EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT from SARAI

[David Magier]

The following event announcement is being forwarded to your listserv
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questions, PLEASE CONTACT THE EVENT ORGANIZERS DIRECTLY. Do not reply
to this message for further information.

David Magier
SARAI
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/sarai

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SITA SYMPOSIUM

The Dharam Hinduja Indic Research Center at Columbia University is pleased
to be the main sponsor for a "Sita Symposium" to be held at Columbia
University, May 1-3, 1998.  This symposium will explore the many
dimensions of Sita, the idealized woman and wife of Indian myth and
imagination.  Scholars and artists will present us with images and
analyses of the Sita of myth, literature, religion, media, and the family,
in different historical periods as well as in the present.  By drawing
together a range of perspectives and presentations on Sita, we hope to
gain a better understanding of the exhortation to "Be like Sita!" in
several different historical, cultural, and textual contexts, and to
discern the power of this role model over time and across cultures.  This
symposium is also meant to further our listening and discussion about the
process of embracing, rejecting and transforming role models, such as
Sita.

The symposium will be open to the public.  The program of speakers,
artists, and exhibits will be posted on the internet later in the academic
year.  For more information about the Sita Symposium contact Professor
Mary McGee, Department of Religion, Columbia University,
mm383 at columbia.edu.


AWARDS FOR STUDENT RESEARCHERS

Among the presentations at the symposium, we would like to have a panel
on concepts of Sita within the South Asia communities in North America.
We have set aside monies for two awards for students (undergraduate or
graduate), who have conducted or are interested in conducting research on
this subject in their locale.  The award would cover travel, lodging and
meals for the student who would present her or his findings during the
symposium.  The award will be made on the basis of research already
conducted.  Candidates for the award must be recommended by a faculty
member, and supporting letters and materials will be due by March 15th,
1998, with a decision made by March 30th about the award recipients.
Colleagues who have students who would be interested in competing for
these two awards should contact Professor Linda Hess for more information:
<lhess at uclink4.berkeley.edu>