Four major conferences in December, 2003, sponsored by Infinity Foundation

[Guest guest]

Four Major Conferences in December, 2003, Sponsored by Infinity

Foundation

 

 

In 2002, much of our Foundation's organizational energy was

concentrated on the Indic Colloquium in Woodstock, NY. It was a

unique and watershed event, and received excellent reviews by the

attendees. See:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/indic_colloq/colloq_home.htm

 

This year, the plan is different in several ways: First, we plan to

hold our major events in India. Second, rather than one large event

involving many disciplines, it shall be a separate set of

seminars/conferences, each addressing a different specialty. This is

the result of having progress beyond general studies and inquiries

into a stage of implementing specific strategies where we could make

an impact.

 

Of these four events, #1 is already formalized. This is the Indic

Religions Conference that the International Association of the

History of Religions (IAHR) is having in collaboration with the

Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), at the India

International Center, Delhi. Dates: December 18 – 21 (revised).

Madhu

Kishwar is convening it, along with Ashis Nandy and Robert Thurman.

See:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/s_pr/s_pr_IAHR_frameset.htm

 

The other three events are at various stages of planning, as they are

more `informal' than #1, and require less lead time. Ideas,

participants and volunteers are welcome.

 

 

#2 is a seminar on The History of Indian Science and Technology, to

be held on December 10 – 13, 2003. This will be the third in the

series on this topic organized by Infinity in recent months. We had

the first one in Binsar last summer, and the second one in Delhi in

January, 2003. The goal is as follows: A multi-volume series on

indigenous Indian Science and Technology has been planned, and the

first six volumes have been commissioned already. Two more volumes

are expected to be commissioned this year, and a total of around 20

volumes are planned over several years. Joseph Needham's 40+

volumes

on China are the role-model we are following. These meetings are

primarily for the team of scholars who are involved in these volumes,

either as authors or as reviewers/editors. See:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/tks_projects_frameset.htm

 

 

#3 is a meeting to kick-off the development of college level textbook

(s) on Indian Psychology. Just a few years ago, when this term was

first mentioned by us, scholars wondered what it meant, and, when

explained that it was about Indian theories and schools of

psychology, the reactions ranged from doubt to condescending

approval. But after five successful conferences sponsored by us in

India, the term has considerable currency amongst academic

psychologists in India. Now there is demand for a college course on

this in India. The project team has been almost finalized, and the

event in December would consist of discussing each scholar's role

and

summary/outline of work planned. The tentative dates are: December 7-

8, 2003. Location in India to be finalized.

 

 

#4 is our newest initiative. WESTOLOGY is the name we are coining to

describe a new discipline that would study the West, in the same

manner as Indology has been the study of India. While post-colonial

studies would claim to be already doing this, there is one major

difference: post-colonial scholars tend to be deficient in an

understanding of Indic categories, because typically they are from

India's elite liberal arts colleges where Sanskrit Literature and

Indian Classics were banished as a conspiracy of Evil Brahmins.

Therefore, post-colonialists tend to use Eurocentric categories –

religion, nation-state, caste, ethics, and secularism, to name a few

–

when Indic equivalents could be richer and more relevant in many

instances. Therefore, their deconstruction of the West is in terms of

Western categories, and they inadvertently perpetuate the very

Eurocentrism they seek to challenge. Consequently, the gold standard

of legitimacy for such scholarship lies in the West, implemented

through awards, degrees, travel and other grants, etc. Many such

scholars are heavily invested in Western academe. Indian NGOs are

often dependent upon Western funding. Many Christian, Western

Feminism and human rights movements that are similarly grounded in

Westernism. Our hope is to examine the West from a fresh perspective

that is less burdened by these limitations. We are in the early

stages of planning a meeting on December 15-16, 2003, to discuss

papers by interested scholars, and to set up an association or a

center to systematically launch this area of study. Location in India

is to be finalized. Interested scholars are invited to send their

proposals to: Rajiv Malhotra, Infinity Foundation, 53 White Oak

Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 USA. Or by email to:

Rajiv.Malhotra

 

 

 

Rajiv Malhotra

FOUNDATION: http://www.infinityfoundation.com

MANDALA: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/