ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

CRITICAL VOICES FROM MYANMAR: Contexts & Concerns after the 2021 Coup d'État

Date/Time: Monday | 13 December 2021 | 12 noon 

A Roundtable discussion organised by the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre & the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre, reflecting on the current situation in Myanmar and its future.

Speakers:  (@NyiNyiK08083161) is Fellow at the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen, Germany;  (@hpakawn_kaw) is Deputy Minister of Education, National Unity Government of Myanmar;  (@JaydeThissa) is Visiting Fellow at the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, and Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Sydney;   (@TayzarSan) is a Burmese physician, politician, and pro-Democracy activist, and is Executive Director, Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society.

Chair: Hyun Bang Shin (@urbancommune) is Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (@ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳SEAC), and Professor of Geography & Urban Studies at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳. 

This event was was not recorded. 

GEOPOLITICS BEYOND BORDERS 4

AFGHANISTAN: BACK TO THE FUTURE? 

Date/Time: Thursday | 9 December 2021 | 3.30pm UK

Four months after the Taliban's complete takeover of Afghanistan, where is it all going? This Roundtable of experts will discuss this, its implications for the geo-security of the region, and what may lie ahead for Afghanistan and her South Asian neighbours. 

Speakers: (@theUdayB) is Director, , New Delhi, and one of India's leading experts on geo-security, and publishes extensively on the subject;  (@AntonioGiustoz2) is Visiting Professor, , Fellow at , and the author of several books on the Taliban in Afghanistan including  (2019);  (@MichaelKugelman) is Deputy Director & Senior Associate for South Asia,  , Washington DC, and a commentator on US strategy in South Asia;  (@afghanopoly) is Assistant Professor, Radboud University, Nijmegen, and the author of  (2020);  (@iamthedrifter) is Research Associate, SOAS South Asia Institute, an expert on security studies in Pakistan, and author of  (2007).

Discussant: Christopher Coker is Professor & Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ IDEAS (@lseideas), an expert on war, US security & terrorism, and author of  (2021).   

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

This event is in collaboration with ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ IDEAS. 

Click to watch a video-recording of the event.

WOMEN & THE FUTURE OF WORK IN SOUTH ASIA 

Date/Time: Thursday | 2 December 2021 | 3.30pm UK

As demographic changes, technology & post-Pandemic 'return to work' reshape global labour markets, this panel will discuss emerging trends, need for contextualised solutions and the future of work for women in South Asia.

Speakers:  (@prithwic) is Lumry Family Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and is especially interested in the Future of Work;   (@Rubanahuq) is Chairperson & Managing Director of  in Dhaka;  (@UQuresh) is Senior Social Development Specialist (Gender) at The World Bank in Pakistan. 

Chair: Alnoor Bhimani (@AlnoorBhimani) is Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳), Professor of Management Accounting at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and author of  (2021).

Click to watch a video-recording of the event. 

BANGLADESH @ 50

GENDER & LABOUR MARKETS IN SOUTH ASIA: FEMINIST ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVES

Date/Time: Thursday | 25 November 2021 | 3.30pm UK | 9.30pm Dhaka

Three feminist economists reflect on: the interaction between economics & culture in the segmentation of labour markets in Bangladesh; factors explaining frequency of entry-exit in women’s labour force participation in India; and how the ‘recognition’ of women’s work in agriculture in Pakistan feeds into policy redistribution.

Speakers: (@AshwDeshpande) is Professor of Economics, , Sonipat, and author of  (new edn, 2019); (@HarisGazdar) is Senior Researcher at the , Karachi.

Discussant: Naila Kabeer (@N_Kabeer) is Professor of Gender & Development at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, author of  (2014), and co-editor (with Caroline Sweetman) of  (2018). 

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

Click to watch the video-recording of the event.  

FACT & FICTION

STATUES: CAN HISTORY BE TOPPLED? 

Date/Time: Thursday | 18 November 2021 | 3.30pm UK

Focused on a recently published book, this panel will discuss the raging debate on statues of historical figures & their place in public spaces and histories.

Speakers:  (@edanderson101) is Senior Lecturer in History, ; his views on historical statues & related issues can be read  & ; , formerly Rhodes Professor of Race Relations, is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford (@StAntsCollege; @AfricaOxfordUni)); his official Report on the Rhodes statue to Oriel College can be found  (pp 98-126);  (@awhitetrail) trained as an anthropologist, writes extensively on historical cultural heritage in Pakistan, and is author of the acclaimed (2018);  (@alexvtunzelmann), historian, is author of  (2021).    

