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Teaching Through Art: How Pre-Texts is Transforming Education in India

Teaching Through Art: How Pre-Texts is Transforming Education in India

Pre-Texts is an arts-based training program that promotes literacy, critical thinking, and citizenship by having students interpret teaching through creative expression. Developed by Harvard’s Doris Sommer, Mittal Institute steering committee member and the Ira and Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, it’s now active in South Asia, aligning with India’s mandate for arts-integrated education and helping teachers put policy into practice.

Call for Applications: Indian Classical Dance Conference

Call for Applications: Indian Classical Dance Conference

The Mittal Institute is excited to co-host “Intersections 2025: Traditions and Innovations in Indian Classical Dance” on September 27–28, a national conference convening artists, scholars, presenters and community leaders to explore innovation, preservation, and progress in the Indian classical dance artforms in the U.S. Applications are open until May 25 for Original Works (performance + talk), Research Talks, Workshops (movement, pedagogy, professional development), and Poster Presentations

Reflecting on the Mittal Institute’s 15-Year Journey of Increasing Harvard’s Presence in India

Reflecting on the Mittal Institute’s 15-Year Journey of Increasing Harvard’s Presence in India

To kick off this year’s Annual Symposium focused on media, climate, and arts, the Mittal Institute hosted a special Harish C. Mahindra Evening on Thursday, April 17. The evening featured Tarun Khanna, Mittal Institute Faculty Director; William C. Kirby, former Fairbank Center Director; and Arthur Kleinman, former Asia Center director. In conversation with each other, they discussed the Mittal Institute’s 15-year journey to increase Harvard’s presence in Asia, the extraordinary leadership of Tarun Khanna, and the differences between the Mittal Institute and other international centers at Harvard.

On the Front Lines of the World’s Largest Gathering: Professor Tiona Zuzul at the Maha Kumbh Mela

On the Front Lines of the World’s Largest Gathering: Professor Tiona Zuzul at the Maha Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela, one of the largest human gatherings on the planet, is a monumental Hindu pilgrimage and religious festival held in India every 12 years. An even more rare and significant version, the “Maha Kumbh Mela,” occurs just once every 144 years—the most recent taking place in February 2025. Tiona Zuzul, who also attended the recent Maha Kumbh Mela, shared a dispatch from her experience in the Mittal Institute.

Courses on South Asia at Harvard: Fall 2025

Courses on South Asia at Harvard: Fall 2025

Harvard offers a diverse range of courses on South Asia, spanning language, history, politics, economics, religion, and beyond. Explore a selection of Fall 2025 offerings. For the latest updates, please consult the Course Catalog. We’ll continue to expand this list as new courses are announced.

Harvard Faculty Visit Ahmedabad, India, to Understand Extreme Heat Impacts

Harvard Faculty Visit Ahmedabad, India, to Understand Extreme Heat Impacts

In advance of the Mittal Institute’s major New Delhi conference last month, “India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future,” a group of nearly two dozen Harvard faculty, affiliates, and climate philanthropists spent two days on an extreme heat immersion trip in the city of Ahmedabad, India. The two days provided unique opportunities to dive more deeply into heat adaptation policies and practices in India, both centuries-old and modern.

India 2047: Four-day convening in New Delhi brings together 180 scholars to advance climate resilience in India and beyond

India 2047: Four-day convening in New Delhi brings together 180 scholars to advance climate resilience in India and beyond

From March 19-22, more than 180 scholars and experts from Harvard and around the world gathered in New Delhi, India, for one of the largest events Harvard has ever hosted outside the United States. Leading experts in climate science, public health, medicine, labor, business, agriculture, and urban planning convened for “India 2047 – Building a Climate-Resilient Future,” a series of interdisciplinary dialogues on advancing climate resilience. 

Welcoming Naiza Khan, Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellow

Welcoming Naiza Khan, Mittal Institute Distinguished Artist Fellow

The Mittal Institute is delighted to welcome our newest Distinguished Artist Fellow, Naiza Khan, for a week-long residency on Harvard’s campus this April. A visual artist with a multidisciplinary practice spanning drawing, sculpture, archival material, and film, Khan explores themes of land, body, and memory.Her work engages deeply with museum collections and the circulation of objects linked to migration across the Indian Ocean, offering a critical lens on contemporary issues.

Spotlight on the Newly Launched Harvard Bangladeshi Students’ Association (HBSA)

Spotlight on the Newly Launched Harvard Bangladeshi Students’ Association (HBSA)

This academic year, the Harvard Bangladeshi Students’ Association (HBSA) was founded as a University-wide recognized student organization to build community, amplify Bangladeshi voices, and create spaces for cultural celebration, professional development, and advocacy. The Mittal Institute spoke with president Moomtahina Fatima, vice-president Khondoker Nazmoon Nabi, and treasurer Safwan Hossain about the mission of their group, their inaugural event on February 21, and what role Harvard students from Bangladesh and other diaspora members can take in engaging on challenges that Bangladesh faces today.

Goa-ing the Extra Mile: A Journey of Learning Together Through PSIL

Goa-ing the Extra Mile: A Journey of Learning Together Through PSIL

The Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL) brings together Harvard undergraduates, local college students from India, and underprivileged high school students in India for a week-long residential learning experience. Merlin D’souza ’25, Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Global Health and Health Policy, was part of the five-person Harvard undergraduate cohort, and she shares her own dispatch, below. 

Urbanization in Bangladesh: Prof. Adnan Morshed Previews His State of Architecture Talk

Urbanization in Bangladesh: Prof. Adnan Morshed Previews His State of Architecture Talk

The State of Architecture in South Asia series welcomes Professor Adnan Morshed for its next March 27 installment on “Good Density as Urban Justice.” Prof. Morshed, Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at the Catholic University of America, is a practicing architect and architectural historian with an academic focus on the history and theory of modern architecture and urbanism. We spoke with Prof. Morshed in advance of his talk, which will explore urbanization in Bangladesh with a focus on population density.