e C n r o f r e t

A h t u o S s i a e i d u t S n s

Endowed lectures honor Thomas Trautmann and Kavita Datla p.3-4 Can CSAS sway a Crimson Tide fan? p.13 CSAS awarded Title VI funding as National Resource Center for the study of South Asia p.19 University of Michigan Fall 2018 Newsletter Letter from the Director

Dear Friends out pretension; like many others, I year’s fellows’ blog: sisa.ii.lsa. Contents and Colleagues: have benefited more than once from umich.edu); the annual South Asia her wise counsel. We wish her all the Graduate Student Conference on Letter from the Director 2 This fall very best in her new role. February 15th, with historian Indrani U-M Bicentennial Celebration kicks off an Chatterjee as the keynote speaker; As often happens, departures are in 3 exciting new and our annual U-M Pakistan Con- accompanied by new arrivals, year of pro- ference on March 29th, the theme of CSAS Inaugurates Kavita S. including several new faculty mem- gramming at which is being developed. There are Datla Memorial Lecture 3 bers with research and teaching the center, many rich topics to be explored this Trautmann Honorary Lecture interests in South Asia who will with a range year in our regular Friday lecture Established 4 be joining U-M this fall. We have of talks, series, and many extraordinary profiled a few of our new colleagues Trehan Gift to CSAS 5 performances, film screenings, and scholars, activists, and performers in the pages that follow (p.12-13), fellowship opportunities suited to coming to explore them with us. A Library News 5 and I encourage you to reach out the wide variety of interests held by full calendar of events appears on and make them feel welcome. Music, Dance and Yoga our community. Before previewing the back page of this newsletter; as in India 5 some of these events, however, let This year we will also inaugurate always, all of our events are free and Seeking Social Justice in me mark a couple of transitions. The two new endowed lectures, which open to the public. South Asia Conference 6 first concerns the director’s position will recur annually in perpetuity. The Finally, I am pleased to announce itself, which I take over from profes- first will be the Thomas Trautmann Michigan India Conference 7 a $100,000 gift from Ranvir and sor Farina Mir, who ably guided the Honorary Lecture on Pre Modern Adarsh Trehan, to support the CSAS CSAS Graduate Conference 8 center for the last several years and India (p.4), delivered by Ashoka mission (p.5). Ranvir and Adarsh U-M-Shiv Workshop 8 leaves it stronger, more diverse, and University historian, Upinder Singh have long been supporters of the more impactful than ever before. on October 19th. The endowment U-M Pakistan Conference 9 center, and their generosity has en- Farina will be on sabbatical leave for this lecture was initiated through abled the CSAS to advance its goals WHaLI Initiative Workshops 10 this year but I know from experience the generosity of long-time CSAS of teaching about India and South she will remain keenly devoted to supporters, Martha and Inderpal U-M Partnerships with Asia while supporting innovative the center’s well-being. Our much- Bhatia, with further contributions University of Puerto Rico 11 scholarship on the region. Their gift loved program coordinator, Janelle from a large number of professor CSAS Faculty Awards 12 will especially support the center in Fosler is also stepping down to take Trautmann’s friends, colleagues, establishing and maintaining institu- New Faculty Q&A 12 a position at the Ecumenical Center and former students. tional relationships in India. We are and International Residence in Ann Faculty News 14 The second newly-endowed lecture grateful for the Trehans’ continuing Arbor. Janelle’s contributions were will be the Kavita Datla Memorial engagement with our community. Graduate Student News 16 multiple and significant, and though Lecture on South Asian History (p.3), CSAS International Student she hasn’t gone far we will certainly At the start of a new academic year, an annual lecture made possible by Programs 17 miss her presence in the office. let me just convey how much I and the loving generosity of the Datla Finally, I want to offer gratitude all of the staff members at CSAS Summer in South Asia family and friends. The inaugural and best wishes to professor Carla consider it our privilege to join with Fellows 18 lecture will be given by Columbia Sinopoli, who is leaving U-M to join you in helping build knowledge University historian, Sudipta Kaviraj CSAS Awarded Title VI the anthropology department at the about, and sharing the richness of, Funding on November 9th. You can learn 19 University of New Mexico, where South Asian societies and cultures more about both of these new en- Making a Gift to CSAS 19 she will also direct the Maxwell as an integral part of our lives here dowments in the pages that follow. Museum of Anthropology. Carla was at U-M. I look forward to seeing you CSAS Events 20 a forceful and positive presence in Other annual events to put on your at upcoming events. calendar include the Summer in the South Asia community here for Will Glover many years, and served in almost South Asia Symposium (Oct. 5), Cover photo: Will Glover Director, Center for South Asian every capacity imaginable at the where ten undergraduate fellows Editors: Janelle Fosler, David Merchant, Studies; Associate Professor, center, including as director. Carla will present results of their summer Megan Erskine, Mekarem Eljamal Department of History Design: Hammond Design wears her formidable brilliance with- research (p.18) (check out this

2 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 U-M Bicentennial Celebration in India

The University of Michigan celebrated its bicentennial with alumni in Mumbai, India on No- vember 18, 2017. A U-M delegation that included three deans—Scott DeRue (Ross School of Business), Alec Gallimore (College of Engineer- ing), and Andrew Martin (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)—and James Holloway, Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Inter- disciplinary Academic Affairs, joined the U-M India Alumni Association (UMIAA) for a day-long event. The delegation also included Farina Mir, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies from 2012-2018, and M.S. Krishnan, Associate Dean for Executive Programs at the Ross School of Business. The event was organized by the UMIAA and was a great success, bringing together more than 200 alumni from across India. Left to right: Farina Mir, Vishal Mehta, Ananth Narayanan, Eddie Chandok, Andrew Martin

Through the generosity of the Datla family and friends, CSAS will inaugurate CSAS Inaugurates the Kavita S. Datla Memorial Lecture in South Asian History this fall. The lecture recog- nizes Kavita Saraswati Datla’s contributions to this field. Kavita S. Datla Kavita S. Datla graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in History in 1997. She received an MA in South Asian history from the Centre for Historical Stud- ies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New (1999), and a PhD in South Asian Memorial Lecture History from the University of California, Berkeley (2006). Upon completion of her PhD, she joined Mount Holyoke College as an Assistant Professor of History, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013, and Professor in 2017 (posthumously). She is the author of The Language of Secular Islam: Urdu Nationalism and Colonial India (University of Hawaii, 2013), a critically acclaimed history of Urdu and nationalist politics in early-twentieth century India, as well as articles in leading journals, such as Modern Asian Studies and Law and History Review.

Professor Datla passed away in 2017, after a three-year battle with cancer. A gener- ous gift by her family has endowed this annual lecture, to honor her memory at the institution where she first developed her love for South Asian history, and to which they have strong ties. Her brothers Vishnu Datla and Bobby Datla are both also University of Michigan graduates.

The inaugural lecture on November 9, 2018 will be given by Sudipta Kaviraj, Professor of Indian Politics and Intellectual History in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University.

3 Trautmann Honorary Lecture Established

Martha Bhatia, Tom Trautmann, and Inderpal Bhatia Tom Trautmann

CSAS is pleased to announce that this fall it tory in South Asia, 1974; Lewis Henry Morgan and mentor, colleague, Director of the Center for South will inaugurate the Thomas Trautmann Honorary the Invention of Kinship, 1987). His work on British Asian Studies, Chair of the Department of History, Lecture on Premodern India, to recognize Profes- Orientalism (Aryans and British India, 1997) makes and Director of the Institute for the Humanities— sor Trautmann’s many contributions to U-M and signal contributions to the role of India’s premodern Trautmann has helped build lasting institutions at the fields of South Asian history past in the colonial construction of U-M, and positively impacted the lives of many. and anthropology. Trautmann re- knowledge about India. Trautmann’s In addition to his The endowment that supports this annual lecture tired from the history department scholarship on language, linguistics, prolific scholarly has been made possible by the generosity of both in 2011 after a distinguished 43- and history has similarly been deeply production, Traut- individuals and institutions. CSAS would like to year career at the University of influential Languages( and Nations: recognize, in particular, Martha and Inderpal Bhatia, Michigan. CSAS feels fortunate mann played a The Dravidian Proof in Colonial who have been stalwart supporters of CSAS’s work that Tom continues to be an Madras, 2006), while his more recent critical role in train- on campus. Their lead gift provided momentum for active member of our community major publications (such as The ing generations which we are grateful. A major gift from the Univer- as Professor Emeritus of History Aryan Debate, 2005; and India: Brief of students and in sity of Michigan India Alumni Association (UMIAA) and of Anthropology, and his History of a Civilization, 2011) are allowed CSAS to meet its endowment goal and contributions continue to be building lasting shaping the way today’s students and inaugurate the lecture in Fall 2018. CSAS is grateful deeply valued. institutions at U-M. scholars understand India’s ancient to our engaged U-M alumni in India, who value the past. His latest book—Elephants Trautmann’s contributions to the teaching of India at U-M. We would also like to rec- and Kings: An Environmental History—published in field ofS outh Asian studies are as profound as ognize gifts from Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan, and over 2015, is another significant contribution that helps they are wide-ranging, from early work that revised 50 others—among them Trautmann’s friends, col- us fundamentally rethink facets of Indian history. understanding of the authorship of the Arthashastra leagues, and former students—who have together (Kautilya and the Arthashastra, 1971) to subsequent In addition to his prolific scholarly production, helped build this lasting legacy at CSAS. scholarship that laid the foundation for the study of Trautmann played a critical role in training genera- The inaugural lecture will be delivered by Dr. Upinder Dravidian kinship (Dravidian Kinship, 1981), and kin- tions of students and in building lasting institutions Singh of Delhi University on October 19, 2018. ship in South Asia more generally (Kinship and His- at U-M. In his various roles—as teacher, supervisor,

4 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan Gift Music, Dance, CSAS is pleased to and Yoga in announce a $100,000 gift from Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan, to support the CSAS mission. Mysore, India Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan have Stephen Rush long been supporters of the center, and their generosity has enabled CSAS to advance its The Summer Program in India – Music, Dance and Yoga, an oppor- goals of teaching about India tunity for U-M students and alumni, has been in place for a decade. Over 130 and South Asia, and support- Adarsh and Ranvir Trehan students have traveled to Mysore, India with Professor Stephen Rush to study ing innovative scholarship on music and dance, one-on-one, in the homes of professional music and dance the region. This gift will enable the center to deepen its work in various gurus who were selected by Rush especially for this program. Students perform sectors, and particularly in establishing and maintaining institutional a final concert inI ndia at the end of the program, and then reprise their perfor- relationships in India. U-M is now more connected than ever with India, mance on campus upon their return. While in India, each student participates and we look forward to continuing engagements that synergistically in fifteen lessons in their discipline, reads theG ita and the Ramayana, and enhance our work while advancing the goals of Indian institutions of attends a wide range of lectures on topics including caste, gender, film, and the higher learning—both public and private. history of yoga, among others. Rush also leads the students to four concerts or more per week—all of the highest caliber, featuring local artists from Mysore. Library News Digital South Asia Archive Jeffrey Martin

The Library has added a new electronic database to its grow- ing collection of South Asian digital resources. The South Asia Archive is a specialized digital platform providing global electronic access to culturally and historically significant literary material produced from within—and about—the South Asian region. It is not merely a repository, but a vehicle for targeted research where documents have been selected and catalogued by subject specialist editors, with expert commentaries provided to guide users through serial content.

The South Asia Archive contains millions of pages of digitized primary and secondary material in a mix of English and vernacular languages dating back to the start of the eighteenth century, up to the mid-twentieth century. Derived from original archive materials held by the The South Asia Research Foundation, it provides online access to previously unavailable resources in South Asian studies, and is a versatile resource with benefits for researchers, lecturers, and students across a diverse range of subject areas. The database is accessible through the Mirlyn catalog on the library’s home page. If you would like further information or instruction on using the database, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

5 CSAS Conference 2017 Seeking Social Justice in South Asia

University, Saharanpur (UP), spoke on caste and class dynamics within India’s Muslim community. Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG) in London, ana- lyzed the post-civil war landscape in Sri Lanka. And A.R. Vasavi, a social anthropologist based in and winner of the Infosys Prize 2013 in Social Science, provided analysis of the condi- tions that impoverish and marginalize India’s communities.

While each presentation focused on its national context, the broader goal of the conference was to Left to Right - P. Sainath, Flavia Agnes, A.R. Vasavi, Farina Mir, Sara Hossain, Zainab Malik, think about social justice in regional and inter- Khalid Anis Ansari, Alan Keenan, Bezwada Wilson national contexts as well. Discussion considered how struggles for social justice are interconnected, CSAS hosted an international conference about income inequality in India and its devastating probing common structural causes that produce entitled, “Seeking Social Justice in South effects in both urban and rural contexts. the varied forms of oppression and social inequality Asia”, on September 22-23, 2017. The aim of that impact South Asian societies. Participants were Three lawyers spoke at the conference about the conference was to focus attention on stark encouraged to think about these structural causes issues in which they are directly engaged. Sara and persistent political, economic, and social in national, regional, and global terms. The confer- Hossain, a barrister practicing in the Supreme inequalities and the ongoing struggles to address ence also considered what role, if any, international Court of Bangladesh and Honorary Director of them in contemporary South Asia. The confer- advocacy can play in effecting social justice in the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust, ence brought together a group of internationally- South Asia. The conference took up these issues spoke about shifts in the political renowned activists, lawyers, and academics to in robust question and answer climate in Bangladesh that are consider a range of interconnected struggles sessions after each presentation challenging its constitutional Seeking for social justice, including religious and ethnic with undergraduate and graduate commitment to secularism. polarization, gender and sexuality, caste politics, Social students, faculty, and community Zainab Malik, a lawyer that minority rights, urbanization and displacement, JuStice members in attendance. heads advocacy at Justice Proj- and media and information access. Presentations in South ect Pakistan (JPP), raised aware- This conference was made pos- addressed these issues in the Indian, Bangla- aSia ness about the high incidence sible by generous support from

University of Michigan Friday, September 22 3:30 pm-4:30 pm deshi, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan contexts. 9:00 am Pakistan's Legal Margins: Representing the Most Vulnerable, September 22-23, 2017 Facing the Harshest Punishments Welcome Zainab Malik, Justice Project Pakistan Tisch Hall, Room 1014 Farina Mir, Director, CSAS Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan and of death penalty judgments in 4:30 pm-5:00 pm 9:30 am-10:30 am Coffee Gender Concerns and Minority Safeguards within a An international Communalised Polity—The Triple Talaq Controversy 5:00 pm-6:00 pm Flavia Agnes, Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai conference focusing India's Marginalised Majority and Matters of Livability 10:30 am-11:30 am A.R. Vasavi, National Institute of Advanced Sciences (retired), Bangalore Post-Minority Politics: Reflections on Pasmanda Muslim the College of Literature, Science, Of the conference’s eight speakers, two—Bezwada Pakistan. And Flavia Agnes, attention on stark and Discourse in India persistent political, Khalid Anis Ansari, Glocal University (UP, India) Saturday, September 23 11:30 am-12:00 pm 9:30 am-10:30 am Coffee Manual Scavenging in India: The Stark Reality of Untouchability economic, and social Bezwada Wilson, Safai Karmachari Andolan 12:00 pm-1:00 pm 10:30 am-11:30 am and the Arts, with additional sup- Wilson and P. Sainath—are recipients of the Ramon one of India’s leading women’s inequalities and the Efforts to Secure Social Justice in Bangladesh: Surging Sentiments and Shrinking Spaces The Road to Justice gets Rockier ongoing struggles Sara Hossain, Bangladesh Legal Aid Services and Trust P. Sainath, Founder Editor, People’s Rural Archive of India 1:00 pm-2:30 pm 11:30 am-11:45 am to address them Break for lunch Coffee 2:30 pm-3:30 pm 11:45 am-12:30 pm port from: Department of History, Magsaysay Award, one of Asia’s highest honors, rights lawyers, whose work has in contemporary Concluding Discussion The Many Faces of Justice and the Crisis of the International: Lessons from Sri Lanka South Asia. Alan Keenan, International Crisis Group (London) For a full description of the conference, awarded for integrity in governance, courageous focused on the issues of gender visit ii.umich.edu/csas Department of Anthropology,

500 Church St, Ste. 400 This conference is made possible by generous support from Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan and the College Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106 of Literature, Science, and the Arts, with additional support from the: Department of History, Department 734.615.4059 [email protected] ii.umich.edu/csas of Anthropology, Global Media Studies Initiative, Program in International and Comparative Studies, Donia Human Rights Center, Islamic Studies Program, and the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies. service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within and law reforms, presented an This conference is funded in part by a Title VI federal grant from the US Department of Education. Design Hammond design: Poster Global Media Studies Initia- a democratic society. Wilson, an Indian human analysis of the broader politics tive, Institute for Research on rights activist, is one of the founders and National and impact of the “triple talaq” legal case that Women and Gender, Program in International and Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, which came before India’s Supreme Court in 2017. Comparative Studies, Donia Human Rights Center, campaigns for the eradication of manual scaveng- Islamic Studies Program, and the Weiser Center The analysis of activists and lawyers was ing. Wilson spoke about the conditions that allow for Emerging Democracies. This conference was coupled with that of academics. Khalid Anis manual scavenging to remain widespread although funded in part by a Title VI federal grant from the US Ansari, Director of the Dr. Ambedkar Centre for it has been illegal in India since 1993. Sainath, for- Department of Education. It was organized by Farina Exclusion Studies and Transformative Ac- mer Rural AffairsE ditor of and Founder Mir (Associate Professor, Department of History). tion, and Senior Assistant Professor at Glocal Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, spoke

6 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 Michigan India Conference by Elliott Schwab

The 9th Annual Michigan India Conference (MIC) was a student- value at the base of the pyramid. On average, 100 teams compete world- organized conference focused on India as a growing power in the world and was wide during preliminary rounds from schools including Kellogg, Harvard sponsored by CSAS. MIC is one of the largest India-focused conferences in the School of Business, Tufts, and the Indian School of Business. In 2018, 119 country, aiming to feature Indian leaders making an impact in India and across teams registered for the competition from schools in five countries. The top the world in all industries, including business, healthcare, politics, and social five teams competed in the final round. The 2018 competition used a case impact. The conference's objective is to bring together the community here at developed by the student organizing committee, focused around the issue of U-M, in the hopes of centralizing campus-wide efforts inI ndia. Past panels at MIC building a sustainable business model to reduce mass urbanization by build- have included sustainability, investment in India, education, and ethical business. ing infrastructure in rural areas. The winning team from the Indian School MIC has expanded to feature faculty from all schools on campus and has become of Business in , India won the grand prize of $4,000. Team Cattle a more well-rounded, wide-reaching conference in the process. Shattle from the Indian School of Business took 2nd place with an innova- tive idea to manage livestock in rural areas to allow for more people to raise MIC was originally conceived in 2009, following C.K. Prahalad’s passing, with livestock on credit. the goal of continuing his passion for India’s development and growth. As part of MIC, the C.K. Prahalad Case Competition enables students to further Prahalad’s vision of leveraging innovation to generate profit and create

Healthcare panel moderated by Krishnan Radhavendram (U-M) (right) Team "Cattle Shattle," 2nd place, 2018 C.K. Prahlad Case Competition

7 UM-Shiv Nadar CSAS Graduate Workshop on South Conference Asian Studies

The U-M-Shiv Nadar Workshop on South Asian Studies, held CSAS hosted U-M’s second annual Graduate Interdisciplinary at Shiv Nadar University (Noida, UP), on February 26, 2018, stemmed Conference on South Asia on Saturday, January 27, 2018. The idea to hold an from a larger CSAS initiative to expand institutional relationships in annual conference highlighting the work of our own graduate students originated India. CSAS has sought to expand engagement with higher education with history professor Mrinalini Sinha, who organized the first annual conference institutions in India since 2014, when then U-M President Mary Sue in 2017. This year, nine graduate students from seven different departments Coleman visited India. CSAS has been supported in its efforts to presented their research in progress over the course of the day, and historian establish these new relationships, particularly those that focus on Ajay Skaria from the University of Minnesota closed the day out with a keynote the humanities and social sciences, by a grant from the Office of the lecture based on his recent book, Unconditional Equality: Gandhi’s Religion of Vice-Provost for Global Engagement and Interdisciplinary Affairs. The Resistance (University of Minnesota Press, 2016). U-M-Shiv Nadar Workshop provided humanities, social science, and professional school faculty at U-M the opportunity to share research The day began with papers by Brittany Puller (Asian Languages and Cultures), with faculty in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shiv Rachel Hirsch (South Asian Studies), and Matt Schissler (Anthropology). Pull- Nadar, and to consider areas of joint research interest. er presented her research on the role played by Sikh Masands in the politics of seventeenth-century Punjab; Hirsch explored Mughal imperial architecture on the margins of the empire, in the Deccan; and Schissler brought together past and present histories of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Sriram Mohan (Communica- tion Studies) concluded the morning session with a paper on “technological citizenship” in India, exploring the techno-politics of mobile bill payments.

The afternoon sessions included papers by Connor Singh BanderBeek (Eth- nomusicology) on bhangra’s ability to illuminate Punjab’s contested tempo- ralities (and geographies); Swarnim Khare (Asian Languages and Cultures) on Dalit women’s writing in Hindi; Janaki Phillips (Anthropology) on haunted houses in contemporary Shimla; Amit Ittyerah (Architecture) on the ersatz commodity landscapes that border India’s National Highway 1; and Salman The workshop was jointly organized by Farina Mir of U-M and Ajay Hussain (Anthro-History) on the intersection of masculinity, provinciality, and Dandekar of Shiv Nadar (SN), and brought together twelve faculty (Persian) Gulf migration narratives in small town Pakistan Punjab. with complementary intellectual interests to exchange research and consider areas of future collaboration. Convergent themes in scholar- Given the broad interdisciplinary range of interests among our students, pro- ship led to five panels, on: (1) Archaeology and Heritage; (2) Rural/ viding a single theme to encompass the work was impossible. Nevertheless, Urban Interconnections; (3) Law and Governance; (4) Iniquitous many in the audience found satisfying commonalities among all of the presen- Development; and (5) Sustainability. Participants from U-M included: tations: creativity and dedication on behalf of the scholars, and the excitement Arun Agrawal (School of Environment and Sustainability), Leela of new knowledge being created across a broad spectrum of South Asia! Fernandes (Women’s Studies), Vikramaditya Khanna (Law School), Farina Mir (History), and Carla Sinopoli (Anthropology). Participants from SN included: Sudeepto Bhattacharya (Mathematics), Urmila Bhirdikar (Sociology), Devika Bordia (Sociology), Ajay Dandekar (Dean of School of Humanities and Social Sciences), Sudeshna Guha (History), Jaya Menon (History), and Rajeswari Raina (Interna- tional Relations and Governance Studies).

This workshop was the first in what we hope will be a series of exchanges between U-M and Shiv Nadar. To that end, our institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding this spring that will facili- tate student exchanges. We hope to see the first such exchanges taking place in 2019.

8 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 UM Pakistan Conference Brittany Puller

alism and Temporariness: South Asian Domestic Workers in the Gulf.” Ahmad demonstrated how Kuwaiti state policies, procedures, and struc- tures control and implicate South Asian migrant domestic workers as a “temporary population.” In Ammara Maqsood’s (University of Manchester) pa- per, “Migration and the Making of the Middle-Class in Urban Pakistan,” Maqsood addressed the ways in which transaction, belonging, and religiosity influence both Pakistan and the diaspora, in turn molding a new middle-class identity in Pakistan.

The final panel included a screening of the award-winning film, Zinda Bhaag (Run for your Life). The film was followed by a Q&A panel with the film’s co-director and filmmaker, Farjad Nabi. Zinda Bhaag depicted the desire and despera- tion experienced by three friends attempting to illegally immigrate from Lahore to the West. The Q&A panel with Nabi incorporated themes of Back row (l to r): Sanaa Alimia, Matthew Hull, Pnina Werbner, Salman Hussain, Ali Nobil Ahmad masculinity, opportunity, and the plight of “dunky” Front row (l to r): Brittany Puller, Attiya Ahmad, Samia Khatun, Ammara Maqsood immigration practices in its discussion.

The 8th annual U-M Pakistan Conference documents such as ID cards, state control over the This year’s conference presented work on the entitled, “Movement, Migration, and Borders,” was mobility of Afghans, and through routine practices ever-growing mobility of Pakistanis, which has held on April 6, 2018. Organized by the Center for of social exclusion. Ahmad’s paper, “Provincializing ultimately shaped the relationship between Paki- South Asian Studies (CSAS), the U-M Pakistan Europe’s Migration Crisis: Human Smuggling from stan, Pakistanis, and the world. The presentations Conference aims to highlight Pakistani Punjab,” analyzed highlighted the complex networks of transaction center for south asian studies new research in Pakistan the altering structures, and belonging that craft new notions of identity while fostering conversations Movement, Migration, networks, and relationship for Pakistanis, encompassing such titles as im- between academics, journal- and Borders between migrants and smug- migrant, citizen, “temporary worker,” and refugee. ists, activists, and artists. This glers in the 21st century that Pnina Werbner (Keele University) concluded year’s conference sought to have challenged dominant this year’s conference by engaging panelists and emphasize the contemporary theories on the rationale of audience members in a discussion regarding the realities of migration and migration. intersectional themes of “Movement, Migration, movement that shape the and Borders” that posit the study of Pakistan as a Farina Mir (History) chaired identity of Pakistanis both global history and a mobile reality. 8th AnnuAl u-M PAkistAn ConferenCe • university of MiChigAn the following panel entitled, abroad and in Pakistan. APril 6, 2018 • Weiser hAll 10th floor

9:30–9:35 11:00–11:15 Coffee Break 2:00–4:15 “Diasporas and Home.” The conference was made possible by the gener- Welcome Remarks: Matthew Hull, “Zinda Bhaag” Film Screening University of Michigan 11:15–1:00 diasporas and home 4:15–4:45 9:35–9:45 Samia Khatun, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh “Zinda Bhaag” Q&A with filmmaker Farjad Nabi After brief opening remarks by Conference Opening Remarks: Brittany Puller, “Intimate Encounters Along Australian Camel Tracks: Samia Khatun (University of ous support of the American Institute of Pakistan 4:45–5:15 Coffee Break University of Michigan Knowledge-Power Across the Indian Ocean.” 9:45–11:00 Attiya Ahmad, The George Washington University 5:15–5:30 Borders and Bodies “Assumptions of Exceptionalism and Temporariness: Discussant: Pnina Werbner, Keele University, UK South Asian Domestic Workers in the Gulf” Matthew Hull (Anthropology) Sanaa Alimia, Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin 5:30–6:30 Liberal Arts Bangladesh) pre- Studies, as well as the U-M College of Literature, “Performing the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Ammara Maqsood, University of Manchester Open Discussion through Afghan Refugee ID Cards” “Migration and the Making of the Middle Class in Urban Pakistan” Ali Nobil Ahmad, Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin For a full description of the conference visit ii.umich.edu/csas “Provincializing Europe's Migration Crisis: 1:00–2:00 Break for lunch and Brittany Puller (Asian Human Smuggling from Pakistani Punjab” sented her paper, “Intimate Science, and the Arts, the Institute for the Humani-

500 Church St, Ste. 400 This conference is made possible by generous support from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, with additional support from Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106 the Departments of: American Culture; Anthropology; History; History of Art; and Women’s Studies; Islamic Studies Program; Rackham 734.615.4059 [email protected] Graduate School; Residential College; Arab and Muslim American Studies; Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies; and the Weiser

Languages and Cultures), ii.umich.edu/csas Center for Emerging Democracies. This conference is funded in part by a Title VI federal grant from the US Department of Education. Design Hammond Encounters Along Australian ties, the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, Hull chaired a panel entitled Camel Tracks: Knowledge- Rackham Graduate School, and the Departments “Borders and Bodies,” which included papers from Power Across the Indian Ocean,” which discussed of: American Culture, Anthropology, History, History Sanaa Alimia (Zentrum Moderer Orient, Berlin) the debates surrounding knowledge-power in of Art, Screen Arts and Cultures, Women’s Studies, and Ali Nobil Ahmad (Zentrum Moderer Orient, aboriginal history and South Asian historiography the Islamic Studies Program, Residential College, Berlin). In Alimia’s paper, “Performing the Afghan- while locating historical methods of migrant story- Arab and Muslim American Studies, and Asian/ istan-Pakistan Border through Afghan Refugee ID telling outside of colonial frameworks. The panel Pacific Islander American Studies. This conference Cards,” Alimia examined the “performance” of the continued with Attiya Ahmad’s (George Washing- was also funded in part by a Title VI federal grant Afghanistan-Pakistan border through the use of ton University) paper, “Assumptions of Exception- from the US Department of Education.

9 World History and Literature Initiative Evan Vowell

The World History and Literature Initiative Migration has been a constant in human history, (WHaLI) is a unique collaboration between area shaping our world in every place and time. From studies centers in the International Institute our earliest ancestors’ movements out of Africa and the U-M School of Education, funded in to the present, people have migrated across part by Title VI grants from the US Department continents, oceans, seas, mountains and deserts. of Education, with additional funding from the Pushed, pulled, or coerced, humans have moved International Institute and the Eisenberg Institute in large and small numbers, with or without for Historical Studies. families and friends, to or from rural or urban areas. And each migration has had significant Since 2009, WHaLI has provided over 500 K-12 consequences on the people and places they teachers in the fields of history, social studies, moved to or from. and English language arts with area studies cur- riculum content and professional development. The 2018 World History and Literature Initiative addressed the themes of migration in human Held each year in June, WHaLI is a three-day history and literature by exploring case studies workshop designed to improve teachers’ capacity encompassing various parts of the globe, as well to teach world history and literature by providing as pedagogical lessons from faculty director Bob them with area studies resources and content. Bain (associate professor of educational studies New initiatives to broaden the reach of WHaLI in- and history) on how to incorporate these themes clude opportunities for early career or beginning into teachers’ lesson plans. teachers to work with experienced teachers and scholars, and the use of livestream webcasting This initiative was made possible by US technology and on-site facilitators to reach teach- Department of Education Title VI funds. ers outside the Ann Arbor area. U-M Sponsors include: School of Education, International Institute, Lieberthal-Rogel Center More than 30 participants took part in the 2018 for Chinese Studies, Center for Japanese Stud- workshops, which brought together teachers with ies, Nam Center for Korean Studies, Center for varying levels of experience to network with each Southeast Asian Studies, Center for South Asian other and share best practices. Each of the pre- Studies, Center for Middle East and North African sentations are coupled with materials designed Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean to assist teachers in producing lesson plans on Studies, African Studies Center, and the Eisenberg migration. Books were also provided for each of Institute for Historical Studies. the participants to share with their classrooms. Farina Mir

10 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 UM-University of Puerto Rico

As part of the effort to create sustainable links with institutions serv- ing underrepresented populations, CSAS and several other National Resource Centers at the International Institute have built a partnership with the Colleges of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico. There are no Title VI National Resource Centers on the island of Puerto Rico; there are also no Hispanic serving institutions in the State of Michigan. Thanks to deep existing ties between our institutions, we are able to extend access to area studies and language resources at U-M to faculty and students at UPR, to in-service teachers in the region around UPR, and to their K-12 students. Each year, the International Institute sends mixed delegations of area studies experts to UPR for a K-16 professional and curriculum development sympo- sium and workshop organized around topics that cross multiple disciplines and allow representation from different world regions.