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

Click to watch a video-recording of the event. 

SELF & SPACE: SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORIC PRACTICES

Date/Time: Thursday | 11 November 2021 | 11.30am UK

How does the South Asian diaspora negotiate and navigate identity? Through what practices -- food, education, art, lifestyle? This panel discussion will explore these complex issues in South and Southeast Asia. 

Speakers:  (@LeedsUniHajjRes) is Professor of the Anthropology of Islam (Muslim Diasporas) at the ;  (IG: @sandhini.poddar) is an art historian from the Global South, and will discuss the art of , whose work speaks strongly to diasporic identity;  is Deputy President & Provost, , Singapore (@LASALLESG), with a specialism in cross-cultural creativity between South & Southeast Asia.   

Discussant:  is Lecturer in Asian art histories, , Singapore (@LASALLESG).  

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

This event is in collaboration with , Singapore.

Click  to watch a video-recording of the event. 

DIGITALISING SOUTH ASIA: WHO BENEFITS?

Date/Time: Thursday | 28 October 2021 |  3.30pm UK

South Asian countries are rapidly advancing digital transformation strategies across economic sectors and governmental services. While the step from analog to digital remains relatively unproblematic, wider issues arise when digitalisation results in changed cultural precepts, new economic activities and altered people-to-systems modalities. This Roundtable will discuss these, and much more. 

Speakers: (@anirchowdhury) is Policy Advisor to the  (ICT Division), Government of Bangladesh;   is Professor, , University of Delhi (@DelhiSchoolOfEC);  (@MalikAmmar) is Senior Research Fellow at ;  is Programme Head -- Monitoring & Evaluation, , Sri Lanka (@icta_srilanka). 

Chair: Alnoor Bhimani (@AlnoorBhimani) is Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳), Professor of Management Accounting at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and author of  (2021).

Click to watch a video-recording of the event. 

IRELAND@100 -- INDIA@75

INTERNATIONALISM AND EMPIRE

Date/Time: Thursday | 21 October 2021 | 3.30pm UK

This specially curated Roundtable commemorates the centenary of Ireland and the 75th anniversary of India's independence; it explores a less known connection between Ireland & India in the interwar period -- internationalism, and the League against Imperialism.

Speakers:  (@DishaKJani) is a Doctoral Researcher in modern European & global/international History at , and has a particular interest in internationalism; (@LouroMichele) is Associate Professor of History at , Massachusetts, and author of  (2018);  is Professor of Contemporary Irish History, , and author of  (2008);  is Lecturer in History, ,  Associate Professor in Colonial & Postcolonial Global History at , Turku, and has published on the  (2017).

Discussant: Martin Bayly (@mjbayly) is Assistant Professor in International Relations Theory at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and author of  (2016). 

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

Click to watch a video-recording of the event. 

TOUGH TALK 3

DECOLONISING HISTORY: METHOD OR FACT?

Date/Time: Thursday | 7 October 2021 | 4.30pm UK

This 'Tough Talk' asks historians: is 'Decolonisation' a 'method'/'school' of historical interpretation, or is it what trained scholars have been doing all along -- examining, analysing & interpreting archives for newer and nuanced narratives that correct current wisdom?

Speakers:  is Professor of History,  (@Harvard_History), and author of the acclaimed  (2005);  (@PriyaSatia) is Raymond A Spruance Professor of International History, , and author of  (2020);  (@KimAtiWagner) is Professor of Global and Imperial History, , and author of  (2020).  

Discussant:  is Emeritus Professor of History,  (@WarwickHistory), and author of  (2021).  

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

Click to watch a video-recording of the event. 

2021: DOES GANDHI MATTER?

Date/Time: Thursday | 30 September 2021 | 3.30pm UK

This Roundtable will focus on the contemporary relevance of Gandhi, Father of the Indian nation & global icon of non-violence. Is the younger generation aware of the dramatis of Gandhi's ideas & appeal, or is he just an icon in their minds, appearing on currency, postage stamps &c? Speakers will discuss Gandhi's ideas, and its place in the globalised universe of social media. 

Speakers:  (@TheDeshBhakt) is a journalist, and Founder & Host of 'The Deshbhakt',  a social media platform (on Facebook; Instagram; Twitter; YouTube) which uses satire to disseminate news;  is Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford;  is a historian of modern India, and retired as Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Discussant:  (@arora_sanam) is an ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ alumnus, and Chairperson of the  (@NISAU_UK).

Chair: Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ South Asia Centre (@SAsiaÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳).

This event is in collaboration with  & the . 

Click to watch a video-recording of this event.