Rajan Gurukkal

Priyadarshini Hills PO K o t t a y a m Rajan Gurukkal K e r a l a Vice Chancellor I n d i a - 6 8 6 5 6 0 Mahatma Gandhi University 4 8 1 - 2 7 3 1 0 0 1

CURRICULUM VITAE

Rajan Gurukkal, P.M [email protected]

Education

M.A in History( First Class & First Rank) 1972 .

M.Phil. in Social History: “Socio-economic Functions of the Temple.” A Grade. 1978 Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi.

PhD in “Socio-economic History of Land System.” Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. 1985

Awards

Teacher Fellowship. Indian Council of Historical Research. 1977

National Teacher Fellowship. University Grants Commission. 1980

Oravakkal Mathen Memorial Best Academician Award. 1986

Positions Held

Lecturer in History. Union Christian College. . . 1972 - 87 Assistant Professor in History. Centre for Historical Studies. Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. 1988 - 90 Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, 1991-1993. Member of the Syndicate of the Mahatma Gandhi University, 1991-1993. Member of the Executive Committee of the Indian History Congress, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1997, & 1998. Sectional President, Indian History Congress, 1998 Member of the Advisory Committee of the Gazetteer, Government of Kerala, 1987 - 90 Member of the Advisory Committee of Cultural Publications, Government of Kerala, 1997 - 99 Member of the Advisory Committee of Archives Bulletin, Government of Kerala, 1997 - 90

2 Member of the Governing Council of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, 1995 - 97 Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of the Madras Institute of Development Studies - Review of Development and Change, 1998 onwards Member of the Lakshadweep Socio-cultural Research Commission, 1996-2001 Sociological Consultant, India Eco- Development World Bank Project, Periyar Tiger Reserve, 1998 onwards Member, Advisory Committee, Kerala Research Programme for Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, 1999 onwards Dean of Humanities, University, 2000-2002 Joint Secretary, Indian History Congress, 2002 onwards Member, academic Senate, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, 1999-2001 Member, Executive Committee, International Association of Social Semiotics, 2000 onwards Member, Kerala Council of Historical Research, Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 2004 onwards Member, Foundation, Periyar Tiger Reserve, 2005 onwards Sectional President, Historiography Section, Andhra Pradesh History Congress, Cudappa, 2007 Prof. Rajan Gurukkal, Sundararajan visiting Chair at the Centre for Contemporary Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore(2007)

Experience

Thirty-four years’ Post-graduate Teaching & Research in Socio-economic History. Ten Years’ of Social Development Project Researches & Training Five Years’ teaching and research in Human Ecology and Human Geography. Five Years’ teaching in Social Theory

Foreign Experience

Lectures and Seminars in Germany, England and Canada (Humboldt, Leipzig, Berlin, Toronto, Kingston, and Manchester Universities) 1984 Brief International Lecture Tours in China and Japan (Shanghai, Tokyo, Taisho Universities) 1999 Invited Professor at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociale, Paris, 2002 Social Anthropology and Archaeology of Water Management in Southern India, Asia Links Project Curriculum Workshop, Montpellier, France, 2004 Social Water Management Curriculum Workshop, Ruhuna University, Sri Lanka, 2005

3 Current Researches

Early-historic Archaeology, Historical Socio-economic Processes, Social semiotics, Historical Social Anthropology, Historical Human Geography and Human Ecology (Western Ghats)

Publications

a) Sixty-eight Articles in various Research Journals/periodicals of International Repute b) Four Books

Projects Done (Nine Studies on Human Ecology and Historical Geography)

1. Fringe Area Socio-economic Study of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, World Bank Project (IEDP, 2002-03) 2. Socio-economic Sustainability Study, Periyar Tiger Reserve, World Bank Project (IEDP, 2003) 3. Sabarimala Enclave: Pilgrim Impact Assessment, Periyar Tiger Reserve, World Bank Project (IEDP, 2002-03) 4. Process Documentation Research, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Wold Bank Project (IEDP, 2003-04 5. Neyyar, Peppara, Chinnar and Parambikkulam, World Bank Kerala Forestry Project (2004-05) 6. PFM Performance Apraisal, World Bank Kerala Forestry Project (2004-05) 7. Parambikkulam, Nelliampathy, Vazhachal Landscape Project (In collaboration with the French Institute, Pondicherry, 2005-06) 8. Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Improvement Project, Agasthyamala Landscape (Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, 2006-07) 9. Ford Foundation Project on Historical Atlas of South India, in collaboration with the French Institute, Pondicherry (2006 April – 2008 April)

List of Publications

a) Chapters of Edited Volumes

"The Manigramam Gulid : An Analysis" in L.M. Pylee Commemoration Volume on Christian Heritage of Kerala, Cochin, 1981.

4 "Aryanisation of South India" Dravidian Encyclopaedia, Trivandrum, 1983

"From the Royaly of Icons to the Divinity of Royalty : Aspects of Vaisnava Icons and Kingship in South India" in R. Parimoo ed. Vaisnavism and Indian Art, Baroda, 1984.

"State and Society in South India 200 B.C to 300 A.D", History of India: Earliest Times to 800 A.D Indira Gandhi Open University. New Delhi. 1990.

“Early Social Formation of South India and Its Transitional Processes,” in H.V. Sreenivasa Murthy, B. Surendra Rao, Kesavan Veluthat and S.A.Bari eds. Essays on Indian History and Culture, Felicitation volume in honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali, Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 1990

"Formation of Caste Society in Kerala : Historical Antecedents in K.L.Sharma ed. Caste and Class in Indian States, Delhi, 1994

"The Beginnings of the Historic Period : The Tamil South, Up to the End of the Fifth Century" in Romila Thapar ed. Perspectives on the Socio-Economic History of India, Bombay, 1995.

"Towards a New Discourse: Discursive Processes in Early South India," in R. Champakalakshmi and S. Gopal (Eds.) Tradition, Dissent and Ideology, Essays in Honour of Romila Thapar, New Delhi, 1996.

“Recent Historiographic Dimensions on Early South Indian Socio-economics,” in K.K.N.Kurup ed. New Dimensions in South Indian History, Felicitation volume in honour of Dr. M.R. Raghava Varier, Association of Peasant Studies, University of Calicut, 1996

“Historical Materialism and History”, in T.R. Venugopalan Ed. History and Theory, Government College Publications, Thrissur

“From Clan and Lineage to Hereditary Occupations and Caste in Early South India,” in Devanath ed. Transition from Tribes to Caste in India, Shimla, 1999.

“Social Formation in Iron Age South India,” K. Surendra Rao and Kesavan Veluthat (Eds) Sheik Ali Felicitation Volume, Mangalore 2000.

“A Historiographic Critique,” in K.K.N. Kurup Ed. Raghava Varier Felicitation Volume, Calicut, 2000

“Social Formation in the age of the Mauryas,” S. Rajagopal Ed. Studies in Epigraphy, Archaeology and History, Prof. Y. Subbarayalu Felicitation Volume, Chennai, 2001

5

“Antecedents of the State Formation in South India,” R. Champaka Lakshmi et.al (Eds.) State and Society in Pre-modern South India, Trissur, 2002.

"History, Hermeneutics and Methodological", in Bijoy H. Baruah & Ramshankar Misra eds. Social Reality and Tradition, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, 2006

"Tradition as Narrative", in Bijoy H. Baruah & Ramshankar Misra eds. Social Reality and Tradition, Rawat Publications, Jaipur, 2006

b) Papers presented in Conferences/Seminars

"Land Control and Social Structure of Early Medieval Kerala", Indian Council of Historical Research, Regional Seminar, Kerala University, 1979.

"Formation of Agrarian System in South India : Historical Antecedents", Indian Council of Historical Research, Regional Seminar, Kerala University, 1984.

"Evolution of State Power in Kerala : Historical Antecedents", Indian Council of Historical Research, Regional Seminar, Kerala University, 1985.

"The Beginnings of Agrarian Expansion in South Indian Region", University Grants Commission National Seminar, Mangalore University, 1989.

"From Clan and Lineage to Hereditory Occupations and Caste in Early South India", National Seminar on Transition from Tribe to Caste. Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. Shimla. November 1993.

"Literacy in Early South India: Socio-economics of Pervasive Dynamic", National Seminar on Literacy and Communication in Early India Jawaharlal Nehru University, December, 1993

"Hermeneutics, Objectivity and Historians", National Workshop on Objectivity, IIT, Kanpur. March 1995

"Indian Tradition as Narrative", National Symposium on Understanding Tradition, IIT, Kanpur, March 1995

“Historicising Culture,” Presidential Address, Section 3. South Indian History Congress, XVIII Session, Kalady, 1998

6 “Characterising Ancient Society: The Case of South India,” Presidential Address, Ancient India Section, Indian History Congress 59th Session, Patiala, 1998

“Social Theory in Ancient Indian Historiography: Hermeneutic Turns in the Writings of Romila Thapar”, Presidential Address, Andhra Pradesh History Congress, Cudappa, 2007

c) National Journal Articles

"Local Measures Reconstructed from the Kollur Matham Copper Plates" Studies in Epigraphy, Mysore, 1975.

"The Ethnical Dichromatism of the Jewery in Kerala : A New Interpretation" Journal of Kerala Studies, III. II. Trivandrum, 1976.