The annual symposium aims to create a space in which graduate students from both universities can share innovative ways of studying concepts, as well as intersections with other categories and topics. Among them, but not excluding others, are intersections of civil and human rights, political traditions, migration, identity politics, religion, political participation, public education, memory, gender, race, sexuality, neoliberalism, nationalism, and cultural policies.

At the 2018 U-M-UPR Symposium entitled, “Political Tensions and Identity in a Globalized World,” graduate students from U-M and UPR, working from many disciplines, methodologies, and historical contexts, presented on topics concerning political tensions, questions of identity, and globalization. Two CSAS students, Swarnim Khare and Salman Hussein were among the presenters. Khare spoke about “Teaching the Caste System in India - Strate- gies and Responsibilities,” and Hussein gave a presentation on “Identity Formation in a Globalized Pakistan.”

11 New Faculty Q & A Three CSAS Faculty

Associates Receive David Brick, Asian Languages Prestigious Awards and Cultures CSAS: Tell us about your research interests Arun Agrawal (SEAS) became an elected fellow of the National Academy and what brought you to the University of of Sciences, Ruma Banerjee (Biological Chemistry) received the ASBMB Michigan? Merck award, and Bhramar Mukherjee (Public Health) was named a fel- Professor Brick: I’m broadly interested in low of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sanskrit literature and early South Asia, but my Arun Agrawal has been elected to the research generally focuses on Dharmas'a¯stra National Academy of Sciences, one of the or classical Hindu law. What inspires my highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer research is a deep desire to better understand various aspects of early Indian in the United States. Agrawal, the Samuel Trask social history and, to this end, the vast literary output of the Dharmas'a¯stra tradi- Dana Professor and professor of environment tion is an unparalleled resource. My first book was on gifting, butI ’ve published and sustainability at the School for Environ- on a number of other topics as well, such as the sociolinguistics of Sanskrit and ment and Sustainability, was among 84 new the practice of judicial ordeals. My next book will be a complete scholarly transla- members and 21 foreign associates elected in recognition of distin- tion of the Anus'a¯sana Parvan, the thirteenth book of the Maha¯bha¯rata. And I also guished and continuing achievements in original research, the NAS have a strong research interest in widows in ancient and medieval India and have announced. Agrawal’s research and teaching emphasize the politics published a few articles on this topic in the past. of international development, institutional change, and environmental What brings me to the University of Michigan is the attraction of a tenure- sustainability. He has written critically on indigenous knowledge, track position in Sanskrit literature. I spent the last nine years happily teach- community-based conservation, common property, resource gover- ing Sanskrit in a non-ladder position at Yale, but I’m delighted to be making nance, and environmental beliefs and identities. the move to a more permanent position here. I’m also especially excited Ruma Banerjee, a professor of biological at the prospect of teaching at a large and elite public university, like those chemistry at the University of Michigan Medi- where I received my education. cal School, won the 2019 American Society CSAS: Have you discovered any good secrets about Ann Arbor yet? for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)–Merck Award, which recognizes Professor Brick: My sons really love the little fairy doors that are hidden outstanding contributions to research in around town, so naturally I’m a fan of those as well. Are they a secret? The many biochemistry and molecular biology. Banerjee parks in town have all seriously impressed me, but I’m guessing they’re not a is an associate editor for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, which secret at all, judging by the number of people who use them. The food has been the ASBMB publishes. She has served on the ASBMB governing great too. A place called Westside Barbecue stands out and I got the impression council as well. that it’s maybe not so well known, but perhaps I just came at an off-time.

Bhramar Mukherjee, the John D. Kalbfleisch CSAS: What will you be teaching this year and what would you like to ac- Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics, a professor complish in your spare time? of epidemiology and of global public health at Professor Brick: This year I’ll be teaching First-Year Sanskrit both semes- the School of Public Health, and the associate ters and an undergraduate seminar on Hindu mythology in the fall. I’ll also be director for cancer control and population sci- teaching another course in the winter, but its subject matter has not yet been ences at the Comprehensive Cancer Center was determined. named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fellows were chosen by their peers for In my spare time, I’d like to help my family—my wife and two sons—get settled their “efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed into Ann Arbor. This is naturally my biggest priority. After that, I hope to submit scientifically or socially distinguished”, according toAAAS . Mukherjee a couple of articles to journals for publication. One in particular, which deals was recognized for exemplary contributions to Bayesian methodology with an intricate legal debate on cross-cousin marriage and its impact on for the analysis of gene-environment interactions and data generated social practice in medieval , is near completion. I’d also like to make under case-control and outcome dependent sampling mechanisms. very significant progress on my translation of theAnus 'a¯sana Parvan.

12 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 Inderjit Kaur, School of Yusuf Neggers, Music, Theatre & Dance Ford School of Public Policy CSAS: Tell us about your research interests CSAS: Tell us about your research interests and what brought you to the University of and what brought you to the University of Michigan? Michigan?

Professor Kaur: My research interests lie Professor Neggers: My research interests in the study of South Asian musical cultures relate primarily to the bureaucratic and through the lenses of affect, senses, and political underpinnings of state capacity to phenomenology. I am interested in classical, deliver public services in an equitable man- popular, as well as devotional musical traditions. Some questions that intrigue ner. More than half the world’s extreme poor are now found in countries that me are: what role do affective musical experiences play in the construction of have transitioned upward to lower middle-income status. In these countries, meaning, values, and knowledge; how do multiple sensory modalities come the basic capability of the state to marshal resources, train personnel, and together in enhancing sonic experiences and their effects; and, what is the put infrastructure into place is generally becoming better established. I’m role of musical sound in shaping transnational subjectivities, identities and therefore interested in how further gains in citizen welfare can be achieved lifeworlds, especially with respect to social difference? through improvements in the efficiency of bureaucratic institutions in man- aging public service delivery. I’m also interested in how political accountabil- I am excited to be joining a premier and dynamic public institution with a ity can be strengthened in these environments, which may better incentivize wonderful community of scholars, educators, students, and staff. For an elected officials to direct resources toward and undertake reforms related to ethnomusicologist engaged in interdisciplinary research in particular, U-M the services their constituents value. offers rich resources, within the vibrant School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and across its various schools, institutes, and centers such as CSAS. The Ford School is a great fit for someone with my interests, andI ’m also excited about the general culture of cross-departmental collaboration at CSAS: Have you discovered any good secrets about Ann Arbor yet? Michigan. Finally, given that most of my work involves India, the size of the Professor Kaur: Yes! I was delighted to learn that Ann Arbor is studded with community interested in South Asia here was very appealing. protected nature areas and parks. I look forward to exploring them! I am also CSAS: Have you discovered any good secrets about Ann Arbor yet? excited to know about the Water Hill Music Fest – a free annual event on the first Sunday of May, in which musicians play on their porches and front Professor Neggers: I haven’t made the move to Ann Arbor yet, but I’m look- lawns. I can’t wait to experience the community spirit … not to speak of the ing forward to exploring the city and surrounding areas when I arrive later in farmer’s market, and art and craft fairs … right up my alley! August.

CSAS: What will you be teaching this year and what would you like to ac- CSAS: What will you be teaching this year and what would you like to ac- complish in your spare time? complish in your spare time?

