LLC23: Social and Cultural Sustainability in South Asia
About
We are an interdisciplinary core group of faculty from several Corridor institutions (Cornell, Syracuse, and Rochester) each working on different aspects of sustainability in South Asia.
Open to New People
Active since: 2019
- Syracuse University
- Cornell University
- University of Rochester
Collaborative Goals
We will be holding a speaker series on Sustainability at the Margins of South Asia during the 2026-2027 academic year, bringing scholars working in India’s Northeast, bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar, which is not only physically at the subcontinent’s margins, but also home to many communities who have been marginalized by state violence and religious nationalism, which has made it more difficult to maintain community and identity. These invited scholars will present on their research, providing new perspectives on sustainability from these marginalized positionalities.
We plan to bring a speaker from outside Corridor institutions each semester to present their research, participate in a graduate student workshop related to their research, as well as a book discussion with faculty and graduate students. Additionally, we plan to hold a one-day symposium on sustainability at Cornell in the Spring 2027 semester, bringing faculty and graduate students from both campuses together for short research presentations and discussions of research methodologies, bringing together scholars from all three campuses.
Group Organizers
Daniel Bass
Administrative Manager, Fellowship Coordinator, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology & Asian Studies, Cornell University
Matthew Baxter
Regional Programs Manager, Asia, Moynihan Institute & Assistant Professor by Courtesy Appointment, Political Science, Syracuse University
Group Members
- Tej Bhatia, Languages, Professor of Linguistics, Literatures, and Linguistics, Syracuse University
- Jeffrey Chusid, Associate Planning, City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
- Padma Kaimal, Batza Professor & Director of the Division of University Studies, Art & Art History, Colgate University
- Karim-Aly S. Kassam, International Professor of Environmental and Indigenous Studies, Cornell University
- Kamala Ramadoss, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science, Syracuse University
- Sudha Raj, Teaching Professor, Nutrition and Food Studies, Syracuse University
- Nagesh Rao, Lecturer in University Studies, Colgate University
- Romita Ray, Associate Professor, Art & Music Histories, Syracuse University
- Nimanthi Rajasingham, Associate Professor, English and Women's Studies, Colgate University
- Farhana Sultana, Associate Professor, Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University
- Andrew Wilford, Professor, Anthropology, Cornell University
Activities
Repair/Maintenance: Politics of (In)completeness Graduate Student Symposium
May 1, 2026, 9 a.m.
Life on the Third Pole under a New Season of Climate Change
March 3, 2026, 2:30 p.m.
Whose Climate Change Story Have We Subscribed To?
March 3, 2026, 10 a.m.
Group Outcomes
The Next Monsoon: Climate Change and Contemporary Cultural Production in South Asia
Project website exploring how individuals and communities are responding to a changing climate through visual arts, cinema, literature, architecture and other cultural expressions in South Asia.
Podcast: The Next Monsoon
The Next Monsoon examines how art and culture can help us navigate the uncertain future. The hosts look at contemporary cultural responses to climate change through visual arts, cinema, literature, architecture, and more in conversations with humanities scholars and practitioners.