Image: Courtesy of Dev N. Pathak, Sociology, SAU.
About The Department - Vision and Beyond



Over the last half century or so, a vast body of knowledge(s) on the region has evolved within South Asia that mostly remain within the countries of their origin due to a number of reasons. In this specific context, there is a crucial need to share some of this knowledge in contemporary times when, despite assertions of localisations and mini-narratives, the universal does retain its emphasis through a constant dialectics of the two. The debate between the local and universal or mini-narratives and meta-narratives continue to rage, and is more clearly visible in the context of South Asian context. Even so, we are acutely aware of the non-existence of regular and serious forums for South Asian scholarship in social sciences to showcase our own research and thinking. We are also quite conscious of the fact that the process of establishing sociology in the region has created its own peculiarities which has established close inter-relationships between sociology and social anthropology, history, cultural studies, archeology and other related disciplines. We consider the porousness of South Asian sociology one of its most enduring strengths. On the other hand, we are not unaware of the unfortunate regressions sociology has experienced in different South Asian contexts over the last 30 years or so marked by numerous institutional failures.



It is within the context(s) outlined above that the Department of Sociology at South Asian university, initiated in 2011 witihn the Faculty of Social Sciences contributes to teaching, training and knowledge production. It is not intended to be a mere forum for the production of cutting-edge intellectual knowledge and exchange of that knowledge traversing across national borders in South Asia and beyond. Our expectation is that this knowledge would dislocate the persistence of an imposed framework emanating from the colonisation process and postcolonial politics of knowledge. Despite the passage of over fifty years since the process of official decolonization began in the region, much of the analyses of our problems, situations, histories and dynamics emanate from Euro American academia; this is certainly the case when it comes to conceptual formulations and theoretical approaches that are being employed in exploring the region’s social and cultural complexities often without much self-reflection.



The Department of Sociology strongly believes in the need to reformulate this situation by effectively centering South Asia without naively shunning thought from these established centers of knowledge be they in Europe or North America. We believe in an active and robust engagement with these issues within South Asia. In this context, through the work of its faculty and the research of graduate students, the Department would bring forward the newer forms of knowledge that comprehends and represents the South Asian context with a more authoritative and nuanced voice. We strongly believe in the need to actively intervene in the process of knowledge formation through a constant sharing of knowledge that the region produces as well as through interaction with the world beyond the region.



The courses taught in the Department as well as the research carried out by its faculty members reflect this overall vision and our collective commitment towards innovation, move beyond untenable stereotypes, and explore a new world of knowledge within the discipline of Sociology.


Class of 2011, Department of Sociology, South Asian University; Image: Courtesy of Dev N. Pathak, Sociology, SAU.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sociology Seminar Series –20th February to 17th April 2013





Department of Sociology

Faculty of Social Sciences

South Asian University

Venue: FSI Hall, Akbar Bhawan, South Asian University, New Delhi 110021
Time: 02.00 pm - 05.00 pm



February



20 February

Panel Discussion
Mass Media in South Asia: Flagging Questions, Mooting Answers




While South Asia has been variably configured through mediated images emerging from various streams of mass media, there has been little attempt at understanding the nature and scope of mass media in the region. Is mass media in the region thoroughly modern?; is there a sharp break from the traditional moorings of communication?; is the regional mass media obscured by attributes of media imperialism?; is South Asian social reality entirely mediated?; is media determinism unquestionable?. This panel unpacks the characteristics of mass media of the region and grapples with questions of research significance such as the above.



Panelists:

Nikhil Sinha, Department of Communication, University of Texas, Austin; currently Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi

Steve McDowell (Communication Studies Program, Florida State University, Florida)

Biswajit Das (Center for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi)



Chair:  Sasanka Perera, Faculty of Social Sciences, SAU

Discussants: Babli Moitra Saraf, Indraprastha College, DU & Chudamani Basnet, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Madhulika V Narsimhan




March



06 March



Reading Bourdieu Today: Understanding and Questions

Sheena Jain, Professor, Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia



Chair: Chudamani Basnet, Department of Sociology, SAU

Discussant: Mallika Shakya, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Saroj Kumar Nepal


13 March



Politics and Sexuality in South Asia

Nivedita Menon, SIS, JNU



Chair: Prof. Rajan Harshe, Department of International Relations, SAU

Discussants: Chudamani Basnet & Diya Mehra, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Parveen Hussain


20 March



Global Events and Local Narratives: 9/11 and Folk Artists of Bengal

Roma Chatterji, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi



Chair: Ankur Datta, Department of Sociology, SAU

Discussant: Dev N Pathak, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Atina Naseer Malik



25 March



Letters on Love: A Narrative of Colombo University Students’ Love and Life

Mihirini Sirisena, National University of Ireland



Chair: Farid Ahamad, Department of Sociology, SAU

Discussant: Dev N Pathak, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Madhulika V Narsimhan



April



3 April



Panel Discussion

Feminist Explorations of Knowledge:
Present and Future of Engendered Anthropology



Through the historical trajectories vis-à-vis waves of women’s movement, the feminist enquiries have made it possible to recon with host of issues, categories and political possibility of change. Meanwhile, there has been emergence of regional varieties of feminism adding novel dimensions to the anthropological attempts at knowledge construction. This panel debates the conventional and recent orientations in feminist approaches in anthropological studies.



Panelists:

Ravinder Kaur, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Rajni Palriwala, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi

Gitika Bapana, Research Scholar, University of Delhi



Chair: Mary E John, Center for Women’s Development Study, Delhi

Discussant: Mallika Shakya & Dev N Pathak, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Manoj Kumar Dhakal



8 April

Darwinian Evolution and the Fate of Humanity 
Rajiv Saxena, Department of Biotechnology, SAU


Chair and Discussant: Dhruv Raina, Professor of Philosophy of Science, JNU


Rapporteur: Somya Saloni



15 April



Conversation between Science and Social Science

Shiv Visvanathan, Jindal Global University



Chair: Mallika Shakya, Department of Sociology, SAU
Discussant:  Diya Mehra, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Parveen Hussain



17 April



Democracy in South Asia: Issues and Directions

Peter Ronald D’Souza, Indian Institute of Advance Studies, Simla



Chair: Farid Ahamad, Department of Sociology, SAU

Discussant: Ravi Kumar, Department of Sociology, SAU

Rapporteur: Atina Naseer Malik
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