India and South Asia focus of grants and events

Reception October 14 features faculty, South Asia student group, and free Indian food

A surge of activity is upcoming in Brandeis programs to expand connections with India and further stimulate interest in South Asia on campus.

The effort includes a new group of grants, a South Asia studies reception on Thursday evening, October 14, and, later in the month, a look at how India's colonial history is treated in the country's popular cinema.

The new grants, which are being made through the Office of Global Affairs and the South Asia Studies Program, will support Brandeis-India Initiative Fellows -- student "ambassadors" who will attempt to strengthen Brandeis’ ties to India. Last February President Jehuda Reinharz visited India and met with alumni and friends. The grants are designed to expand on those relationships.
 
Inaugural fellows will be expected to use the funds creatively to help build connections and partnerships with organizations, alumni, schools, families and businesses in India. The projects may be carried out as part of a summer internship, research project, volunteer placement or study abroad program in summer or fall of 2011 or spring of 2012. Awards range from $1,000 to $1,500 and can be matched with other university, personal or external funding. Details.

The entire Brandeis community is invited to a reception highlighting South Asia Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. in the atrium of the Mandel Center for the Humanities. The informal reception will showcase the South Asian Studies minor, the Brandeis-India Initiative and information about studying and working abroad.

Leaders of the campus club South Asian Students Association, which is co-sponsoring the event, will be on hand. The association is one of the university’s most active and popular student organizations, regularly sponsoring campus events including the annual November show, “MELA.”

The South Asian Studies Program is an interdisciplinary minor now in its third year. It draws upon faculty in literature, history and anthropology, along with the Brandeis professional schools in social policy and business. The Brandeis-India Initiative strives to strengthen Brandeis’ ties to the world’s largest democracy through partnerships and exchanges.

Thursday’s reception celebrates the many connections between South Asia and the University’s faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students. It coincides with start of Fall Fest. This year the Fall Fest theme is travel. Indian food and light refreshments will be served. RSVP to oga@brandeis.edu.

Later this month, on Thursday, October 28, a major shift in Indian film and society -- in which filmmakers tackle the colonial and independence periods head-on -- will be the topic of discussion at the Third Soli Sorabjee Lecture.
 
Corey Creekmur, head of film studies at the University of Iowa, is an expert in international popular cinema. He will give a talk titled, “Experiments with Truth: Confronting Colonial History in Popular Indian Cinema,” addressing significant questions about the relationships between popular culture, national history, and collective memory in contemporary India.
 
The Soli Sorabjee Lecture Series, established last year, is named after the Honorable Soli Sorabjee, former attorney general of India and a friend of Brandeis.

Categories: International Affairs

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