Professor Kaur: In the fall semester, I will be teaching a class on North In- Professor Neggers: I’ll be teaching two courses at the Ford School in the dian Classical Music. This will be a combined-section course for undergradu- winter term – a quantitative methods course in program evaluation, and ate and graduate students, in which we will explore the music-grammatical most likely a course related to the political economy of development. As an features of this music, as well as socio-cultural aspects of its practice. In Alabama native and therefore Crimson Tide football fan, one important thing the winter semester I will teach two classes: an undergraduate course on I’m hoping to achieve in my spare time this fall is developing an additional Bollywood music and dance, in which we will investigate the diverse musical loyalty to Wolverines football. genres enlisted by this vibrant cultural industry, along with issues of social difference implicated by it; and a doctoral seminar on topics in ethnomu- sicology, covering themes from affect, sound, and sensory studies, and perhaps, a bit on transnationalism … let’s see!

Along with teaching, I will be working on my monograph on Sikh sabad kı¯rtan, the sacred song tradition of the Sikhs. This book investigates the phenom- enological, music-analytical, and historical aspects of the diverse musical genres and styles of Sikh sonic worship.

In my spare time, I hope to garden, go for walks, and keep up my yoga practice.

13 Faculty News

William Axinn, Professor of Sociology, has four current projects in South Asia. With the support of the National Institute of Mental Health, Axinn is working with members of the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal to advance knowledge of how local community and genetic endowments shape mental health. His second project also involves the Chitwan Valley Family Study and aims to make its data more easily available for comparative research. Axinn’s third project is in conjunc- tion with the Department for Inter- national Development; this project will develop and validate measures of accountability and evaluating Matthew Boulton, Senior Associate Dean for and Anganwadi workers) in delivering immuniza- student achievement gains at all Global Public Health, is in the final year of a three- tions and other maternal child health services to levels of the educational infrastruc- year foundation-funded project in Chandigarh. He poor and under-served populations. ture in Nepal. The Government of is working in collaboration with the Department , India enlisted Axinn, Recent publications by Professor Boulton include: of Pediatrics at the Post-Graduate Institute of along with other affiliates of U-M’s Medical Education and Research (PGIMER- Shenton L, Wagner AL, Bettampadi D, Masters N, Survey Research Center, to launch Chandigarh) assessing breakdown of maternal Carlson BF, Boulton ML. Factors Associated with Vac- the Tamil Nadu Household Panel measles antibodies in infants over their first year of cination Status of Children Aged 12-48 months in India, Study. This project is a rare opportu- life. His research group is attempting to assist the 2012-2013, Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2018 nity to harmonize a new long-term Indian Government with their measles elimination Mar; 22(3):419-428. family panel study to important efforts. Concurrently, he and his colleagues are also Montgomery JP, Ganguly P, Carlson BF, Srivastwa N, existing panel studies, including the investigating the impact and cost-effectiveness of Boulton ML. An evaluation of immunization services, Chitwan Valley Family Study. Axinn female community health workers (i.e Accredited using the reaching every district criteria, in two districts has also recently published articles Social Health Activists [ASHAs], Nurse Midwives, of Gujarat, India, BMCGlobal Health Research and in various peer-reviewed journals, Policy 2018; 3:5. including Demography and Popula- tion and Environment. Boulton ML, Carlson BF, Power LJ, Wagner AL, So-

cioeconomic Factors Associated with Full Childhood Leela Vaccination in Bangladesh, 2014, International Journal Fernandes, of Infectious Diseases, 2018. Glenda Dicker- Singh AK, Wagner AL, Joshi J, Carlson BF, Aneja S, son Collegiate Boulton ML. Causality assessment of serious and se- Professor vere adverse events following immunization in India: a of Women’s 4-year practical experience, Expert Review of Vaccines, Studies and 2018 Jun 11:1-8. Professor of Political Science, is writing a book on India’s liberalizing

14 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 state and the politics of water. Daniel awarded a Michigan Humanities science majors in the United States She published an edited book, Herwitz, Award from LSA for 2018-19, which versus India. Together with research- Feminists Rethink the Neoliberal Professor of she will use to work on her current ers at Google, Toyama explored this State: Inequality, Exclusion and Art History, research project, “Genres of Muslim and other gender-and-technology Change (NYU Press, 2018), and an has published Modernity: Being Muslim in Colonial phenomena in India. In a recent article, “Inter-State Water Disputes numerous India, c. 1850-1947.” This year, she publication, Toyama, along with in South India,” Oxford Research catalogue gave presentations on the project at researchers at Information Technol- Encyclopedia of Asian History (April essays and articles over the past U-M’s Institute for the Humanities ogy University (Lahore) investigated 2018). Her edited volume Routledge year. Most notably, however, was the and at Brown University’s Center for how informational reminders via Handbook on Gender in South Asia publication of his book, Aesthetics, Contemporary South Asia. mobile phones can enhance maternal (2018) was published in paperback. Arts and Politics in a Global World health in Pakistan. That work will Fernandes delivered invited talks on (Bloomsbury Press 2017). Shobita Parthasarathy was continue with a new grant from the her research at Jawaharlal Nehru recently promoted to Professor of National Academies Keck Futures University, Brigham Young Univer- Madhumita Public Policy and Women’s Studies, Initiative. Toyama also has several sity, the University of Pittsburgh, Lahiri, Assis- effectiveS eptember 2018. In an ongoing projects, including an evalu- and the University of Virginia. She tant Professor interview with ation of a digital video program for also participated in U-M’s joint of English, the Times of agriculture extension in Bihar, India; collaborative conference with Shiv attended the India following an exploration of mosques as a site Nadar University. Association for her promotion, for secular community development Asian Studies Parthasarathy in Bangladesh; and an ethnographic Will Glover, “in-Asia” conference in New Delhi described investigation of hearing aids for Associate Pro- with support from CSAS. Building on her career a young-adult deaf community in fessor of His- the center’s “Sound and South Asia” path and the motivation behind her Mumbai. Toyama continues to serve tory and newly conference in 2016, Lahiri held two teaching and research. Parthasara- as an advisor to the Indraprastha appointed linked panels on “Listening in India,” thy’s book, Patent Politics: Life Forms, Institute of Information Technology, Director of which drew a variety of scholars and Markets, and the Public Interest in the Delhi (IIIT-Delhi). the Center for led to a productive conversation. In United States and Europe (University South Asian Studies, published an addition, Lahiri published “Print for of Chicago Press, 2017) won the Richard article on the near tripling in growth the People: Tagore, China, and the Robert K. Merton book award from the Tucker, (since the 2001 Indian Census) of Bengali Vernacular” in the journal American Sociological Association’s Adjunct a type of settlement called “census Comparative Literature. Science, Knowledge, and Technology Professor in towns,” which are considered urban section. She also published a piece the School areas by the central government Farina Mir, related to her new research in India: for Environ- but rural for purposes of local Associate “Grassroots Innovation Systems for ment and administration. The article traced Professor of a Post-Carbon World: Promoting Sustainability, has focussed his the history of this phenomenon in History, pub- Economic Democracy, Environmental recent publications on the topic of colonial Punjab [see “Living in a lished “History Sustainability, and the Public Interest” the global environmental history Category,” in Economic and Political 101: What it is in the Brooklyn Law Review. of warfare and militarism. He has Weekly, Review of Urban Affairs, and Why we authored, edited, or co-edited several 53.2 (Jan. 13, 2018)]. Glover also Need it Now,” in the April, 2018 issue Kentaro articles and book chapters address- participated in a Mellon workshop of Perspectives on History. The article, Toyama, ing the environmental impacts of at Cornell University focused on the coauthored with Paulina Alberto, Associate the First and Second World Wars, as topic of small cities in South Asia in examines the History 101 course Mir Professor in well as later wars across the globe. April, 2018, where he gave a paper and Alberto have developed at U-M, the School of Related to this topic, his publications entitled, “Towards a History of Agrar- and for which they were awarded the Information, also address the environmental con- ian Urbanism.” Matthews Undergraduate Teaching has been work- sequences of authoritarian regimes Award from LSA in 2017. Mir was ing to understand the large discrep- and mass migrations. ancy in the representation of women among undergraduate computer