"Some Aspects of Early Medieval Brahman Village Local Codes of Kerala" Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (here after IHC) Delhi, 1979.

"The Land Rights Structure and the Pattern of its Redistribution in Early Medieval Kerala" IHC. Delhi, 1978.

"Proliferation and Consolidation of the Temple Centred Hierarchy of the Cera Society" Journal of Kerala Studies, IV. III & IV. Trivandrum, 1979.

"The Socio-Economic Milieu of the Kerala Temple : A Functional Analysis, c. A.D. 800 - 1200" Studies in History. II. 1. New Delhi, 1980.

"Aspects of Early Iron Age Economy : Problems of Agrarian Expansion in Tamilakam" IHC. Delhi, 1981.

"Non-brahmana Resistance to the Expansion of Brahmadeya-s : The Early Pandya Experience" IHC. Delhi, 1984.

"Aspects of the Reservoir System of Irrigation in the Pandya State" Studies in History: New Series. II.2. New Delhi, 1986.

“Communal Harmony in Early Medieval Kerala: An Outline of its Material Milieu,” Religion and Society, Vol. XXXIV. No. 1 1987

"Nature of Warrior Power in Localised Agriculture : The Case of the Pandya State" IHC. 1986.

7 "Forms of Production and Forces of Change in Ancient Tamil Society" Studies in History Vol. 2. New Delhi,1989.

"Towards the Voice of Dissent: Trajectory of Ideological Transformation in Early South India" Social Scientist Vol.21, Nos.1-2, January-February 1993.

“From Clan and Lineage to Hereditary Occupations and Caste in Early South India,” Indian Historical Review, Vol. XX. Nos. 1-2, 1993-4

“Writing and its Uses in the Ancient Tamil Country,” Studies in History, 12, 1, n.s (1996)

“The Edakal Rock Engravings: Morphology and Meanings,” Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. IV. No. 1, 1997

“Hypotactic Body Signs and Social Hierarchy,” South European Journal for Semiotic Studies, Vol. II (1-3), 1999.

“When a Coalition of Conflicting Interests Decentralises: A Theoretical Critique of Decentralisation Politics in Kerala:,” Social Scientist, Vol. 29, Nos. 9-10, 2001.

“Slave Laws in Ancient India and Hellenic Asia: A Comparative Search into Features of Servitude,” Journal of Indian Legal Thought, vol. 3. Mahatma Gandhi University, , 2005

“Did Slavery Exist in Ancient India,” ICHR, Special Paper, New Delhi, 2006 d) International/Foreign Journal Articles

“Hypotactic Body Signs, Drum Orchestration and Hierarchy,” Proceedings of the I & II East Asian International Semiotics Seminar, 1998

“Hypotactic Body Signs and Social Hierarchy,” European Journal for Semiotic Studies, Vo. 11 (1-3) 1999

“In Search of ”, Journal of Roman Archaeology, 14, 2001

“Eco-Semiotics and Dravidian Culture: The Case of Nature >< Culture Homology in Ancient Tamil Poetics,” European Journal for Semiotic Studies, Forth coming issue.

8 e) International/Foreign Seminar Papers

"Counter Culture and Containment Strategy : The Case of India" Humboldt University, East Germany, 1990.

"Morphology and Meanings of Edakal Engravings" Global Conference of Rock-art Specialists held at Delhi, November - December 1993.

"Re-thinking Colonial Process Through Michel Foucault", International Seminar on Michel Foucault and Literature, Department of French Studies. University of Toronto, Octobr, 1994

"Literacy in Early South India", Matropolitan University, Manchester, October, 1994

“The Semiotics of Drum Orchestration and Social Hierarchy,” Proceedings of the International Conference of Semioticians, Shanghai, International Association of South Asian Semioticians, Shanghai, 1997.

“Namputiri Body Signs and Social Hierarchy,” Invited Professor Seminar, EHESS, Paris, 2002

“Caste Formation in Southern India,” Invited Professor Seminar, EHESS, Paris, 2002. f) Monographs/Books:

Levi-Strauss (Monograph in ), Viswadarsana publications, Trissur, 1986.

History of Kerala, (book in Malayalam, jointly done with Raghava Varier) Vallathol Vidyapitham, Edappal, 1991.

The Kerala Temple and the Early Medieval Agrarian System, Vallathol Vidyapitham, Edappal, 1992.

Myth and Society (book in Malayalam, jointly done with Raghava Varier, Jalakam Publishers, Perambra, Calicut. 1994

Cultural History of Kerala, vol. I. Department of Cultural Publications, Thiruvananthapuram, 1999.

Forest Landscapes of the Southern Western Ghats, India jointly edited with B. Ramesh, French Institute, Pondicherry, 2007

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