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Spring
Lecture Series 2010
January
21 - Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Spring
Welcome Party!
January 28 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Gudrun Bühnemann
Professor, Languages and Cultures of Asia, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Complex Configurations: Śiva,
Avalokiteśvara and the Golden Window in Patan
One major tourist attraction in the city of Patan in Nepal is the
Golden Window above the portal of the (former) royal palace in Keshav
Narayan Cok. The window features a representation of a Bodhisattva surrounded
by miniature images of Brahmanical deities. The tympanum above the window
likewise displays Hindu deities. It is often said that the window was
constructed in the mid-17th century under Śrīnivāsamalla of Patan, but
it has also occasionally been ascribed to Viṣṇumalla, who ruled in the
18th century. The configuration of divinities on and above the window,
it is thought, was meant to suggest an identification of the king (who
periodically appeared at the window) with the Bodhisattva, who in turn
was subordinated to the major Hindu deity featured on the tympanum. This
was supposed to illustrate the Malla kings’ support of the Buddhist practices
of their subjects, while providing a Hindu interpretative framework for
them. Unfortunately, we do not have any reliable information on the date
of the Golden Window, and the matter is complicated by the fact that
there have been considerable renovations and additions to the royal palace
over the centuries. On the basis of Sanskrit texts and images, the paper
will examine the history and iconography of the Buddhist image represented
on the Golden Window and elsewhere by tracing the development of the
image from the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara who emanates Brahmanical deities
(described in versions of the Kāraṇḍavyūha and Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha) to Sṛṣṭikartā Lokeśvara,
one member of various groups of 108 Lokeśvaras. From the evaluation of
the extant material it appears that artistic representations, which share
many common characteristics, became popular from the mid-19th century.
The paper will also suggest a later date for the construction of the
Golden Window than thus far assumed and shed new light on the configuration
of deities represented on it.
Gudrun Bühnemann is Professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures of
Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her recent publications include
Maṇḍalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2003; New Delhi:
D.K. Printworld, 2007), Eighty-four Āsanas in Yoga: A Survey of Traditions (with
Illustrations) (New Delhi: D.K. Printworld, 2007) and Buddhist Iconography and
Ritual in Paintings and Line Drawings from Nepal (Lumbini: Lumbini International
Research Institute, 2008). For more information, see http://lca.wisc.edu/~gbuhnema/
February
4 - Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Michael Thomas
Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Neoliberalism, Neofundamentalism and Educational Technology in Pakistan
This paper brings together two major global trends and connects
them to trends in educational technology implementation in Pakistan.
Neoliberalism champions weak state controls over business entities and
economic interests while neofundamentalism champions personal piety,
Islamic modernism and calls for theocratic polity. Here connections are
made between these trends to explain and predict the use, misuse, and
lack of use of computers in schools.
Michael Thomas is an assistant professor in the Educational Communications
and Technology program in the Department of Curriculum & instruction at
UW-Madison. He earned his PhD in instructional systems technology from
Indiana University-Bloomington. His research interests focus on the cultural
issues related to the implementation of educational technologies in schools,
the role of culture and identity in instructional design, and the use of
virtual worlds as learning environments.
February
5 -
4:00 - 5:30PM
1641 Humanities
Lalita du Perron
Associate Director, Center for South Asia
The Context and Song texts of North Indian Art Music
The vocal genres khyal and thumri in North Indian Art (Hindustani)
music are, on the modern stage, almost always performed by middle-class
performers. Although in some strata of society being a professional
performer is not considered an appropriate career for women,
the stigma attached to being a woman on stage is slowly decreasing.
Most modern audiences are unaware of the colourful history of
the genres they patronise, a history firmly rooted in courtly
and courtesan milieus.
In this presentation we will look at some modern video footage of traditional
performers, and analyse how the texts of the songs they sing have been altered
through the ages to fit in with the respectable image that Hindustani music has
in the modern era.
Lalita du Perron received her PhD from SOAS at the University of London. The
resulting book, Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre, was published by Curzon Routledge
in 2007. She is the linguistic contributor to The Songs of North Indian Art Music
which will be published by Ashgate in 2010. Lalita has recently joined UW-Madison as
the Associate Director of the Center for South Asia.
This lecture is part of the UW-Madison
School of Music Colloquium Series.
*Rescheduled for Feb 18*
February
11 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
J. Mark Kenoyer
Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, Center for South Asia
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Stone Beads in Buddhist Art, Culture
and Ritual: An Investigation of Technology and Trade during the
Early Historic Period in South Asia
The production of stone beads during the Early Historic Period
(600 BC to 300 AD) in Gujarat and other regions of the subcontinent
represents an important technology that contributed to the global
connections between various regions of South Asia and beyond.
