Faculty

Vaishnavism as Fine Literature

The focus of the conference is the intersection between the religion of Vaishnavism on the one hand and the conventions of fine literature and aesthetic theory in Sanskrit and South Asian vernaculars on the other. While there has been a growing scholarly production concerning this intersection, mostly focused on the tradition following the Bengali cultural hero Chaitanya, the purpose of the conference is to map the broader contours of the field in terms of the “Religion and Literature” approach.
Some of the questions that participants in the conference will consider include:

SASC Special lecture: The Perverse Impacts of Electoral Laws on India’s Political Economy, Rajeev Gowda

Political parties and campaigns require significant resources to be effective. India has developed complex election expenditures, political party funding, and reporting and disclosure laws. These laws have perverse impacts on the electoral system: they drive campaign expenditure underground and foster reliance on unaccounted funds or ‘‘black money.’’ This leads to adverse selection, where those able to work with black money dominate politics, and triggers pervasive corruption. Innovative financing methods such as Electoral Bonds also have serious flaws.

Democracy, Violence, and Constitutional Order in South Asia and Beyond

What limits do we come upon in thinking about concepts and practices without thinking beyond the region, diasporically, and analogically? How can studying South Asia inform knowledge and opinion on democratic principles in society and government, political violence, and constitutionalism? This conference brings together theorists, ethnographers, historians, legal scholars, and social scientists to examine Democracy, Violence, and Constitutional Order in South Asia and beyond.

Yale National Hindi Debate 2022: Rather Than Space, We Should Remain On Earth.

Established in 2008, the Yale Hindi Debate is a platform for Hindi speakers — be they native, heritage, or non-native non-heritage students— to wrestle with current issues of profound importance. With topics ranging from social norms to political reforms, the Yale Hindi Debate has a 14-year legacy of excellence in the realm of Hindi language scholarship and discourse. The topic for the 14th Yale Hindi Debate will be: “अंतरिक्ष के बजाय हमें धरती पर रहना चाहिए ” // “ Rather than space, we should remain on Earth. ”

Preliminary Yale Hindi Debate 2022: Rather Than Space, We Should Remain On Earth.

Established in 2008, the Yale Hindi Debate is a platform for Hindi speakers — be they native, heritage, or non-native non-heritage students— to wrestle with current issues of profound importance. With topics ranging from social norms to political reforms, the Yale Hindi Debate has a 14-year legacy of excellence in the realm of Hindi language scholarship and discourse. The topic for the 14th Yale Hindi Debate will be: “अंतरिक्ष के बजाय हमें धरती पर रहना चाहिए ” // “ Rather than space, we should remain on Earth. ”

SASC Special Lecture: India Before Modi How the BJP Came to Power, Vinay Sitapati

SASC Special Lecture: India Before Modi How the BJP Came to Power
Narendra Modi has been a hundred years in the making, and this book provides the backstory. It begins with the creation of Hindu nationalism, moves on to the 1980 formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and ends with its first national administration, from 1998 to 2004. By revisiting these events, we can trace the Modi government’s current dominance of Indian politics all the way back to its origins.

SASC Colloquium Series: Negotiating Democracy and Religious Pluralism: India, Pakistan, and Turkey

South Asian Studies Council Colloquium Series: Book Panel: Negotiating Democracy and Religious Pluralism: India, Pakistan, and Turkey.
A book panel discussion with Co-editors: Karen Barkey (Bard College), Sudipta Kaviraj (Columbia University), and Vatsal Naresh (Yale University)
Discussants: Sohaib Khan (Yale Law School), Marjan Wardaki (Yale University)
Zoom link: https://cutt.ly/SASC331

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