Southern Asia Studies
Southern Asia Studies is one of the main areas of research and teaching at the Department of Religions and Cultures. Constituting South and Southeast Asia, as well as diasporic communities spread across the world, the Southern Asia Studies program offers a major and minor specialization for undergraduate students, and coordinates programming for broader audiences, including community members, throughout the year.
Past events
Southern Asia Studies Student Symposium & Reception
Co-sponsored by Raah Lab from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
March 28, 2024
Romanticism and Canonicity: Lessons from the Colonial Margins
Kedar Kulkarni of FLAME University, Pune
A talk co-sponsored by the Centre for Sensory Studies
March 18, 2024
Southern Asia Studies Talk Series
All talks took place at 4th Space in a hybrid format during the 2023-2024 academic years.
The Complex in Action: Understanding the nexus between military, cultural production and museums
Varda Nisar of Concordia University
March 7, 2024
Drowned Out: Climate (In)Justice in Megacities
Farhana Sultana of Syracuse University
Co-sponsored by Department of Geography, Planning and Environment
February 5, 2024
The Unfolding of Ardhanārīśvara
Phil Lagace of Concordia University
January 29, 2024
Lahore Cinema: Between Realism and Fable
Iftikhar Dadi of Cornell University
Co-sponsored by Department of Art History
December 8, 2023
Encountering Rapid Mobility and World-Classness in Transport Paraphernalia
Yogi Joseph of Concordia University
October 6, 2023
The Moment of Violence in an Age of Mass Forensics
Francis Cody of University of Toronto
Co-sponsored by Raah Lab from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
September 8, 2023
Funding
Southern Asia Studies also offers funding opportunities for incoming graduate students in Masters and PhD programs, as well as research travel and conference travel grants for current students in the Department of Religions and Cultures working on topics related to Southern Asia.
Get in touch for more information: religion@concordia.ca
Research in Hindu traditions and southern Asia
The Chair in Hindu Studies was established in 1989 through the efforts of Professor M.N.S. Swamy, the then Dean of Engineering at Concordia University, and a group of Indo-Canadians. As Chair of the Steering Committee, Swamy spearheaded a fund-raising campaign which received contributions from members of diverse faiths. Funding was also received from the then Minister of Multiculturalism in the federal government, Honourable Gerard Weiner.
The Chair position was first taken up by Professor Krishna Sivaraman, an eminent scholar of Saiva Philosophy, and in 1996 by Professor T.S. Rukmini, a distinguished scholar of Hindu religions and philosophical traditions.
After T.S. Rukmini’s retirement, the Chair in Hindu Studies was converted into a tenure-track regular position in South Asian studies with a focus on Hindu traditions in 2017. While Hinduism remains a principal focus of the programme, the designation of “South Asia” points to the wider context and diversity of the traditions in South Asia and beyond.
The Hindu Chair fund has been directed towards fellowships and grants for graduate studies, and has thus, made it possible for the Department of Religions and Cultures to produce experts and scholars to carry on the teaching and research of Hindu traditions into the future.