Date&Time: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 14:00-17:30

Venue: Zoom / Main Conference Room, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo

*Registration is required for both in-person and Zoom participation;
please register by March 13 using the form below.
https://forms.gle/auzCLY4sbiMHhYzz5

Talk 1 : Mark Turin (the University of British Columbia)
"The Place for Indigenous Languages in Universities: Getting Beyond Territorial Acknowledgements"

Abstract:
In this talk, Dr. Turin offers a visually striking examination of several sites of colonial contestation and visible Indigeneity on the UBC campus in Vancouver, Canada, and explores the relevance of such interventions for universities more generally. The presenter outlines the historical context of language oppression and revitalization, and reflects on the ongoing relevance of Indigenous languages in negotiating the relationship between First Nations and the various levels of Canadian government. Dr. Turin asks what it means to unsettle the university and create more equitable, inclusive and welcoming spaces for Indigenous voices, languages and cultures on a college campus.

Talk 2 :Sara Shneiderman (the University of British Columbia)
“Restructuring Life: Conflict, Disaster, and Transformation in Nepal”

Abstract:
Ten years of Maoist-state civil conflict. Seven new provinces within a restructured secular federal democratic republic. Two devastating earthquakes with over 400 aftershocks. A new constitution. Countless humanitarian and development initiatives. Citizens of Nepal have experienced all of this and more over the last quarter century. How do people actively construct and reconstruct life in the face of such radical, multidimensional change? In times of transition, how do we imagine and build the ideal structures—material, social, and political—that we aspire to live in? Drawing upon more than two decades of ethnographic engagement in Dolakha, Nepal, this presentation explores how people navigate such transformations by taking the audience on a photographic journey through elements of the built environment that have been visibly reshaped over the last two decades, such as houses, temples, and roads.

The number of participants who can attend in person is limited. We will respond on a first-come, first-served basis, and those who apply after the number of applicants for in-person participation exceeds the limit will be asked to participate via Zoom.
In-persono participation without prior registration is not available.

Organized by:
Cultural Anthropology Department, the University of Tokyo
Regular Research Project "Reconsidering Anthropological Studies in the Northern South Asia" and "A Comparative Study on Multilingualism and History of Language Policy in Asia", Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo

Co-organized by:
Center for South Asian Studies, the University of Tokyo
Center for Indian Ocean World Studies at Kyoto University (KINDOWS),NIHU Indian Ocean World Studies Project
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) "Comparative Study of Reconstruction: Cases from South Asia" (19H00558)

Contact: nawa[at]ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp