JNU | RTI | Directory | Contact Us | Emergency Services | List of Holidays
-A A +A

CSSS organises GSP Annual Lecture by Pradeep Jeganathan

CSSS organises GSP Annual Lecture by Pradeep Jeganathan

Event From Date
Event End Date
Event Title
CSSS organises GSP Annual Lecture by Pradeep Jeganathan
Event Details

 

Global Studies Programme

Centre for the Study of Social Systems

 

GSP Annual Lecture

 

When Words Will Not Do: Theravada Buddhism and the Emergence of Violence

 

Speaker:

 Pradeep Jeganathan

(Professor & Head, Department of Sociology, Shiv Nader University)

 

Abstract: This paper revisits the relationship of "Theravada Buddhism" and "violence." This remains in one register an intractable problem, for it is usually thought that Buddhist locution advocates non-violence, not its opposite. Conventionally the problem is treated as one of the 'politicization' of Buddhism, given its alliance with the State, or given subaltern Buddhist revival movements. In this paper, I attempt to find another way into this problem by examining the imbrications of Buddhist locution and gesture, and the relationship of this matrix to latent force. I argue that shifts in locations of sovereignty from pre-colonial to colonial Kingship, produce the conditions of possibility of force breaking through its legitimizing frame into violence. The paper works with Sri Lankan ethnological materials, pertaining to the genealogy of the iconography of Buddha and the Sanga (Monkhood).

 

Date & Time: 18th April 2018 (Wednesday), 4PM

Venue: Lecture Hall 3, Convention Centre, JNU

 

About the Speaker: Pradeep Jeganathan is Professor & Head, Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Science, Shiv Nader University, Delhi NCR, India. 

He is the author of Living with Death (2006), At the Water’s Edge (2004) and co-editor of Unmaking the Nation (1995/2009/2019) and Subaltern Studies X1 (2002), and a number of articles on violence, grief, subaltern nationalism, and cyber subjectivity. Previously he was Senior Fellow, International Center for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, and McKnight Professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

                                                                        All are cordially invited

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.