick Dowd, will be joined by Tsengdok Rinpoche and Sonam Chusang to reflect upon the language's historical and contemporary importance to global culture.
 
Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

Please note that this exhibition runs through January 4, 2020.
Opportunities

Due Date: October 18, 2019 at 4:00 PM

The Centre for India and South Asia Research (CISAR) at The University of British Columbia invites submissions for the 2019 Nehru Humanitarian Graduate Scholarship in Indian Studies. The annual $1,000 scholarship is offered by Dr. and Mrs. D. P. Goel to a graduate student pursuing the political, historical, economic, religious, social, or cultural study of India. The award is made on the recommendation of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, in accordance with findings of the Adjudication Committee of the Centre for India and South Asia Research.

Deadline: November 15, 2019

SACPAN 2020 will take place at Simon Fraser University Vancouver, 28-29  February 2020, with special opening event on February 27. This year's theme is  "GAPS, FRONTIERS, and BLINDSPOTS in SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES." 

Proposals should be sent to Robert Anderson at <robert_anderson@sfu.ca>
CISAR Graduate Student Travel Grant 2019-20

Due Date: November 15, 2019

The Centre for India and South Asia Research offers 2 conference/workshop travel grants per year at up to $500 each for current graduate students at UBC to support travel to present papers on topics related to any part of South Asia or the South Asian Diaspora. Applications due November 15, 2019.

Recipients of the travel grant will be invited to speak in the annual seminar series at CISAR.
Join the Canadian South Asian Studies Association (CSASA)

South Asianists from across Canada gathered last June at UBC, and decided together to establish a national scholarly association for faculty actively researching and teaching on South Asia-Canada and graduate students enrolled in related Canadian M.A. and Ph.D. programmes, to be known as the Canadian South Asian Studies Association (CSASA) as a non-profit member affiliated with the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ideally, we hope to have some kind of CSASA presence at the next Congress (2020), at Western University.

As a first step, all graduate students, faculty members, and researchers with research interests in South Asia are invited to join CSASA-L, a newly created listserv hosted at Athabasca University, where subscribers can share professionally relevant information related to teaching, research, resources, and events on South Asia-Canada. If you would like to join, please read the listserv rules and enter your subscription details.
For Students

Facilitators: Suyesha Dutta and Morgan Khan
Supervisor: Dr. Anne Murphy

Course Title: ASIA 476Z 001 and HIST 390A
When: Term 2
Days: Tuesday/Thursday
Time: 12:30 - 2:00pm
Room: IKB 191

Postcolonial and Subaltern Studies have been important in critiquing the nation and its citizens. These have also helped critique the nationalist project that drives the Indian state. In this course, we will critically read and compare approaches based on the changing nature of subaltern studies, socio-economic and socio-cultural identity formation, and the way dissent manifests itself in India. While there are a number of classes dealing with the history of pre-independence India, there is a marked absence of classes dealing with the history of India post-partition. Abandoning the narrative at this time of deep divide needs to be rectified, and thus allowing students to explore the history and politics that resulted from the scars rendered by the Partition. It also enables students to engage with, and garner a deeper understanding, of the long reaching effects of colonialism, as they play out in the modern history of a post-colonial geography. We hope that this class will fill the gap speaking to the modern history of the Indian subcontinent. 

Readings will draw on historiography, social theory, political economy, colonial and postcolonial studies, ethnography, and governance. Course material will be largely key secondary material although this will be supplemented with some primary material. The course is organised thematically rather than strictly chronologically, so that students will find it an advantage to have some awareness of the general history of colonial and post-colonial India. Evaluation will be based on class participation, a presentation of weekly readings (done once or twice through the semester), a final research project proposal (peer-graded), and its presentation thereafter. 

This course does not require a prerequisite, but requires a submission of an expression of interest. Please send a statement of interest in about 500 words to  identitydissent@gmail.com, briefly expressing your interest in the course and how you would be able to contribute to this seminar. The course is appropriate for students across every region and/or discipline.  

We've compiled a list of courses for Winter 2019/2020 with South Asia content. You can checkout the list  here.

If you're a UBC faculty member teaching a course with content pertaining to South Asia, feel free to contact us to list it on the CISAR website. 
2018-2019 Annual Report
Our 2018-2019 Annual Report is ready! Take a look at last year's events and activities, with special new highlights on South Asia-related programs across UBC -- and learn more about CISAR's work. 
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