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South Asian Studies at the University of Kansas
"Taking a course in the South Asian Studies program has opened my mind to new ideas in multiple areas—philosophy, art, business, and religion, to name only a few. The ideas covered have changed the way I approach new materials, and I have developed a new appreciation for a culture that seemed to be such a mystery. As Indian and Southeast Asian influences become more prevalent in our world, I feel passionately that a growing understanding of these cultures will benefit students from any area of study."
Currently housed in the Center for Global & International Studies, South Asian Studies at KU began with a Hindi language course in Fall 2009 taught by Dr. Geetanjali Tiwari. The Hindi course was so successful that KU now offers up to 3rd-year Hindi, South Asia culture classes, a Hindi language immersion study abroad course, an Environmental Studies study abroad course, and FLAS fellowships for students studying Hindi. In addition, South Asian Studies organizes and co-sponsors South Asia events on campus and in the community, ranging from talks about the environment and biodiversity, culture, village life in India, and contemporary art in India and Pakistan. We also co-sponsor events organized by the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) at KU. This organization has brought famous Indian artists such as Dhrupad vocalist Uday Bhawalkar (spring 2010); tabla and sitar maestro Pandit Nayan Ghosh (Fall 2010); internationally acclaimed Odissi dancer Rahul Acharya (Spring 2011); and virtuoso violinist Purnaprajna Bangere (Fall 2011) to the KU campus for culturally rich concerts and performances that are always free and open to the public.
For more information about South Asia academics, please visit: http://global.ku.edu/academics/hindi/index.shtml
For information about South Asia Environmental Studies study abroad: http://india.ku.edu/nature/index.shtml
KU South Asia Studies in the news:
University celebrates Hindu festival (University Daily Kansan, Apr. 22, 2012) Read more...
Lawrence residents celebrate traditional Indian festival (KUJH-TV, Apr. 22, 2012) See video...
Dr. Geeta Tiwari brings KU to India and India to KU (CGIS newsletter, Oct. 6, 2010) Read more...
Total Immersion: KU students spend summer in India forests as part of study abroad (Lawrence Journal World, Oct. 7, 2010) Read more...
Upcoming Events
Hindi Immersion Study Abroad Program- Language and Culture in India
Summer 2012
July 1-August 11, 2012
FLAS Eligible
This new Study Abroad program will allow students experience the country and its cultures first hand. Students will live with chosen Indian families and learn to talk, cook, garden, sing and dance, do yoga or any other activity with locals. Along with daily Hindi language classes students will be taken to several several temples, archeological sites, performing arts events and places of natural beauty each week.
For more information visit: http://india.ku.edu/hindiimmersion/index.shtml OR contact gtiwari@ku.edu
Apply Now
Hindi Table at KU
Every Tuesday
12:00 - 12:45 PM
Kansas Union (sitting area at the main entrance from JayHawk Blvd on the 4th floor)
This is an opportunity to come and get a chance to practice listening and speaking Hindi with other people including some native speakers, Hindi students and others who are interested. I encourage native Hindi speakers to come so that you can help with conversations in Hindi.
You can use this time to do Hindi homework too if you wish as a group and get to practice saying things aloud. You are also welcome to eat lunch there with others at the Hindi Table.
Past Events
Jayhawk Jhalak
Saturday, April 30
Woodruff Auditorium
The Center for Global and International Studies and the South Asian Student Association are proud to present Jayhawk Jhalak! Come enjoy live South Asian influenced dances and musical performances. An optional South Asian Meal will be provided after the show.
Click on image to download flyer.
Concert: Nayan
Gosh
Indian Sitar and Tabla
Saturday, April 23
Woodruff Auditorium
Co-sponsered by CGIS and SPIC-MACAY
Click on image to download flyer.
Holi and Sports Day
Saturday, April 16
3:00-5:00 P.M.
Robinson Fields
Click on image to download flyer.
Rahul Acharya: Classical East Indian Dance
Sunday, April 10
Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union
FREE ADMISSION
Sponsored by the University of Kansas Chapter of SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Culture and Music Amongst Youth) The Center for Global & International Studies, The Department of Religious Studies, KU Cultural India Club and Coca Cola
Internationally renowned as a virtuosic artist, he has performed all over the globe – in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and throughout the United States. Rahul has danced extensively in India, participating in many of the most celebrated festivals. In 2010 he received the honor of being a soloist in the Khajuraho Dance Festival. Amongst his 2009 performances were Natya Tarangini’s Parampara Series, several Sangeet Natak Akademi sponsored engagements in Tamil Nadu, and the Kumbhalgarh Dance Festival. He has danced at the Mukteswar, Konark, Puri Beach, and Udayshankar Dance Festivals, as well as many more. Other appearances include ones at Kalakshetra and the National Centre for Performing Arts.
