The Mellon Foundation Seminar on “Language, Politics, and Human Expression in South Asia and the Balkans” will be held during the academic year 2013-2014. This year-long seminar seeks to develop a comparative dialogue on culture, language, and politics in both regions. The group aims to explore comparisons and connections along multiple axes, including common and divergent imperial legacies, gender and nationalism, religion and secularism, and post-colonialism and post-communism. The Ohio State faculty who collaborated to put this event together are Theodora Dragostinova (History), Yana Hashamova (Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies), Pranav Jani (English), Brian Joseph (Linguistics and Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures), Jessie Labov (Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures), Scott Levi (History), Andrea Sims (Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures), and Mytheli Sreenivas (Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and History). A recent addition is Dr. Ujala Dhaka-Kintgen (Anthropology from Harvard University) who will be a resident postdoctoral fellow from August 2013 through May 2014. Besides working on her research, Dr. Dhaka-Kintgen will be teaching an undergraduate course in spring 2014. The wide ranging expertise of the group is just one indication of the interdisciplinary nature of the seminar. There are three exciting events planned for next year. One of the seminar’s highlights is a lecture series by distinguished scholars in South Asia and the Balkans. Additionally, there will be a year-long one-credit graduate course (ASC 8194) open to all students interested in the seminar’s themes and methodologies. Those enrolled for the course will have the opportunity to interact with the invited speakers. In October 2014, there will be a conference that will aim to crystallize the links that would emerge from the previous events.

More information and updates on events are available on the Sawyer Seminar website.