15 Graduate Student News

2017-18 Graduates will join New York University Shang- Meenu in Hindi, Urdu and English. During hai as a teaching fellow in the Global Deswal the summer of 2018, she took part in Deepti Perspectives on Society Program. is a PhD the University of Michigan - Univer- Bettampadi student in the sity of Puerto Rico Symposium, held completed her Lia Wolock Department in San Juan, and presented a paper PhD in May is an assistant of History. She titled, “Teaching the Caste System 2018. Bettam- professor in was recently in India - Strategies and Responsi- padi, a student the Depart- awarded the Rackham Interna- bilities”. She was awarded the Hide of Dr. Boulton, ment of tional Research Award for conducting Shohara Language Fellowship by is an Indian physician who worked Journalism, research in India for the 2018-2019 the Department of Asian Languages for many years on India’s Polio Stop Advertising, academic year. Her research focuses and Cultures, which helped her to Teams. Her dissertation research, and Media Studies at the University on the quotidian legal lives of women successfully complete the advanced entitled “Trends in Social Inequities of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She was in late nineteenth century Punjab. level of the AIIS Urdu Language in Childhood Vaccination in India: awarded a PhD by the Department of Program held in Lucknow during Pathways and Interventions,” will Communication Studies in 2018. Her Salman Adil summer 2018.She also spent part of be published later this year as three dissertation, “Producing South Asian Hussain is a the summer working on her transla- separate manuscripts. Bettampadi America: Community, Digital Media, PhD student tion of a short story by contemporary is now moving on to a post-doctoral and Connectivity” examines the in the Doctoral Dalit writer, Anita Bharti. This will fellowship at Stanford. popular emergence of a discourse of Program in An- be published in a special issue on being South Asian American among thropology and Dalit writings in the online magazine Leslie second-generation professionals History. Hus- Words Without Borders. Hempson using digital media over the last two sain’s research focuses on working- received decades. In mapping this shift, she class male migration from Sahiwal, a Sikandar her PhD in emphasizes the pioneering labor un- small city in Pakistan, to the Arabian Maitra History in dertaken by marginalized, minority, Gulf, with an emphasis on masculin- Kumar is a August 2018. and hybrid communities to produce ity and gendered discourses, status, PhD candi- Her disserta- and manage cultural and technologi- provinciality, and urban history. Hus- date in the tion is entitled, “The Social Life of cal connectivity. sain spent the summer of 2018 doing Department Khadi: Gandhi’s Experiments with ethnographic research with returned of History. His the Indian Economy, c. 1915-1965.” continuing Students Gulf migrants, overseas employment dissertation explores issues pertain- Hempson will join Denison Universi- agents, and residents in Sahiwal, as ing to the nexus between popular ty in Fall 2018 as a Visiting Assistant Padma Chirumamilla, PhD Can- well as with Pakistani workers in the religion, vernacular spheres of Professor of South Asian History. didate in the School of Information, UAE. He also helped organize the 8th political thought, and the genealogies is a 2018-19 David and Mary Hunting Annual U-M Pakistan Conference on of collective politics and democratic Tapsi Mathur Graduate the theme of migration, and a CSAS practice in late colonial India. In 2017- received her Fellow at the sponsored spoken-word performance 18, Kumar received the Rackham PhD in His- University of event, “Migrant Stories.” International Students Fellowship tory in August Michigan’s and the Rackham Humanities Dis- 2018. Her Institute for Swarnim sertation Fellowship to fund his dis- dissertation, the Humani- Khare is a sertation research in Delhi, Allahabad, “How Profes- ties. While third year PhD and Varanasi in 2018-19. sionals became Natives: Geography in residence at the institute, she student in and Trans-Frontier Exploration in Co- will be completing her dissertation, the Depart- lonial India,” traces the development Producing TV(s): The Multitudinous ment of Asian of a professional group of “native” Life of Television in South India, which Languages explorers employed by the British in examines the discursive and material and Cultures. Her PhD project focuses exploring the frontiers of India in the forces that shaped the development on nonfiction accounts of imprison- nineteenth century. In fall 2018, she of cable television in non-Hindi speak- ment produced by political prisoners ing South India. in India. She works with texts written

16 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 Sierra Janaki LaPoint is Phillips is a a masters third year PhD student with student in the the Center Department for South of Anthro- Asian Studies. pology. Her She is working on her thesis, which dissertation project revolves around concerns Tibetan diasporic visual and everyday interactions with ghosts material culture, especially its display and spirits in the hill stations of North and use in simultaneous efforts to India. Her work is concerned with the CSAS International preserve and transform the face of sensory dimensions of supernatural contemporary Tibetan Buddhism. and spiritual encounters as well as Student Programs This summer, LaPoint completed an how they relate to history, memory, intensive colloquial Tibetan language and place. This summer in addition to During the summer of 2018 we welcomed our second cohort of course at the South Asian Summer continuing pre-dissertation fieldwork visiting undergraduate students from the Indian Institute of Science Language Institute (SASLI) at the she received a Summer FLAS award Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, and Habib University, a new University of Wisconsin, Madison. to further her Hindi language studies liberal arts school in Karachi. She has been named a Rackham at the American Institute for Indian Merit Fellow and after completing Studies in Jaipur. These students, who lived and socialized together in the Ecumenical her degree she hopes to continue her Center and International Residence (ECIR) on Church Street, and who study of Hindi and Tibetan through Matt valiantly teamed up in an attempt to teach Ann Arbor the game of cricket immersion programs in South Asia. Schissler, (see photo), followed in the footsteps of a trailblazing group of their a PhD can- classmates who visited Michigan in 2017. Sriram didate in the The ten IISER students secured places in University of Michigan Mohan is a Department of research labs where they were able to work for ten weeks under the PhD candi- Anthropology, direction of U-M faculty members and alongside U-M students. These date in the received the undergraduates worked on projects relevant to their studies at IISER Department of Social Science Research Council’s and were able to learn how a university research lab in the US functions, Communica- International Dissertation Research while sharing the skills they had previously developed in Pune. One of tion Studies. Fellowship and the Blakemore the IISER students, Arindam Sharma, who was investigating the cosmic His dissertation examines the politics Freeman Fellowship. Matt will be microwave background while learning to code in Python, recalled that in informing the formation of new public in Myanmar conducting research addition to his research, “The lovely people at the university and ECIR cultures around digital platforms and starting in early 2019. This summer, will remain in my heart forever”. mobile media in Southern India. An Matt and colleagues in Myanmar and article he co-authored with Aswin England also finished a collection of This summer three Habib University undergraduates enrolled in U-M for Punathambekar, titled “A Sound oral histories, essays, and poetry on the summer term and attended classes alongside Michigan students. Bridge: Listening for the Political in interfaith life. Their aim is to provide U-M students undoubtedly benefited greatly from the opportunity to a Digital Age” was published in the a textual resource for thematizing share their classrooms with Pakistani students who contributed their International Journal of Communica- alternatives to ongoing violence and own perspectives, while the Habib students had the chance to establish tion in November 2017. He is also the religious discrimination in Myan- friendships and engage in conversations that they would not have had co-author of an edited volume titled mar; the volume was released by a access to without this program. “Global Digital Cultures: Perspec- Burmese-language publishing house CSAS is already planning year three of these two programs, and we trust tives from South Asia” (University of in July 2018. that the 2018 visiting students will return to Pune and Karachi to serve Michigan Press, forthcoming). as ambassadors from Michigan to help recruit the next cohort!