Concert: Ras Mandala, Indian Music Group
Thursday, March 31
6:00 P.M.
Spencer Museum of Art
FREE ADMISSION
Sponsored by the Center for Global & International Studies, The Spencer Museum of Art, the Department of Religious Studies
Ras Mandala is a Lawrence-based music group that evokes ancient chants from India, devotional Bahjans, children’s songs, and passionate Gazals, mostly set to Raag music that blends with western harmony. The group will present their unique compositions set to the vibrant movement and original choreography of KU Professor of Dance, Patrick Suzeau.
Musicans:
Maria Anthony- sitar, guitar and vocals
Clark Jamison- tabla, udu and vocals
Deborah Pine- vocals and guitar
Geetanjali Tiwari- taanpura and vocals
Patrick Suzeau explores a synthesis of South Asian and western dance forms. In addition to ballet and contemporary dance he is a trained East Indian Bharatanatyam classical dancer, a form that includes dazzling rhythmic patterns with intricate symbolic hand gestures.
Click image to download flyer.
Lecture: The Sage of Elephants & Humans
D.K. Bhaskar- explorer, traveller, writer, and photojournalist from India
Thursday, March 31
4:00 P.M.
100 Smith Hall
The elephant has been associated with mankind since time immemorial. A peek into the history of the human-elephant relationship reveals that the first evidence of taming of the elephants by humans goes back to the Indus valley civilization during the third millennium B.C. Archeological surveys reveal that the most common motif on the seals obtained from the Harappan civilization are those with pictorial representation of elephants. The Vedic hymns of the Aryans (1500-600 BC) provide the next string of evidence of the human-elephant relationship. Famous Indian epics such as the Mahabharath and Ramayan (1000-700 BC) portray the majestic role of elephants in warfare, festivities and royal grandeur.
This visually distinctive presentation will give a glimpse of the ancient, historical, cultural, spiritual, environmental, ecological and practical ways in which elephants touch our lives.
A passionate, award winning documentary specialist and culturally dynamic adventurer, D.K. Bhaskar is fascinated by the whole wide world. He celebrates the joy of discovering the world through his lens.
His award-winning work has appeared in major publications world-wide including:BBC, Bloomberg, Insight, Lonely Planet, Popular Photography, Wanderlust, Earthwatch, Open Skies, Wildlife Conservation Society, India Today, Travel Plus and Mint. He has been the principal photographer for several Insight Guide books (published by Berlitz) and a contributing photographer for more than 17 books.
Followed by a book signing of DK Bhaskar’s latest book "The Fragile Forest: Inside Brazilian Amazonia." Light Indian snacks and Chai will be served.
Click on image to download flyer.
Film: 3 idiots
Sunday, March 6
4:00-7:00 P.M.
Woodruff Auditorium
Co-Sponsored by the Center for Global and International Studies and South Asian Student Association
This Film is in Hindi with English Subtitles.
Two
friends embark on a quest for a lost buddy. On this journey, they
encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must crash, and a funeral
that goes impossibly out of control. As they make their way through the
perilous landscape, another journey through memory lane and the story
of their friend - the irrepressible free-thinker Rancho, who in his
unique way, touched and changed their lives.
It's a story of their hostel days that swings between Rancho's
romance with the spirited Pia and his clash with an oppressive mentor,
Viru Sahastrabudhhe. And then one day, suddenly, Rancho vanishes....Who
was he? Where did he come from? Why did he leave? The friends who
influenced and inspired them to think creatively and independently, even
as the conformist world called them three idiots. Where is the original
idiot now? Finally, in misty mountains of unparalled beauty, the
friends find the key to the secret. Three idiots is a comedy of ideas
that is as provocative as it is funny, as wildly entering as it it
insighful. A laugh-riot that talks about the most important of human
pursuits; self-actualization.
November 15, 2010
International Education Week:
Live Indian Dance Demonstration moves crowd at Wescoe Beach
As part of International Education Week, the Center for Global & International Studies teamed up with students from the KU Cultural India Club to present a live demonstration of Indian musica and Dance on the steps of Wescoe beach. The crowd of passersby were moved by the high energy improvised perfomance by students Sundeep X. and Vishnu Kamisetty.
Watch video of the performance and interviews with the participants in this story by the University Daily Kansan.
October 22,2010
Renowned Indian Vocal Master Uday Bhawalkar gives standing room only concert at Burge Union
Read more...
