CAPSTRANS launches public seminar series on India

Seminar 6

27 October, 2011
Building 19, Room 1003 at 5:30

Seminar by Roanna Gonsalves

The work of art in the age of the education industry

It took two deaths, much violence, and loud public protests in Sydney and Melbourne to draw the public’s attention to the nexus between international student education and migration, and reveal how the education sector has turned into the education industry. This neoliberal focus on the primacy of the market has shifted the agenda from a focus on racism and the exploitation of students to a focus on all that is advantageous to stronger India-Australia relations. However, Indian students continue to cautiously negotiate their way between education and immigration, female Indian students continue to be doubly in shadow, and when an Indian leaves for Australia, some still ask, “Is it really safe there?” Yet this is not the whole story. While the mainstream media has moved on, it is up to artists to pick up the pieces and construct a more complex picture of the experiences of Indian students in Australia. This paper presents some artistic responses to the violence against Indian students, and looks at the contemporary situation of Indian students in Australia.

Roanna Gonsalves is an Indian Australian writer who has just won a prestigious Australian Writers Guild award (in collaboration with others) for Best Script in the Community and Youth Theatre category, for a play about Indian students, Yet To Ascertain The Nature of The Crime. She is also a PhD student in literary studies at UNSW.

Seminar 5

22 September, 2011
Building 11, Room 210 at 5:30

Seminar by Dr Adrian McNeal,Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University.

Intercultural sounds: Indian music, the sarod and creative conversations with other cultures.

The sounds and sensibilities of various musical traditions are increasingly finding themselves involved in intercultural collaborations. This presentation explores some of the processes, musical outcomes and cultural issues related to this phenomenon by focussing on some current examples of the how classical music traditions in India are able to engage with a much wider world of music. This talk will also include a practical demonstration on the Hindustani lute, the sarod, and how it can travel through different musical landscapes.

Seminar 4

25 August, 2011
Room 19:1003 at 5:30 to 7:00pm

Seminar by Dr Andrew Alter, Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies, Macquarie University.

Performing the Mahabharata in the Himalayas: Dancing and Drumming in a Ritual Context.

Pandavalila is a performance tradition that is unique to the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Performances are dramatic in that scenes from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata are re-enacted by actors. High caste men portray kingly characters and thereby reaffirm village-level social hierarchies by demonstrating kingly attributes. At the same time, performances are religious acts through which local communities create auspiciousness and thereby protect their communities from malevolent forces. Significantly, however, action and ritual in Pandavalila is 'danced' because actors portray their characters through choreography. In addition, parts of the ritual incorporate group dancing as a result of which actors become possessed by the spirits of their characters. Accompanying the whole performance are low-caste drummers who use a specific repertoire to guide the ritual aspects of the performance. Through this performance they reinforce their claim to being lay officiates who provide alternative access to the sacred.

Seminar 3

21 July, 2011
Room 19:1003 at 5:30 to 7:00pm

Seminar by Associate Prof Devleena Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney

“Magical Thinking: India and Australia across the Indian Ocean”

The Indian Ocean, arguably the world's 'oldest' ocean, laps the shores of Australia. Yet the Australian imaginary has always turned to the eastern seaboard and the Pacific, with the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, for validation of Australia's place in the world. This talk will examine the location of Australia in the Indian Ocean region via the movements of people, ideas, plants and objects from the subcontinent of India during the 19th century. Australia and India were both British colonies during this period and there was a significant yet steady flow, not only of Afghan cameleers, but also of hawkers, plantation labourers, business people and tourists through old oceanic networks and out of imperial control.

Professor Ghosh is the author of Water, Sovereignty and Borders in Asia and Oceania (with Goodall and Donald), Routledge, U.K.  Her talk will be based on her 2007 book Colonialism and Modernity: Histories and Themes.

Seminar 2

26 May, 2011
Room 19:1003 at 5:30 to 7:00 pm

The next speaker is Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt of the Australian National University. Her seminar titled “Dancing with the River: Land, Water and People in the River Islands of the Damodar River” will be held on Thursday 26 May in Room 19.1003 at 5.30 – 7pm. Find out more 

Speakers for the following months include:

Associate Prof Devleena Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney

Professor Ghosh is the author of Water, Sovereignty and Borders in Asia and Oceania (with Goodall and Donald), Routledge, U.K.  Her talk “Magical Thinking: India and Australia across the Indian Ocean” will be based on her 2007 book Colonialism and Modernity: Histories and Themes.

Dr Andrew Alter, Macquarie University. 

Dr Alter's talk titled "Music and Ritual in Mahabharata Performance in the Garhwal Himalayas" and is based on his book Dancing with Devtas: Drums, Power and Possession in the Music of Garhwal, North India. 

Roanna Gonsalves,  Independent Playwright  of Indian Australian background

Roanna's most recent work Yet to Ascertain the Nature of the Crime was presented at the Melbourne Workers Theatre 2010. It covered snapshots of Melbourne life to explore one of the ongoing debates- is Australia a racist country? Her talk will address some of these issues.

Dr John Lee Formerly of the Lowy Institute 

Dr Lee is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. His talk will focus on India’s “soft power” in Asia.

Dr Jim Masselos: Art historian, Australian Centre for Asian Art and Archaeology, Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. 

Dr Masselos is the editor of The great empires of Asia. He is the co-author of Beato's Delhi, 1857–1997 (with Narayani Gupta) and Bombay Then and Mumbai Now, (with Naresh Fernandes) and author of The City In Action: Bombay Struggles For Power. 

Dr Adrian McNeil, Macquarie University

Dr McNeil is a highly accomplished Sarod player and received traditional training in Hindustani music (sarod) according to the guru shishya parampara (classical Sanskritic system of mentoring of the pupil by the teacher) method over 25 years. His talk will be accompanied by a musical demonstration.

Seminar 1

7 April, 2011
Room 19:1003 at 5:30 to 7:00 pm

The University is in the process of establishing a number of collaborations with Indian institutions. CAPSTRANS has launched a Public seminar series to provide a broader socio-political and cultural understanding of India. During the inaugural event held on 7 April a recently produced documentary Does Gandhi Matter? was screened. Mr Amit Dasgupta, the Consul General of India was invited to lead a discussion based on the issues raised in the film. Prof Joe Chicaro, Pro-Vice chancellor formally welcomed the Consul general to the University. The event was well attended by the UOW and the wider Illawarra community. The film focused on Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) who emerged as an iconic leader of the 20th century.  His thoughts, life and writings have been a major source of inspiration to many throughout the world. The documentary explored whether Gandhian thought and Gandhian principles have any relevance today, or whether they should now be relegated to the realm of the esoteric and the impractical. After the screening the seminar generated vigorous discussion and participation from the audience.