Contesting Images of Futures of India
February 13, 2015
Neue Aula, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, Großer Senat, University of Tuebingen, Germany
This one day international seminar will be presented in three sessions to evaluate and analyze different projections about the futures of India, imagined or predicted, during the last two centuries. