ISD14: Upstate South Asias: Citizenship, Comparison, & Equity

About

Joining resources across Syracuse University and NY6 schools--by coordinating teaching, research, language, and the abroad--to build a more robust ecosystem for South Asia's study in Upstate New York addressing challenges to democratic institutions.

Open to New People

Active since: 2023

  • Syracuse University
  • Colgate University
  • Hamilton College
  • Hobart & William Smith Colleges
  • Union College
  • Skidmore College
  • St. Lawrence University

Collaborative Goals

Whether with traditional lenses grounded in language & history or through contemporary approaches to marginalization & diaspora, no single institution in Upstate New York commands sufficient resources--whether faculty supply or student demand--to address the vast, textured political landscape of South Asia and the challenges currently faced by its democratic institutions. Recovering the pre-pandemic momentum of the 2016-2019 "Affiliation Agreement for Shared Course Instruction in Hindi” between Syracuse University [SU] and the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium [NY6], "Upstate South Asias” aims to build cross-institutional capacities by focusing on the shared promise of citizenship, the methodological challenges of comparison, and the common goal of equity in order to steadily build a more robust ecosystem for South Asia's study in Upstate New York. Our focus:

  • Teaching: Annual fall workshops hosted at SU will provide opportunities to discuss how to critically incorporate, while pushing beyond, common framings of empire, caste, postcolonialism, etc., to create syllabi focused on concerns like state access, hierarchical structures, public/ecological health, etc.
  • Research: Recurring lecture exchanges across SU/NY6--in both classroom and auditorium--to cross-pollinate expertise across South Asia on different campuses, providing faculty and students alike with a wider variety of interlocutors.
  • Language: Reimagine past sharing of language instruction between the federally supported South Asia Center at SU and the NY6, starting with Hindi, with the intent to offer additional less commonly taught languages, such as Urdu.
  • Abroad: Revitalize old SU/NY6 study abroad programs--damaged by the Great Recession & COVID-19 Pandemic--through consolidation of costs, revenue, infrastructure, and course credit transparency.

The above shared curricular project--combining short- & long-term goals--promises to support more meaningful Upstate South Asias.

Group Organizers

Arsalan Khan

Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Union College

Aswini Pai

Archie F. MacAllaster and Barbara Torrey MacAllaster Professor, Associate Professor, Biology, St. Lawrence University

Chaise LaDousa

Chair, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of Anthropology; Director of Education Studies, Hamilton College

Matthew Baxter

Regional Programs Manager, Asia, Moynihan Institute & Assistant Professor by Courtesy Appointment, Political Science, Syracuse University

Nimanthi Rajasingham

Assistant Professor of English, Colgate University

Tillman Nechtman

Professor of History, Skidmore College

Vikash Yadav

Professor of International Relations, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Group Members

  • Yelena Biberman, Associate Professor (Political Science), Skidmore College
  • Susan Wadley, Professor Emeritus (Anthropology), Syracuse University
  • Nick Tackes, Visiting Assistant Professor (Asian Studies), Hamilton College
  • Saleema Waraich, Associate Professor (Art History), Skidmore College
  • Noor-Aiman Khan, Associate Professor (History), Colgate University
  • Arun Brahmbhatt, Assistant Professor (Religion), Syracuse University
  • Bhanushri Sisodia, Instructor (Hindi), Syracuse University
  • Ritika Popli, Assistant Professor (Writing & Rhetoric), Colgate University
  • Feisal Khan, Professor (Economics), Hobart & William Smith Colleges
  • Farhana Sultana, Associate Professor (Geography & Environment), Syracuse University
  • Parvathy Binoy, Visiting Assistant Professor (Environmental Studies), Colgate University
  • Jyoti Khanna, Professor (Economics), Colgate University
  • Farida Begum, Visiting Assistant Professor (History), Colgate University
  • Sohini Chattopadhyay, Assistant Professor (History), Union College
  • Sabrina Datoo, Visiting Assistant Professor (History), Hamilton College
  • Maria Lander, Professor (World Languages & Literatures), Skidmore College
  • Radha Kumar, Associate Professor (History), Syracuse University
  • Gisele El Khoury, Director (Language Resource Center), St. Lawrence University
  • Padma Kaimal, Professor (Art), Colgate University
  • Tej Bhatia, Professor (Linguistics), Syracuse University
  • Sudha Raj, Teaching Professor (Nutrition & Food Studies), Syracuse University
  • Joanne Waghorne, Professor (Religion), Syracuse University
  • Angela Rudert, Lecturer (Religion), Colgate University
  • Eliza Kent, Professor (Religion), Skidmore College
  • Usman Hamid, Assistant Professor (Asian Studies), Hamilton Colgate
  • Kamala Ramadoss, Associate Professor (Human Development & Family Science), Syracuse University
  • Ryan Overbey, Assistant Professor (Religion), Skidmore College
  • Abhishek Amar, Associate Professor (Asian Studies), Hamilton College
  • Sebastiano Lucci, Director (Less Commonly Taught Languages Program), Hobart & William Smith Colleges
  • Jeffrey Witsoe, Associate Professor (Anthropology), Union College
  • Romita Ray, Associate Professor (Art & Music Histories), Syracuse University
  • Ani Maitra, Associate Professor (Film & Media), Colgate University

Activities

Upstate South Asias: Inaugural Forum

Oct. 7, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

View Activity Calendar