The growth of bead production coincides with the important spread
of Buddhism throughout the subcontinent and many other parts
of India and adjacent regions. The production centers of Nagara,
Gujarat, and Taxila, Punjab and other sites produced a variety
of beads and pendants that were used throughout the region, by
various communities. In this paper we will focus on the role
of beads in Buddhist art, ritual and ornamentation. The sources
for this information come from carvings depicting Bodhisattvas
and devotees ornamented with beads, as well as the paintings
of caves such as Ajanta. Beads were often given as gifts by devotees
at stupas and many relic caskets also had precious beads included
with the sacred relics. Technological studies of beads from production
sites and domestic areas provide evidence for the early use
of diamond drilling as well as mass production and polishing.
The trade of these beads closely followed the spread of Buddhism
and can be traced throughout the subcontinent as well as distant
regions, such as Central Asia, Tibet, Southeast Asia, Africa
and the Near East. The bead trade of Gujarat continued into the
medieval and modern period, and is still an important industry
that is globally connected.
Pakistani Cultural Heritage Lecture
February 11 - 6:00 - 7:00PM
1190 Grainger Hall
J. Mark Kenoyer
Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, Center for South Asia
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Archaeology and Culture in Pakistan Today
This lecture is hosted by the UW-Madison Pakistani Students Association.
February 18 - Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
J. Mark Kenoyer
Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, Center for South Asia
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Stone Beads in Buddhist Art, Culture and Ritual: An Investigation of Technology and Trade during the Early Historic Period in South Asia
The production of stone beads during the Early Historic Period (600 BC to 300 AD) in Gujarat and other regions of the subcontinent represents an important technology that contributed to the global connections between various regions of South Asia and beyond. The growth of bead production coincides with the important spread of Buddhism throughout the subcontinent and many other parts of India and adjacent regions. The production centers of Nagara, Gujarat, and Taxila, Punjab and other sites produced a variety of beads and pendants that were used throughout the region, by various communities. In this paper we will focus on the role of beads in Buddhist art, ritual and ornamentation. The sources for this information come from carvings depicting Bodhisattvas and devotees ornamented with beads, as well as the paintings of caves such as Ajanta. Beads were often given as gifts by devotees at stupas and many relic caskets also had precious beads included with the sacred relics. Technological studies of beads from production sites and domestic areas provide evidence for the early use of diamond drilling as well as mass production and polishing. The trade of these beads closely followed the spread of Buddhism and can be traced throughout the subcontinent as well as distant regions, such as Central Asia, Tibet, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Near East. The bead trade of Gujarat continued into the medieval and modern period, and is still an important industry that is globally connected.
February
25 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Jason Hopper
PhD student, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Who's Being Political? Reflections on a Demonstration in Bhutan
In 2009 six children died in a flash flood just south of Bhutan’s
capital of Thimphu. Widely viewed as a preventable tragedy, citizens
in Bhutan’s capital organized a demonstration, labeled a “solidarity
walk”, to express their outrage and frustration. Despite the seemingly
obvious political tone of the march, the organizers of the event vehemently
denied being “political”. After the march a debate ensued over the very
question of the “political” nature of the event, its relationship to
the personal tragedy that inspired it, and the place of political expression
in Bhutanese society. This talk will look at how the solidarity walk
and the conversations that ensued afterwards can provide insight into
some of the important issues surrounding contemporary political change
in Bhutan. This talk grows out of pre-dissertation fieldwork conducted
in Bhutan during the summer of 2009 and funded with a Scott Kloeck-Jenson
Fellowship.
March
4 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Eli Franco
Professor, Institute for Indology, University of Leipzig, Germany
Arguments for Religious Authority in Buddhism and Hinduism
Up to the 4th or 5th century A.D., it seems that Buddhism and Hinduism
developed in mutual ignorance of each other. References in Buddhist literature
(sūtra, abhidharma, narrative and poetic literature) to Hindu philosophy
or religion are extremely rare and of negligible importance. The same
is true for the late Vedic literature and early Brahmanical classical
literature: Buddhism hardly seems to exist.
The situation changes radically after Dignāga (480-540?). All of
a sudden South Asian philosophers are aware of each other and one
finds them debating fiercely with one another. In the context of this interreligious
disputation, the authority of the sacred texts is obviously challenged.
A Hindu philosopher cannot advance an argument on the grounds that it is
thus stated in the Veda. Nor can a Buddhist philosopher argue for the contrary,
because it is stated differently in the Buddhist sūtras. Thus, the
question naturally arose whether the Veda or the Word of the Buddha or the
Word of Śiva are reliable sources of knowledge. The lecture will present
some of the arguments that were used by South Asian, especially Buddhist,
philosophers to defend their respective religious traditions, and will dwell
on the philosophical ramifications in proofs of rebirth.
March 11 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Farina Mir
Assistant Professor, History, University of Michigan
The Punjabi Literary Formation: Language and Affect in a Vernacular Culture
This talk explores the contours of a colonial-era “Punjabi literary
formation” in India, by which I mean those individuals who shared in
the practices of producing, circulating, performing, and consuming Punjabi
literary texts. I argue that the Punjabi literary formation’s pragmatic
engagements with colonial institutions were far less important than the
affective attachments its adherents established with a place, with an
old but dynamic corpus of stories, and with the moral sensibility that
suffused those stories. The talk will first address the peculiar relationship
forged between the colonial state and Punjabi language and literature.
On the one hand, the state recognized Punjabi as the sacred language
of the Sikhs, while on the other hand it actively worked to replace Punjabi
with Urdu as the Punjab’s vernacular language. I will conclude with a
consideration of how the Punjabi literary formation established affective
ties with a spatial milieu whose imaginative co-ordinates differed from
those addressed by nationalist activists at the time.
Farina Mir holds degrees in English and Asian & Middle Eastern Cultures
from Barnard College (B.A., 1993) and in History from Columbia University
(Ph.D., 2002). Trained as a historian of colonial and postcolonial South
Asia, her research has focused on the social, cultural, and religious history
of late-colonial north India. Her forthcoming book, The Social Space of
Language: Vernacular Culture in British Colonial Punjab is a study of the
Punjabi language and its literature under colonialism (from 1849–1947),
with a particular focus on qisse, or epic stories/romances. Mir has published
in Comparative Studies in Society and History and the Indian Economic and
Social History Review, and has been the recipient of fellowships from the
Social Science Research Council, the Fulbright Program, the American Institute
of Pakistan Studies, the Ford Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation. She
is currently an Assistant Professor of history at the University of Michigan,
where she teaches courses on early modern and modern South Asia.
March
16
- Noon - 1:00PM
336 Ingraham Hall
Dr. Asok Kumar Ray
National Foundation India, New Delhi
MP3 Download
The Look East Policy and the North East India
With its genesis in the 1950s, the Look East Policy (LEP) drew
attention when economic reform was at the doorstep of India in the 1980s.
The LEP was restored in the larger context of economic reforms. This
paper will discuss three major contours of the policy: regional groupings;
trade, investment and infrastructure; and peace building and contextualize
these in the specific context of northeast India.
The geographical proximity of the northeast with Southeast Asia makes the region
more relevant for the prospects in regional cooperation, cross-border trade and
in peace keeping. Considering this relevance, the LEP has re-imagined the once
sensitive border region of northeast as a prospective economic zone. One is to
see how the northeast has responded to the policy contours for development of
this region. In this process the region has faced problems, yet the prospects
are visible. This paper will open for discourse, the response, problems and prospects
of the LEP in northeast India.
March
18
- Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
No lecture March 18
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March 25 - Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Eleanor Newbigin
Research Fellow, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK
MP3 Download
Funding India's Secular Democracy: The Relationship Between Religious Law and Income Tax
Both in scholarly and popular debate, democracy
is presented as the political panacea for modern times.
It is largely understood as a political system that can heal
religious tension and remove social inequality. This notion
has particular resonance in India. Since the late 1980s,
and particularly after the demolition of the Babri Masjid
in 1992, academics and social commentators have argued that
the Indian nation is caught in a battle between secular democracy
and Hindu nationalism. This is often presented in terms of a
breakdown or ‘crisis’ of the independent Indian state. This
assumes that the transfer of power established a very stable
secular democracy that has somehow become ‘corrupted’ by
religion. This paper challenges this view. Looking
at the development of representative politics under late-colonial
rule, it argues that, far from undermining the political
significance of religious identity, the emergence of a
democratic, welfare-orientated Indian state was made possible
through policies that rested on religious discrimination and
differentiation. It shows how, in seeking to draw up new and
sustainable funding sources to pay for devolution and state
expansion after World War I, colonial officials focused particularly
on taxation of the Hindu family and traces the way in which this
drew the state into a unique financial relationship with, and
dependency on, this social unit. Looking at the legacy of these
developments for tax structures in modern day it India, this paper
calls for us to consider not only secular ideology but also the
economic structures that support representative politics in order
to understand better the relationship between religious identity
and democracy, in South Asia and beyond.
Eleanor Newbigin is a Junior Research Fellow at Trinity College,
University of Cambridge, UK but is currently based at NYU for
a three month stretch as a visiting scholar. Focusing on the Hindu
Code Bill, her doctoral thesis examined family law and social reform
in the first half of the twentieth century, exploring the way in which
religious identity and gender relations informed debates about citizenship
rights, democracy and secularism. She is preparing a manuscript
based on this research while also beginning to develop its findings for
a second research project on the relationship between economic
consumption and citizenship in early post-colonial India.
April 8 - Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Sultan-i-Rome
Assistant Professor, History, Jahanzeb College (Pakistan)
MP3 Download
Swat: An Analysis of Political, Administrative, Socio-Political and Economic Developments
Swat has been periodically invaded by formidable armies, of which
the present deployment of the Pakistani armed forces is an example. The
situation in Swat became volatile in 2007 as both government forces and
extremist factions clashed. Clashes erupted again in spring 2009, which
resulted in millions of IDPs (internally displaced persons) fleeing Swat.
There are many players involved with conflicting agendas. Swat is at a crossroads
and if both sides refuse to budge, it is likely to spell ruin for Swat and its
inhabitants. Professor Sultan-i-Rome will discuss agendas of the major factions,
including the provincial government, TNSM, and Swat's local Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP), with an eye towards understanding how a peaceful solution from
this increasingly volatile situation could be forged.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the American
Institute of Pakistan Studies.
April
15 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Roopa Singh
Adjunct Professor, Political Science, CUNY & Pace University
MP3 Download
Precious and Slumdog Millionaire:
Beyond the Urban and the Melodramatic, Integrating
American Popular Culture
In cinema studies, Indian films tend to be categorized as melodrama,
and in the mainstream market, contemporary African American films
often fall under the “urban” category. Are these tropes too narrow?
Or are they just what they need to be at this stage of integration and
American popular culture? This paper argues that rights based
integration involving real property is necessarily supplemented, even
completed, by cultural integration involving intellectual property.
That is, the powerful spectacle of black sit-ins at whites only lunch
counters can and should be superimposed over the integration of the
popular cultural topography of America. What has the integration of
American popular culture looked like thus far? In cultural aggregate
fashion, this paper pulls from: legal scholarship; two films that
recently attained high visibility within the American cultural
landscape, Precious and Slumdog Millionaire; as well as the emerging
field of Hip Hop studies.
April
15 -
7:00 - 9:00 PM
335 Pyle Center
Broughton Coburn
MP3 Download
Secrets of Shangri-la: The Ancient Caves of Mustang
Broughton Coburn, Harvard graduate and author and editor of seven
books (including two national bestsellers), is a premier authority on
the culture and environment of the Himalaya, where he lived for two decades.
In Secrets of Shangri-la: The Ancient Caves of Mustang, he recounts the
recent National Geographic-funded expedition to a series of human-excavated
cave cities that date to 2,000 B.C., yielding discoveries of international
significance -- rare, abandoned text folios, and an exquisite, 14th Century
mural depicting a lineage of high priests and mystical yogis. Who created
these sacred and historic sites, and what do they tell us about human
and world history? What life lessons do they offer to modern humans –
and what will happen to these sacred sites and the secrets they contain?
In a lively, illustrated presentation (including clips from the forthcoming
National Geographic/PBS Special, Secrets of Shangri-la), Broughton Coburn
unravels the pre-historic, religious, cultural and artistic legacy of this
enchanted, living landscape. He traverses such diverse subjects as high
altitude archaeology and anthropology, fragile mountain environments, global
warming, Himalayan art history, issues of cultural change and modernization,
and the inherent nature of the human mind – all wrapped in a gripping adventure
story that shares this year's findings with the public for the first time.
It’s a show that, broadly speaking, offers up the real-life version of the
latest installment in the Indiana Jones series. More Information...
April
22 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Mario Gomez
Independent Consultant and formerly, University of Colombo Law School & Consultant, Law & Society Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka
MP3 Download
Sri Lanka: A Crisis of Institutions and Constitutions
Sri Lanka has been in a state of transition for many years. Somewhere in the seventies it transited from democracy to a form of autocracy. A new constitution centralized power in Parliament, alienated Tamils and sowed the seeds of the violence that followed. In the eighties this transition was accentuated with the adoption of a new constitution that created a strong Executive Presidential system, unheard of in the democratic world.
