The India Centre
Webinars
MUSIC, POWER, IDENTITY, AND TECHNOLOGY : INDIAN MUSIC CULTURE
At the end of WW I, a historical conjuncture incorporated technological developments, social change, political dynamics, and industrial structure into a rapidly growing global music economy. India’s position in that economy was determined by internal cultural dynamics but equally by its place within the corporate structures of British colonialism. Coincident with Indian independence, a second historical conjuncture helped to isolate the Indian music industry from the global music economy. That isolation affected Indian music culture in multiple ways throughout the 20 th Century.
SELF, NO SELF, AND SELF CONSCIOUSNESS SOME CLASSICAL INDIAN VIEWS
The question of what accounts for personal identity through bodily, emotional, and mental change is one of many topics related to the positions taken on the nature of subjectivity and self-awareness in classical Indian thought. “Enlightenment” and yogic practice is another. This talk takes up Vedānta, Yogācāra Buddhism, Nyāya, Cārvāka, and other classical views, the debate between Naiyāyikas and Buddhists in particular.
RASA IN MORAL JOURNEY: AESTHETIC DIMENSIONS OF ETHICAL ACTION IN GANDHI
Gandhi’s thought on non-violent political action and his programs for social reconstruction have been subjects of scholarly debates, often sharp, for long. More recently, visual and literary representations of Gandhi that remind people of the meanings of an extraordinarily complex life have also received attention (Ramaswamy 2021). Little consideration, however, has been given to Gandhi’s own aesthetic sensibility informed his moral journey. The general perception of Gandhi is as a man of action with a utilitarian approach even to art and literature.
ALTERNATIVE ONTOLOGIES AND EPISTEMOLOGIES: IS THERE AN INDIAN WAY OF KNOWING AND THEORIZING IN SOCIAL SCIENCES?
In an “informal essay” (1989), poet, translator, and folklorist A. K. Ramanujam asks an intriguing question, “Is there an Indian way of thinking?” Taking inspiration from the celebrated essay, without any misconception of equivalent competence, I ask, Is there an Indian way of knowing and theorizing in social sciences? Ramanujan’s answer was in the affirmative for an imagined India in the deep past but not for the post-colonial India of the present.
GANDHI AND THE GENDER OF FASTING: A WEBINAR BY PROF. VINAY LAL
Can the tradition of fasting have any relation to the genders at large?
Whenever we think of the tradition of fasting, we are reminded of Mahatma Gandhi, the modern master of fasting who gained attention through his 15 odd major public fasts.
Join Prof. Vinay Lal of the UCLA in his webinar on “Gandhi and the gender of fasting”, where he discusses how Gandhi’s refusal of being bound by the general and rigid ethics, sociology, and philosophy surrounding the tradition of fasting led to radicalization and feminization of public sphere.
POSTCOLONIALISM AND INDIA: 1976 - 2020: A WEBINAR BY PROF HARISH TRIVEDI
The formulation and effect of Postcolonialism were widely different in different locations – in the US academy where it began, in the White Commonwealth where it was embraced, and in India where it was resisted. This webinar traces the trajectory from the pre-Postcolonial to the post-Postcolonial. It focuses in particular on four Indian/para-Indian case studies: Phanishwar Nath “Renu”, who was one of the first writers to depict post-Independence disillusionment in India, V. S. Naipaul, who sought to break free of the old colonial burden, Salman Rushdie who was the poster-boy of the Postcolonial writers (as distinct from its celebrity theorists), and Taslima Nasreen, the postcolonial writer virtually brushed under the ideological carpet.
GANDHI'S SARVODAYA: MODERN CHALLENGES, SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS BY PROF. VEENA HOWARD
This webinar analyzes various aspects of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s philosophy of Sarvodaya (upliftment of all), which he articulated through a practical program. The webinar summarizes various components of Gandhi’s constructive program ensuring individual, societal, and environmental health founded on moral principles.
RELIGION IN INDIA: TOLERANCE AND SEGREGATION BY DR. NEHA SAHGAL
This webinar explores the role of religion in Indian public life. The study is part of a significant effort by Pew Research Center to understand religious change and its impact on societies worldwide. It examines religious identity, beliefs, and practices; views on Indian national identity; caste; experiences with discrimination; religious conversion; and the connection between economic development and religious observance.
INDIAN MUSIC THEORY THROUGH THE AGES BY PROF. SRINIVAS REDDY
This presentation takes a broad look at various historical moments that have been pivotal in the evolution of Hindustani and Carnatic musical practice evolution. The webinar explores the musical theory and holds Indian philosophies informing the musical approaches of sonic vibration, mathematical precision, aesthetic pleasure, and ultimate salvation.
BOLLYWOOD: KAL, AAJ AUR KAL BY PROF. PHILIP LUTGENDORF
The Indian commercial film industry-known worldwide by the misleading but now unavoidable label “Bollywood”—is famously the world’s most significant output. This talk identifies and explores key elements of this style within a chronological history framework and features short clips from crucial films of different eras.
RETHINKING HINDU CONCEPTS BY PROF. ARVIND SHARMA
From one point of view, the history of Hinduism is a history of the periodic realignments of its conceptual universe, consisting of such key categories as Karma, Dharma, Veda, Yoga, and soon. This talk focuses on the shifts in understanding of such vital categories suggested by modern developments.