We are thrilled to share Dr Srajana Kaikini, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, SIAS, Krea University’s new poems Points I Cannot Find are exhibited along with Jogen Chowdhury’s recent works as part of The Night the Writing Fell Silent, conceptualised by Priyasri Art Gallery at Art Mumbai 2024 .
Dr Joya John, Assistant Professor of Literature, SIAS, Krea University has been awarded the ICAS:MP short-term fellowship 2024-2025.
The M.S. Merian – R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies: ‘Metamorphoses of the Political: Comparative Perspectives on the Long Twentieth Century’ (ICAS:MP) is an open, interdisciplinary forum for intellectual exchange. Located in New Delhi it critically intervenes in global debates within the social sciences and humanities. It is one of the five Maria Sibylla Merian Centres constituted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as centres of advanced studies. Scholars associated with ICAS:MP examine and compare, from a wide array of disciplinary and methodological approaches, how ‘the political’ has been conceptualised, articulated and performed in specific arenas of contestation during what we call the ‘long twentieth century.’
Dr John will be in residence in Delhi from February 2025 to April 2025 as part of the thematic sub-group “Theory from the Global South”. She will use this time to develop her book project titled: Nature Displaced: Reading Hindi Literature in the Age of Climate Change.
Dr Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi, Dean, SIAS, Krea University is on the South Asia Advisory Board of Prospectus International which includes esteemed leaders from academia, government and industry who have shaped high-impact initiatives at international and national levels.
A book co-edited by Dr Sabah Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Psychology, SIAS, Krea University is now in print. A People’s History of the Farmers’ Movement, 2020–2021 also includes a co-authored paper by Dr Sabah Siddiqui and Dr Sarabjeet D Natesan, Associate Professor of Economics, SIAS, Krea University.
Instigated by the contentious farm laws of 2020, the Farmers’ Movement burgeoned into a year-long saga of protest and perseverance, ending only in December 2021 after the passing of the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 by the Indian Parliament. From the initial demand for law repeal to the multifaceted growth of the movement, the book traces the journey of the Farmers’ Movement, as each essay dissects the socio-political dynamics, cultural nuances, and mass solidarity that underpinned the protests, including focused analyses from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and the Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom.
The book can be found listed on the Routledge website.
Dr Sushant Raut, Assistant Professor of Physics, SIAS, Krea University, was a convenor of the neutrino physics group at the XVII International Conference on Interconnections between Particle Physics and Cosmology (PPC 2024) organised at IIT Hyderabad from 14-18 October, 2024. The conference included talks and posters on experimental and theoretical aspects of the Standard Model of particle physics, beyond Standard Model searches, astrophysics, and cosmology.
An editorial article by Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice, Krea-CWP ( Centre for Writing and Pedagogy) has been published in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. In the editorial titled, Beyond Anxiety: Autonomy and Harm Reduction Approaches to DIY Hormone Replacement Therapy, Sayantan discusses the implications of the prevalence of DIY Hormone Replacement Therapy practices for transgender persons, the medical ecosystem, and the relationship between the two. Drawing upon the principles of harm reduction and patient autonomy, they recommend against blanket anxieties around DIY practices, instead suggesting simultaneous bolstering of efforts to bridge the gap between transgender people and medical practitioners, and the wide dissemination of HRT-related knowledge to transgender people, particularly those further marginalised by poverty and a lack of formal education.
The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics is a multidisciplinary and multicultural peer-reviewed academic journal publishing original material and discussion on all aspects of bioethics, healthcare ethics and the humanities.
A research article co-authored by Professor Shanti Pappu, Visiting Professor in Archaeology and History, SIAS, Krea University has been published in ESPL ( Earth Surface Processes and Landforms) Wiley.
The Thar Desert, India has desert pavements comprising angular-subangular to well-rounded gravels at marginally higher elevations than the surrounding terrain. Sedimentological and geomorphic analyses suggest that the pavements are lags of weathered Mesozoic and older bedrock. The presence of Palaeolithic artefacts on the pavement surfaces and occasionally within their matrix was used to infer their antiquity and landscape stability. Titled, Cosmogenic 10Be- and 21Ne-based model exposure ages of desert pavements in the Thar Desert, India, the study presents the first surface exposure ages based on cosmic-ray-produced 10Be and 21Ne for pavements at four sites in the Thar Desert, viz Bhojka, Hamira, Solanki and Jayal.
A semi-academic essay authored by Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice, Krea-CWP (Centre for Writing and Pedagogy) has been published in Sangamithra magazine (issue 10), published by Good As You Bangalore. It’s titled Marriage Equality in India: Queer Intimacies, Heteropatriarchal Institutions, & the Language of Rights.
In the essay, they briefly historicise queer mobilisation in India to show how, contrary to popular belief, marriage fails to emerge as an important concern for a substantial duration of the queer- and trans-rights movements in India. When marriage finally does emerge as an important point for discussion, it is articulated through the language of ‘rights’. In recounting this history, they demonstrate the limited capacity of this language, and propose that we find a different and complementary register to speak about same-sex marriages in India.
Sangamithra is a magazine published by Good As You Bangalore, one of the oldest support groups for queer-trans people in India. This issue of the magazine titled A Ode to the Past, A Nod to the Future celebrates the support group’s thirtieth anniversary, and features writing and art from over a hundred queer-trans individuals.
Dr Sayandeb Chowdhury, Senior Assistant Professor of Literature, SIAS, Krea University has authored an article titled The Rise and Fall of Ambedkar University for The Wire.
Dr Anannya Dasgupta, Director, Krea-CWP (Centre for Writing and Pedagogy) was the keynote speaker at the launch of the new BITSLAW Writing Centre. The event was held on 1 October, 2024. On 3 October, Dr Dasgupta held an assessment workshop for the law faculty at BITS Law School for the newly launched centre, working with student writing to demonstrate how feedback to student writing can help fine-tune classroom instruction.