In May 2009 the country made another transition when the LTTE was defeated and government’s writ ran over the entire country for the first time in 30 years. In between there have been other mini-transitions. In 1994 a new political regime and a fresh political actor attempted to negotiate a peace with the LTTE and to address some of the rule of law issues of the previous regime. Both these failed. Part of that transitional process was an attempt to deal with human rights abuses that occurred during a war with insurgents in the South of the country and to provide reparations to victims.
In 2003 Sri Lanka experienced its first serious peace process when the government attempted to negotiate a constitutional peace with external facilitation. This process also failed and this led a new political regime to resume a military campaign against the LTTE. Despite its most important transition – from war to peace in 2009 – the country still grapples with an institutional crisis and a constitution that lacks credibility. There is no institution at the moment that commands widespread public respect.
If this transition is to be sustained it will require at least three things: Equitable Economic Growth; A constitution that must distribute power appropriately amongst the three organs of the state and between the centre and regions; and embed the values of multi-ethnicity, democracy and human rights; and Credible and independent institutions that will supervise the state and non-state actors ensure that the rule of law is adhered to.
This paper will explore some elements of the latter two processes: what are the elements that should figure in new democratic constitution for Sri Lanka and how may independent institutions be created and sustained?
April
29 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Alok Kanungo
Fulbright Scholar, UW-Madison; Deccan College, Pune, India
MP3 Download
Mapping Glass Production at Papanaidupet, Andhra Pradesh, India
In the study of glass trade beads Indo-Pacific glass beads have become synonymous
with the village of Papanaidupet, Chittor District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Production
of tiny glass beads may have first started in India, possibly at the site of Arikamedu,
but eventually the technology and finished beads spread to the rest of the pacific world
during the pre and early Christian era. These glass beads were traded to the East and
the West, following the same routes as the agate and carnelian beads. Indo-Pacific
glass beads appear in East Africa between 200 to 1600 AD, in Malaysia and Vietnam
by about 1000 AD, and in Sumatra in the beginning of the 1st century AD.
The only surviving Indo-Pacific bead production site for the last two hundred years is at
Papanaidupet, India. Unfortunately this industry is on the verge of disintegration,
and many of the socio-economic features of guild organization, trading and labor hierarchy
have changed but technology has remained fairly constant. This presentation will look at
the issues of technology and trade as well as the relationships between the modern industry
and those practiced in the historic past. Mapping of the village provides a record that will
be useful in future archaeological studies that examine prehistoric and historic glass production
and glass bead production centers.
Dr. Alok Kanungo (PhD, Deccan College, Pune India) was born in Orissa and grew up in
close contact with many of the tribal communities of this part of Eastern India. For more
than a decade he has been travelling and documenting the rich heritage of the Nagas of
northeast India, and the Bondos and Juangs of Orissa. He has worked in many areas where it
is difficult to say where anthropology or history stops and archaeology begins. He has published
extensively on the subject of glass and glass bead production, and written or edited four books
and more than two dozens of research articles in various journals. He is also the editor of the
South Asian Archaeology Series published through British Archaeological Reports. He is currently
an Honorary Fellow with the Department of Anthropology at UW Madison and a visiting Fulbright Scholar.
May
6 -
Noon - 1:00PM
206 Ingraham Hall
Luca M. Olivieri
Co-Director, Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan (IAM)
MP3 Download
The Archaeology of Early
Historic Swat: Activities and Challenges of the Italian
Mission 2000-2010
This illustrated lecture will present an overview of the archaeological
research carried out by the Italian Archaeological Mission to Swat, Pakistan
between 2000 and 2010. Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan has been
the center of militant insurgency beginning as early as 1998, but archaeological
work continued up through 2006 at sites such as Barikot and Udegram.
The site of Barikot is often associated with the conquest of this region
by Alexander, but no Macedonian occupation levels have been found. The
site continued to be an important urban center contemporaneous with the
site of Taxila. It was occupied from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century
A.D. On the acropolis of the city a later Brahmanic temple has been excavated
(7th-11th century A.D.). The site of Udegram is also possibly identified
with the city of Ora that was conquered by Alexander, and it continued
to be occupied up through Indo-Greek and Kushana periods. During the
8th -10th centuries it was a major military center of the Hindu Shahi
rulers and continued to be occupied as late as the 12th century. One
of the earliest mosques in Swat Pakistan was discovered and excavated
at Udegram. Plans for future research programs in Swat will also be discussed.
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