Conferences & Exhibits

October 5, 2007
08:00 AM - 06:30 PM, Room 1636 International Institute/ School of Social Work Building

Conceptualizing South Asia's Past at Michigan: A Conference in Honor of Thomas R. Trautmann

This conference seeks to honor the many contributions of Thomas R. Trautmann, Marshall D. Sahlins Collegiate Professor of History and Anthropology, to the interdisciplinary field of South Asian Studies. It will focus on a persistent theme in his intellectual interests: how the culture and society of precolonial or traditional South Asia has been conceptualized,whether in the precolonial period or during the era of colonial rule. Particular emphasis will be placed on conceptions that classify South Asian peoples into broadly-based categories by language, race, or kinship, in a tribute to Tom's major works on South Asia (Dravidian Kinship, Aryans and British India, and Languages & Nations: The Dravidian Proof in Colonial Madras). Many of the paper presentations will be made by Tom's former students and current colleagues at Michigan, highlighting the University's role in shaping South Asian scholarship since his arrival in 1968. Other participants will be senior scholars from the US and elsewhere, revealing the international scope of Tom's intellectual impact.

Conceptualizing South Asia's Past at Michigan: A Conference in Honor of Thomas R. Trautmann (PDF)

October 26, 2007
08:30AM - 06:30PM, Room 1636 International Institute/ School of Social Work Building

CSAS Graduate Student Conference: Language and Mediation in South Asian Societies

This graduate student conference will address theoretical issues associated with the linguistic anthropological study of South Asian societies. One major goal of this conference will be to collaboratively define the regional and theoretical scope of "South Asia" as an area of study. Our disciplinary view of language as social action directs us to approach questions about geographic and historical bounded-ness through the examination of emergent semiotic processes, practices, and forms. These different scales of mediation, ranging from the local to the transnational, inform the performance, regimentation, and imagining of South Asian societies by its participants. The keynote speaker for this conference will be Chaise Ladousa of Hamilton College. We have invited the submission of papers dealing with "language and mediation", such as the political economy of language; language socialization; communities of practice and social networks; semiotics of media and linguistic form; linguistic authority; ideologies of language; and multilingualism, through ethnographically-grounded studies in South Asian contexts. It is notable that a significant body of research is being produced by American and Canadian graduate students in this field, despite the relatively small number of existing faculty with research interests in both South Asia and linguistic anthropology. Therefore, another goal of this conference will be to provide a much-needed forum for discussion among emerging and existing scholars whose careers are committed to the study of language and mediation in South Asian societies. We will also hold a series of round-table discussions between scholars and graduate students, during which we will consider commonalities and contrasts in our ethnographic and theoretical approaches. The purpose of these conversations is to brainstorm new research questions on South Asian societies that require the attention of linguistic anthropological study. This conference is sponsored by the University of Michigan's Center for South Asian Studies, the Department of Anthropology, the International Institute and the Rackham Graduate School.