Yale Postdoctoral Trainees

Zaffar Kunial reads from his new book of poems England’s Green and discusses the genesis of the book with Sunil Amrith, Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History, and current chair of the South Asian Studies Council. Free copies to the first fifty guests! Signing to follow.

Niel Gray Jr. Professor of English Langdon Hammer talks with poet Zaffar Kunial about the sources of his poetry, from song lyrics to family histories to his undying love for the sport of English cricket.

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:

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.

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. ”