17 Summer in South Asia Fellows 2018

Organized in 2006 with a gener- Kriti Babu and political science. Gayar spent assistance to rural women. Sayed’s ous donation from an anonymous is a junior four weeks in Kolkata working in the research focused on the effect of donor, the Summer in South Asia majoring in legal aid and advocacy department American foreign aid policy on con- Undergraduate Fellowship (SiSA) neuroscience of SANLAAP, an NGO that works to traceptive use in Dehradun. has provided over 80 students with and gender provide comprehensive aid programs Madeleine funding for research and internships and health. to survivors of human trafficking. Steiger is a in India. Babu spent While there, Gayar analyzed the UN junior studying four weeks in , Tamil Nadu principles of positive responsibility of Please join us on October 5 for the biomolecular working in PSG Hospital where she states under International Law. Summer in South Asia Symposium science and helped conduct research on how to (see back cover for time and loca- Erin Haley sociology. advance comprehensive cervical tion) or visit the blog (sisa.ii.lsa. is a freshman Steiger spent cancer prevention in Tamil Nadu. umich.edu) to learn more about the studying seven weeks in Jhalawar, Rajasthan 2018 SiSA fellows’ time in India. Alexandra business, working with the Antara Foundation, Card is a data science, a public health NGO that works to im- Meet this year’s fellows: sophomore and computer prove maternal and child health within Gretchen studying science. For the first 1,000 days of life.S teiger’s Andrews is a history and po- three months over the summer, Haley final project analyzed how people in senior double- litical science. worked in Pune with Atma, an educa- the rural region of Jhalawar overcome majoring in Card spent tion NGO accelerator. She volunteered barriers to accessing health care in the screen arts & eleven weeks in New Delhi working as a project manager, working one- midst of monsoon season. cultures (film) with Safai Karmachari Andolan, an on-one with NGOs to solve prevalent Julia Stuart and psychol- NGO that works against the practice of business problems. is a freshman ogy. Andrews spent 2.5 months in manual scavenging. Card investigated Anjali in the College Mumbai interning for Bollywood the level of awareness regarding Nemorin is a of Engineering. feminist filmmaker, Paromita manual scavenging among law school junior majoring Stuart spent Vohra where she produced videos, students in Delhi. in commu- six weeks in podcasts, and articles focused on Arwa Gayar nity and global Udaipur, Raja- women’s empowerment. is a sophomore public health, sthan with the Foundation for Ecologi- studying public with a minor cal Security (FES), an organization policy and in medical anthropology. Nemorian that improves rural access to water. minoring in spent six weeks in Bangalore working Stuart’s final project explored the fac- law, justice, & with an NGO called Child Rights and tors that contribute to water scarcity in social change You (CRY) that focuses on childhood Rajasthan and the efficacy ofFES in Sa a Sayed Uttarakhand education and health. She gathered combating these factors. Alexandra Card NEW DELHI data and stories from various project Madeleine sites to create an awareness video for Julia Stuart Walsh is a Udaipur CRY, and helped draft a policy to make junior in the child exploitation illegal. INDIA School of Nurs- Madeleine Steigner Arwa Gayar Raipur Kolkata Safia Sayed ing. Maddie

Gretchen Andrews is a junior spent her time Mumbai Erin Haley Pune majoring in in Hyderabad, economics interning at Sanctum Birthing Center, Madeleine Walsh Telengana and minor- a midwife-led birthing center. Maddie’s ing in history final project compared the differences Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea Anjali Nemorin and gender, between how doctors and midwives Bengaluru Adaman Sea race and nation. Sayed spent four communicate with their patients dur- Kriti Babu Coimbatore weeks working with Samadhan, a ing the discharge process. Dehradun-based NGO providing

18 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8 CSAS Awarded Title VI Funding In late August, CSAS heard the good news that we were awarded a four year grant from the Department of Education as one of a handful of National Resource Centers for the study of South Asia. The designation is an honor, and it will help support our education and public outreach activities in Ann Arbor and beyond. In addition to being awarded NRC status, the center also received funding for several Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships, which will support undergraduate and graduate students studying South Asian languages for the next four years.

CSAS is dedicated to promoting a broader and deeper understanding of the region—its histories, cultures, languages, and people—through research, education, and outreach programs. CSAS is committed to creating a supportive environment where scholars, educators, students, and the community have the opportunity to engage in dialogue and to study current and historical events related to South Asia. CSAS gifts help support internships, student groups, faculty and student travel, workshops and lectures, visiting scholars, artists and performers, and special courses related to South Asia. How to make a Gift Our center depends upon your generosity. If you would like to make a gift you may do so online by going to our website at: ii.umich.edu/csas and clicking on the “Give Online” button. You may also call the Gift Help Hotline from Monday through Friday, any time between 8 am and 5 pm: 1-888-518-7888

Thank you for considering a gift to the Center for South Asian Studies!

19 CSAS Lecture Series 2018-19

September 7, 2018 November 8, 2018 February 1, 2019 Ramaswami Mahalingam, EIHS Lecture Subir Sinha, University of London University of Michigan Vazira Zamindar, Brown University Of Commodities and Frontiers: Looking for Decasticization,"Dirty Work" and Dignity: The Disappearance of Things: A Civil Line of Enquiry "Capitalism" on the Edges of Britain’s A Case Study of Arunthathiyars in Tamil Nadu 4pm • Room 1014 • Tisch Hall Indian Colonies 5pm • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall November 9, 2018 September 28, 2018 DATLA Endowed Lecture February 15, 2019 Ben Schonthal, University of Otago, New Zealand Sudipta Kaviraj, Columbia University Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference Buddhism, Secularism and the Pyrrhic Dark Genealogies: Ambedkar’s Struggles on South Asia 2019 Constitutionalism of Sri Lanka with History Keynote speaker: Indrani Chatterjee, 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall 4pm • Helmut Stern Auditorium • UMMA The University of Texas at Austin 9am • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall October 5, 2018 November 30, 2018 Summer in South Asia Symposium Lucinda Ramberg, Cornell University March 15, 2019 4pm • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall “We Were Always Buddhist:” Caste Emancipation Srimatu Basu, University of Kentucky and Sexual Politics in South India Practicing Vulnerability—Men’s Rights Activists, October 17, 2018 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall Embodiment and Appropriation Sanjay Muttoo, Delhi University 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall Lucknow in Letters: Endeavours, Achievements, December 7, 2018 and Tragedies Swarnavel Eswaran, Michigan State University March 29, 2019 4pm • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall “Digital Tamil Cinema: Tendencies, Trends, 9th Annual UM-Pakistan Conference and Possibilities” Room 1010 • Weiser Hall October 19, 2018 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall Thomas Trautmann Endowed Lecture April 12, 2019 Upinder Singh, Ashoka University (Sonepat) January 18, 2019 Priya Jaikumar, University of Southern California Conflict, Violence and Resistance in Ancient India Shobita Parthasarathy, University of Michigan Film’s Mise-en-Scène as Labor’s Social Space 4pm • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall Understanding the New Credibility Regimes of 4pm • Room 1010 • Weiser Hall Development: The Politics of Sanitary Pads as a October 26, 2018 Pro-Poor Technology in India Mrinalini Chakravorty, University of Virginia 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall A Vigil Wasted? Notes on the Ruin-Sublime in Afghanistan 4pm • Room 110 • Weiser Hall

All events are free and open to the public. A complete and updated list can be found on our website, ii.umich.edu/csas/news-events/events.html

2018 Regents of the University of Michigan Michael J. Behm, Grand Blanc; Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor; Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe; Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms; Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor; Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park; Ron Weiser, Ann Arbor; Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor; Mark S. Schlissel, ex officio

The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable 500 Church St, Ste. 400 | Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106 federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action.

734-615-4059 P | [email protected] | ii.umich.edu/csas This newsletter is funded in part by a Title VI NRC grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

20 U n iversity of Mi c h i g a n C e n t e r f o r S o u t h A s i a n S t u d i e s • F a l l 2 0 1 8