In a conversation with the Mittal Institute this week, Naiza Khan, a visual artist who splits her time between London and Karachi, explored the impact of the pandemic on her creative processes and methods of making art. This past year, COVID-19 drastically changed the landscape of possibilities for modes of working and presented new opportunities to engage in making work alongside other artists.
A brief history of the South Asian Poets of New England (SAPNE) and an interview with one of its core committee members
Three in four emerging infectious diseases are spread to humans from animals. Yet, the nature of our relationship with animals and the forces that drive this risk are only now beginning to come into focus. Our research, led by the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, operates at the intersection of public health, conservation, and animal welfare to better understand these connections and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.
The years of post-mortem that follow will dissect how we arrived here. But for now, the path out of the current inferno requires unwavering commitment to science, and perhaps tremendous rectitude. Let us examine what we can do in the coming months.
Panelists from around the globe gathered to explore the new book by Professor Ian Talbot, Director of the Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Southampton and Research Affiliate at the Mittal Institute. The book, The History of British Diplomacy in Pakistan, is the first study of the history of British diplomacy in Pakistan. It covers seven decades of British diplomacy in Pakistan, from 1947 through the “War on Terror.”
The Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program, a fully-funded academic and professional development opportunity for low-income, first-generation college students, is cultivating a dynamic network of young leaders spanning over 135 countries. In its fourth iteration—and second virtual iteration—Crossroads brought together program alumni, Harvard faculty and industry mentors to welcome interested students to the Crossroads community.
The Biden Administration Must Democratize International Education. This article, by Mittal Institute Research Affiliate Dinyar Patel, originally appeared in Foreign Affairs.
Binalakshmi Nepram, a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, is an indigenous scholar and human rights defender from Manipur in Northeast India. We recently spoke with her to learn more about her efforts in disarmament, the importance of women in peace processes, and her current fellowship with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
Another big year for the Mittal Institute and our community has sped by. 2020 has been marked by big changes, and with it we have shifted our operations to the virtual world to continue providing events, in-region programming, and opportunities for our students and faculty to pursue their research on South Asia at Harvard.
The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute is delighted to announce a new gift from India’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, which will support the activities and research performed by the Mittal Institute. By enabling scholars from South Asia to work in a cross-disciplinary fashion with faculty, researchers, and students across Harvard on critical questions and issues related to the region, Sharma’s gift will significantly enhance the goals of the Institute to deepen the teaching and research on cultural and global issues related to South Asia.
For many years, a group of faculty members at Harvard — Tarun Khanna (HBS), Satchit Balsari (HMS), Rahul Mehrotra (GSD), Krzysztof Gajos (SEAS), and Doris Sommer (FAS) — have taught a GenEd course, entitled “Contemporary Developing Countries: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Intractable Problems.” The course, initially created by Professor Khanna with the support of the Mittal Institute, covers case studies from emerging markets across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each year, about 100 students enroll in the course from a variety of backgrounds, including undergraduate and graduate students — from sophomores at Harvard College to budding surgeons at Harvard Medical School.