Thursday September 17, 2009 - Cabell 423 - 4:00 pm, Hari Shankar Prasad on "Buddhism: Equating Religion with Ethics"
September 18-19, 2009 - Newcomb 168 - 9:30 -5pm and 9:30-11am, "Literary History Workshop: Recasting Urdu-Hindi-Braj Literary Histories"
Sunday September 20, 2009 - University Hall - 2:30 pm, Talk by 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, "the founder of microfinance" . Parking at John Paul Jonea Arena and U Hall parking lots.
Friday October 9, 2009 - Clark 101 - 3:00 pm, Ezra Rashkow on "Perfumed the Axe that Laid it Low: the Endangerment of Sandalwood in South Asian and Global Context"
Thurday October 15, 2009 - Minor 110 - 11:00 am, Tea with Brinda Bose, Associate Professor of English, Delhi University
Friday October 16, 2009 - Minor 125 - 1:00 pm, Brinda Bose on "The Transnational Trials of Taslima Nasrin"
Friday October 23, 2009 - Campbell 160 - 3:00 pm, John A. Ardussi on “Patterns from the Past in Modern Bhutan: Bhutan’s Evolving Presence in the Himalayan Community"
Friday November 20, 2009 - Clark 101 - 3:00 pm, Anne Blackburn on
"19th-century Lankan Monastic Fascinations with Siam"
Friday December 4, 2009 - Shea House 211 - 3:00 pm, Richard Cohen on
"Sufism and Syncretism in Early Indo-Islamic Literature: Mulla Da'ud's Chandayan as Exemplary Text"
September 12-13, 2008 URDU FEST. Cotemporary and Historical Facets of Urdu and its Literature.
location: Harrison Library
From South Asia, Europe and North America MESA has brought together three generations of scholars of Urdu and its literature for enlightening and inspiring discussions on Urdu and Urdu literature's past, present and future. All presentations will be aimed not only at fellow scholars but at students of comparative literature and of South Asia generally. The keynote speech is by the renowned critic, poet and novelist Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. In addition to a full day of academic panels the University also hosts an informal evening of poetry and a reading by S R Faruqi from his recent novel Kai chand thay sar-e asman, in both Urdu and English. For more information seeUrduFest
March 27, 2008, Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time, appeared at the Virginia Festival of the Book to discuss his work building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Listen to a podcast of his talk.