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LMSAI Symposium Preview: Partition through an Artistic Lens

May 12, 2022 | Announcements, Arts Program, In Region, News

LMSAI Symposium Preview: Partition through an Artistic Lens

Iftikhar Dadi is the John H. Burris Professor in History of Art at Cornell University. He joins the Mittal Institute’s annual symposium for a discussion on Partition’s impact on the arts in a panel chaired by Jennifer Leaning, Professor of the Practice at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and faculty lead of the Mittal Institute’s Partition research, along with discussants Bhaskar Sarkar of UC Santa Barbara and Nadhra Khan of Lahore University of Management Sciences. LMSAI spoke with Professor Dadi about his work and art.

LMSAI Symposium Preview: Mapping Climate Change in South Asia

May 12, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, In Region, India, News

LMSAI Symposium Preview: Mapping Climate Change in South Asia

Anthony Acciavatti works at the intersection of architecture and the history of science and technology. He is interested in experimental forms of scholarship, pedagogy, and design afforded by humanistic inquiry. His most recent book, Ganges Water Machine: Designing New India’s Ancient River (Applied Research & Design, 2015), is the first comprehensive mapping and environmental history of the Ganges River Basin in over half a century. He spent a decade hiking, driving, and boating across the Ganges to map it and to understand the historical conflicts over water for drinking, agriculture, and industry. Combining fieldwork with archival research, the book is an atlas of the enterprise to transform the Ganges into the most hyper-engineered landscape in the world.

LMSAI Symposium Preview: The Next Generation of South Asian Scholars

May 12, 2022 | Announcements, Fellows, In Region, News, Social Enterprise

LMSAI Symposium Preview: The Next Generation of South Asian Scholars

Vidya Subramanian, this year’s Mittal Institute Raghunathan Family Fellow, is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research interests lie at the intersection of technologies and societies. Vidya’s current research investigates the changing nature of citizenship in the technological society we now inhabit. Focusing on India, her research is loosely framed by two large issues: the first is on the colonization of the everyday so-called real world by the digital; and the second focuses on how power permeates and is implicated in such technologies. She is mentored by Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. Vidya will be a panelist during a discussion on the “Next Generation of Scholars” at the Mittal Institute’s Annual Symposium on May 19, which will focus on the theme “The Making of Modern South Asia.”

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

May 4, 2022 | Announcements, Graduate Student Associates, News, South Asia in the News

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

Tianjia (Tina) Liu joined the Mittal Institute as a Graduate Student Associate in the 2021-2022 academic year and is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Tina’s research focuses on using satellite data and atmospheric modeling to quantify the impacts of fires on air quality and public health in India, Indonesia, and globally. She has recently published 2 papers with another in review on the topic of crop residue burning and the impact on air quality degradation. Prior to joining the Mittal Institute, Tina received her B.A. in Environmental Science from Columbia University, and her research has primarily been focused on fires and air quality since her undergraduate days.

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

Apr 27, 2022 | Announcements, Fellows, In Region, News, Pakistan, South Asia in the News

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

Dr. Yaqoob Khan Bangash is a historian of Modern South Asia and a current Fulbright Fellow at the Mittal Institute. His current research interests lie in the emergence of Pakistan as a post-colonial state, with broader interests in decolonisation, modern state formation, formation of identities, and the emergence of ethnic and identity based conflicts. He also regularly writes for The News, Daily Times, The Express Tribune and other newsmedia. He spoke with the Mittal Institute about the current political crisis in Pakistan, and explored what implications it might have for the larger world.

Charting Her Own Course: Sheila Jasanoff on Constructing the Science and Technology Studies Program

Apr 27, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, News

Charting Her Own Course: Sheila Jasanoff on Constructing the Science and Technology Studies Program

Sheila Jasanoff, the Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Steering Committee member of LMSAI, is a pioneer of the Science and Technology studies field, who says she worked at the “forefront of making things visible that were not yet visible to others.” It is in recognition of these decades of dedication that Jasanoff was recently honored with the prestigious Holberg Prize, an international award from the government of Norway bestowed upon an outstanding scholar in arts and humanities, social sciences, law and theology.

At Harvard Law, Strengthening Spaces for South Asians

Apr 20, 2022 | Announcements, News, Students

At Harvard Law, Strengthening Spaces for South Asians

The Harvard South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) is dedicated to the advancement and visibility of the South Asian community at Harvard Law School. They strengthen dialogue and connections through a variety of formats: discussions, lectures, panels, film screenings and social events. The Mittal Institute spoke with co-presidents Rosie Kaur and Vandana Apte about SALSA and its role on campus.

Fellowship for South Asian Artists Provides Unique Research Opportunity at Harvard

Apr 20, 2022 | Announcements, Arts Program, Community, News

Fellowship for South Asian Artists Provides Unique Research Opportunity at Harvard

The Mittal Institute’s Visiting Artist Fellowship (VAF) is part of a thriving Arts Program at the Institute that seeks to expand opportunities to connect South Asia’s rich and varied artistic culture to the Harvard community, as well as enhancing the arts in South Asia through access to Harvard’s vast resources. As part of this program, the VAF provides a unique opportunity for outstanding mid-career visual artists from South Asia to come to the Harvard campus. We spoke with the Institute’s Arts Program Manager, Sneha Shrestha, to learn more about the VAF program, what makes a successful candidate, and how she hopes the program will grow in the future.

The Mittal Institute Awards Largest Class of Faculty Research Grant Recipients

Apr 12, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, News

The Mittal Institute Awards Largest Class of Faculty Research Grant Recipients

Each year, the Mittal Institute supports faculty research projects with grants ranging up to $25,000. Harvard faculty members are eligible for grants that bring together faculty from different fields and regions whose scholarship relates to South Asia. Traditionally the Mittal Institute has prioritized interdisciplinary research, as well as tried to catalyze connectivity between scholars at Harvard and those in South Asia. Meet this year’s grant recipients.