Vijay Prashad
Spring 2011 Lecture
“The Day Our Probation Ended”
Featuring Vijay Prashad, George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies at Trinity College
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Day Our Probation Ended
On March 3, 2011, students and faculty filled Rapaporte Treasure Hall to attend the Spring 2011 Soli Sorabjee Lecture in South Asian Studies, featuring acclaimed author and professor, Vijay Prashad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies at Trinity College. Professor Prashad is the author of eleven books, most recently, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, which was chosen as the Best Non-Fiction of 2008 by the Asian American Writers' Workshop and won the 2009 Muzaffar Ahmad Book Prize. The event began with a reception, which gave the students and faculty an opportunity to converse with Professor Prashad. Prof. Ulka Anjaria, lecture coordinator and a professor of English, introduced our esteemed guest.
Professor Prashad delivered a rousing and provocative lecture on the racism faced by the desi community following the attacks of September 11. Prashad also covered the overall development of the South Asian communities within the United States, calling the community “twice-born.” Prashad uses this term to describe the feeling of being trapped between two cultures. Prashad’s background in international studies and South Asian History made the lecture more comprehensible to a larger mass due to his ability to relate it to current events.
This lecture and visit were co-sponsored by the South Asian Studies Program, the American Studies Program, and the Brandeis-India Initiative.
About the Speaker
Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies at Trinity College. He has authored eleven books, most recently, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, which was chosen as the Best Non-Fiction of 2008 by the Asian American Writers' Workshop and won the 2009 Muzaffar Ahmad Book Prize.
Professor Prashad writes regularly in the media: as a columnist for Frontline magazine (Chennai, India), a contributing editor for Himal South Asia (Kathmandu, Nepal) and a contributing editor for Naked Punch Asia (Lahore, Pakistan). His web dispatches can be read at Counterpunch, ZNET and Pragoti. He is also on the board of the National Priorities Project.
For more information, please see Professor Prashad's faculty page on the Trinity College website.