English-language independent publishers in India and South Asia play a vital role in bringing marginalised knowledge into mainstream academia, especially literature from Dalits, women, Muslims, and Adivasis. These publishers bridge the gap between writers and the public, significantly influencing the humanities and social sciences. Despite facing challenges, these publishers promote new discourses. Ahmedabad University Professor Safwan Amir's essay, "Staying Relevant, Staying Committed: Publishing Margins in India," studied how these publishers struggle to disseminate the stories, shaping narratives in humanities and social sciences.
Art forms exploring Azadari, a ritual mourning the massacre at Karbala where Imam Hussain was killed, showcase literary and aesthetic qualities, including often unexplored themes like a sense of ‘belonging’. Arslan Jafri, an Ahmedabad University student, has studied this overlooked theme and made a presentation at the 21st Annual South Asia Graduate Student Conference, co-sponsored by the University of Chicago. Jafri's research encompasses various modalities and cultural symbols, offering a fresh perspective on Shia Muslim culture.
Last month, the History Literature Festival hosted on Ahmedabad University's Campus explored how the histories of science, food, music, languages, and architecture crossed paths through India's long journey. Here's a look at the reflections on the past by faculty at Ahmedabad University.
Suchismita Das, Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences division at the School of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the Centre for Inter-Asian Research, is broadly interested in anthropologically examining the effects of climate change on human ecosystems. She explains Joshimath’s sinking and the serious repercussions it has.
Who should decide what gets commemorated? What responsibilities do different entities have toward preserving ‘heritage’? How might changing monuments change minds? Visiting Professor at the School of Arts and Sciences and Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University Maya Jasanoff talks about controversial memorials and reflects on the place of history in public life.
Padmaja Anant, enrolled in Ahmedabad University's Diploma in Literary Translation programme, has won the 2022 Mozhi Prize, a prestigious literary award given to short fiction translated from Tamil into English. “A translated work is a space for shared ideas and visions, and that excites me,” she says.
Supported by the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICHCAP), a UNESCO category 2 Centre in South Korea, Ahmedabad University's Centre for Heritage Management evaluated the effect of the pandemic on heritage in its 4th Annual Conference on Heritage Management Practice and Education. The Stepwell spoke to the Centre's Director, Neel Kamal Chapagain, about the intersections of heritage and COVID-19 and mapping pandemic-related memories.
Sanskrit and Computer Science? Sanskrit and Economics? Sanskrit and Painting? Students of Sanskrit, a relatively young field of study at Ahmedabad University, are working at radically revising widespread views that the language is steeped in orthodoxy and not a lucrative option for higher education.
As part of their summer internship at the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum in Ahmedabad, Anant Jani and Mariyah Mansuri, senior students in our Philosophy, History, and Languages major at the School of Arts and Sciences explored art history, mythology, and theology, and independently handled work at the Museum, some of which are now part of the Museum’s exhibits.
The Re-Orienting Taste Project initiated at the Centre for Inter-Asian Research explored creating a dialogue between Indian and Chinese medical systems with food as the pivot. The Centre’s Director Tejaswini Niranjana, and the founders of Edible Archives, Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar and Shalini Krishan, take us on a culinary odyssey of how the past may be used in the present.
A student of history and the Indian classical dance form Kathak, Samiksha Purohit had always wanted to blend her knowledge of the two to create social impact. Now, as a final year student at the Centre for Heritage Management, she has received the INTACH Scholarship to help document the present status of Kathak and its artists in Kashi, and assimilate this information for policy formation.
