We have assembled a speaker’s bureau of graduate students and area scholars who can visit local schools to speak to students or teachers about politics, history, religion, and culture in South Asia. Below is a list of topics speakers have suggested.
History, Politics, and Religion
- Muslims and Islam in South Asia
- Hinduism in South Asia
- History of India: Mughal, colonial, post-colonial, nationalism
- Modern Indian history overview of issues like the independence movement, caste, religion, politics, and economic development
- Women's issues
- Medicine/health and empire; science/technology and empire
- Technology, poverty, and rural development in India
- Public health problems and solutions
- History of Pakistan
- History of Sri Lanka
- History of Kashmir
Peace and Conflict
- India-Pakistan relations
- Conflict in Kashmir
- Ethnic conflict and the peace process in Sri Lanka
- Action plan for helping war-affected children and particularly child soldiers in Sri Lanka
- South Asia and the law: communal violence; Gujarat pogroms; Partition, Independence
- Gender/religion issues
Art and Culture
- Hindi-Urdu films and popular film culture
- Indian music (history, theory, performance, appreciation)
- Ragamala painting
- Literature (esp. modern novels, bhakti literature, Ramayana)
- Literature of India (nationalism, Bengali, and Indian writers in English)
- Village life in India
- Temple architecture of South India
- Textiles in South Asia
- Photography in South Asia
Please contact us at isasasst@berkeley.edu / 510-642-3608 if you are interested in bringing a speaker to your classroom.
