Presented by: Timothy K. Blauvelt, PhD Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia
Regional Director for the South Caucasus American Councils for International Education.

This talk will be based on some of the key aspects of the intersection of patron-client relations and Soviet nationality policy in the Abkhazian SSR in the 1920s and 1930s, drawn from the speaker's recent book Clientelism and Nationality in an Early Soviet Fiefdom: The Trials of Nestor Lakoba (Routledge, 2021).
Timothy K. Blauvelt is Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, and is also Regional Director for the South Caucasus for American Councils for International Education. He has a PhD in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and has lived and worked in Georgia (and also in Russia and Ukraine) for the past two decades. He has published several dozen peer reviewed articles and book chapters on Soviet, Russian and Caucasus history and politics, and is the co-editor (with Jeremy Smith) of Georgia after Stalin: Nationalism and Soviet Power published by Routledge in 2016, and (with Adrian Brisku) of The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic of 1918: Federal Aspirations, Geopolitics and National Projects, published by Routledge in 2021.
 

Presented by: Timothy K. Blauvelt, PhD Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia
Regional Director for the South Caucasus American Councils for International Education.

This talk will be based on some of the key aspects of the intersection of patron-client relations and Soviet nationality policy in the Abkhazian SSR in the 1920s and 1930s, drawn from the speaker's recent book Clientelism and Nationality in an Early Soviet Fiefdom: The Trials of Nestor Lakoba (Routledge, 2021).
Timothy K. Blauvelt is Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, and is also Regional Director for the South Caucasus for American Councils for International Education. He has a PhD in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and has lived and worked in Georgia (and also in Russia and Ukraine) for the past two decades. He has published several dozen peer reviewed articles and book chapters on Soviet, Russian and Caucasus history and politics, and is the co-editor (with Jeremy Smith) of Georgia after Stalin: Nationalism and Soviet Power published by Routledge in 2016, and (with Adrian Brisku) of The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic of 1918: Federal Aspirations, Geopolitics and National Projects, published by Routledge in 2021.
 

Arabic language practice and culture presentations.

Arabic language practice and culture presentations.

 

Don't miss a special wayang kulit (shadow puppet) premiere performance from Java! Ki Purbo Asmoro will be performing Tamba Teka Lara Lunga (Remedy Shows Up Malady Gives Up). This new wayang story is inspired by a 1920 text designed to educate the public about pandemic influenza. Tune in and see how Ki Purbo Asmoro weaves the content and perspective from a dhalang (puppet master) during the pandemic 100 years ago with his own thoughts on the current COVID-19 pandemic.

English translation by Kitsie Emerson

Co-Sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, University of Michigan Center for Southeast Asian Studies, American Institute for Indonesian Studies, 

Description: In this session, graduate students from across the College will share their experience and advice when it comes to planning for and engaging in globally-oriented work during their graduate studies. Panelists will introduce their relevant work, sharing the benefits and challenges of engaging in such work, as well as exploring the various resources across departments, the College, the University, and beyond that enabled their global pursuits. The audience is encouraged to come with questions and engage in open discussion.
Rachel Lockart is a PhD candidate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education. Her work draws on and contributes to the fields of comparative and international education, decolonial theories, and critical policy analysis, and her dissertation focuses on teacher education and employment policies in Senegal. Educated primarily in the U.S., she has also studied, taught, or conducted research in Mali, Cameroon, and Senegal.
Jainisha Chavda is a 5th year PhD Candidate in Educational Policy. Prior to MSU, she worked with non-profit and government organizations in India on different development projects. She was also a lecturer of international studies at Pandit Deendayal Energy University. She is currently pursuing her dissertation on Datafication and Educational Governance in India.
Yujin Oh is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in K-12 Educational Administration at MSU. She had worked as a public elementary school teacher, serving grades 1 to 6, for over ten years in Seoul, South Korea. Her research interests include school leadership for teacher learning, the policy implementation process, and comparative perspectives on school change.

Welcome to the third Sikh & Punjab Studies Webinar of 2021 organized by the Sikh Formations editorial team. The topics explored in this webinar range from study of Sikh schools in Delhi, to identity but will all find root in Sikh and Punjab studies.
Moderators:
Dr. Arvind-Pal S. Mandair (University of Michigan)
Dr. Anneeth Kaur Hundle  (University of California – Irvine)
Dr. Harjeet Grewal  (University of Calgary)
Session 1
Time: 11:05 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST
Speaker: Dr. Yamini Aggarwal (Research Associate, Max Weber Forum for South Asian Studies, New Delhi)
Title: SIKH SCHOOLS IN DELHI, IDENTITY & ASPRIRATIONS: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
Abstract: This presentation explores the rise in the number of schools run by Sikh managements in Delhi, India, post 1984 anti-Sikh violence and the quest of the community to encourage young Sikhs to maintain their religious and cultural identity. For next two decades, culture and identity were key reasons why even upper middle class Sikh parents accessed these schools but started to leave the institutions for other popular private and international schools around mid-2000. Based on an ethnography of two Sikh schools in Delhi in contrasting neighborhoods, I show that aspirations and opportunities for national and global mobility are leading to changing patterns of enrolment in what were Sikh-dominated institutions. I also dwell on the implications of the growing number of Hindus and Muslim children in these schools, and challenges that have emerged for school managements and teachers to maintain diversity and yet promote them as Sikh institutions.
Session 2
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Speaker: Prof. Radhika Chopra (University of Delhi)
Title: CURATING DIVINITY
Abstract: I will explore the universe of souvenirs of Sikh Gurus and martyrs sold in bazaars of Amritsar. I analyse the shop window displays of two modern martyrs, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the militant leader of the movement for Khalistan, and Bhagat Singh, the nationalist hero. Shopkeepers understand martyr souvenirs as affective objects, of ritual and political value, and 'curate' their displays to create a conscious, purposive aura around modern Sikh martyrdom.
Session 3
Time: 12:55 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. EST
Speaker: Prof. Jyotsna Singh (Michigan State University)
Title: CHANDIGARH A CITY IN SEARCH OF AN IDENTITY: DREAMS AND VISIONS OF EARLY SETTLERS
Abstract: As heated debates about nationalism, citizenship, and identity are raging in India, it is perhaps an opportune moment to reflect on the genesis, vision, and reality of a truly unique Indian city: CHANDIGARH.
Chandigarh was built by Prime Minister Nehru in the aftermath of the tragic partition of India as the new capital of the province of Punjab, which was divided, and the old capital of Lahore (a great cultural center) was awarded to Pakistan.
Designed by the French modern architect, Le Corbusier, the city's radical modernist aesthetics broke free from both India's colonial architecture as well as its traditional Indian heritage designs. Many of the early settlers (1960s-1970s-80s) were imbued with a deep nostalgia for Lahore, but the modernist emphasis of Chandigarh buildings on form over ornament and of raw materials and structure instead of idyllic revivals, also helped them to embrace a new world.
In recent years, India's social and cultural critics have reductively shrugged off the distinct identity of Chandigarh. Sunil Khilnani wrongly observed in 1997: "This supremely conceptual city could not generate any shared understanding of its meanings among its inhabitants" (The Idea of India, 13). I will argue that the vision of the early settlers (many partition migrants) reflected the modernist aesthetics of the city, drawing on memories and materials of the lost, cosmopolitan Punjab, but creating new principles that balanced modernity and secularism with traditional cultures. It was city of an inclusive Punjabiat, synthesizing Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim elements into a new Punjab.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) Community Health and Research Center (CHRC) is the largest and most comprehensive Arab community-based health and mental health center in North America. The CHRC is a fully integrated community health "one-stop service center" comprised of medical, public health and research, mental health and environment programs. The CHRC's mission is to provide public health programs and research opportunities that focus on the needs of Arab Americans locally and nationwide. The CHRC has a long history of collaborating with U.S. and international researchers. ACCESS is pleased to announce its 9th Arab Health Summit, October 19-21, 2021.

In this webinar, CHRC leaders will provide an overview of the ACCESS CHRC and how to explore opportunities for research partnerships with the CHRC, followed by "case study" presentations by ACCESS and MSU partners who have collaborated on health-related research projects.

For more information please visit the Opportunities for Community-Engaged Health Research with Arab American Communities webpage.

Sponsored by MSU University Outreach and Engagement; MSU Department of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine

Arabic language practice and culture presentations.