Hindi Language Courses at KU; KU offers 4 semesters of Hindi. Beginning in the Fall 2010 the acronym HNDI 110 and 120.
South Asian Studies Affiliated Faculty
Geetanjali Tiwari, PhD, is Coordinator of the South Asian Studies Program, CGIS. Tiwari developed the KU Hindi foreign language program from scratch in 2009. With graduate degrees in cultural anthropology and wildlife biology, she travels frequently to her native country to enhance and develop new collaborations, study abroad programs, and other diverse projects related to culture, environment, and the arts. She has created three successful study abroad programs to India. In 2010 she led 11 students for a 6-week environmental studies program to south India. She created the Hindi Language Immersion Program for 6-weeks to central India for this summer. She has created a 3-week Cultural Heritage of India study abroad program in collaboration with Prof. Patrick Suzeau. Tiwari teaches culture courses on South Asia, organizes talks by invited speakers and artists, and coordinates South Asian cultural events across the KU campus and in the greater Kansas area. She founded a branch of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) at KU that hosts Indian dance and music performances. She serves as faculty advisor for SPIC-MACAY as well as for the KU Cultural India Club. Born and raised in India, she has worked on various research projects in India and has published in various journals, including a chapter in Intimacies (University of Columbia Press).
Kapila D. Silva is an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Kansas. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, from where he received a doctorate and at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, from where he received professional training in architecture. His research involves cultural and psychological dimensions in architecture, urbanism, and heritage management with special reference to Asian Context. His elective course Arch 600 Theorizing Vernacular Architecture discusses theoretical approaches to understand and learn from vernacular building traditions around the world.
Hamsa Stainton, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Religious Studies. He has been studying South Asian religions for over a decade—first as an undergraduate at Cornell University, then in a master's degree program at Harvard Divinity School, and finally as a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Religion at Columbia. Stainton has studied Sanskrit and Hindi in both the United States and India. He has lived in Delhi, Varanasi, and Pune, and traveled all over the subcontinent from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir. His dissertation, "Poetry and Prayer: Stotras in the Religious and Literary History of Kashmir," focuses on a popular genre of Sanskrit devotional poetry in Kashmir, one of the most dynamic centers of Sanskrit learning in South Asia. Stainton's research interests include Hinduism (both in South Asia and beyond), Sanskrit literature and aesthetics, devotional poetry, meditation practices and traditions, historiography, the Indian epics, Indian Buddhism, and religion in modern India.
Patrick Suzeau is a Professor in the Dept. of Dance. He has trained with masters of Indian Classical Dance during numerous trips to India in the fields of Bharatanatyam (the classical style from Tamil Nadu) and Odissi (the classical style from Odisha). He has also trained in Kalaripayatu (Indian martial art from Kerala) and yoga. Suzeau is an active member of the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) at KU, bringing Indian artists to KU for workshops and recitals. Suzeau spent his sabbatical in India and Malaysia last year where he trained and performed in both countries. His early career includes Les Ballets Modernes du Canada and Theatre de Danse Contemporaine while in Montreal. Suzeau is the recipient of several grants and choreography commissions from private and public funds, including Fulbright Fellowships. A Certified Laban Movement Analyst, he has been a guest artist at countless universities. He is co-artistic director (with Muriel Cohan) of the COHAN/SUZEAU Dance Company. COHAN/SUZEAU recent international appearances include India, Malaysia, China, and Bulgaria. Along with ballet and contemporary works, Suzeau has also choreographed dances that are a synthesis of western and East Indian classical dance.
Environmental Studies in Karnataka, South India (Next Offering: Summer 2013)
Cultural Heritage of India via Music & Dance (Next Offering: December 2012-January 2013)
Hindi Immersion Study Abroad Program to India (July 1-August 11, 2012)
If you would like to support the South Asia program at KU, contact Jessica Irving at jiriving@ku.edu
The Center for Global and International Studies provides Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships for the Hindi Language.
Undergraduate academic year awards provide up to $10,000 for tuition (limited to the actual amount of tuition and fees) and a $5,000 stipend for living expenses. Summer awards provide up to $5,000 for tuition and a stipend of $2,500 for living expenses.
Graduate academic year awards provide full KU tuition and a $15,000 stipend for living expenses. Summer awards provide up to $5,000 for tuition and a stipend of $2,500 for living expenses.
American Councils for International Education invites applications for the 2011 Eurasian Regional Language Program for language study in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Ukraine.
Applications for the academic year program are due October 1, 2011.
Malaysian Students Association at KU (M'sia KU)
South Asian Student Association at KU
Sri Lankan Student's Association
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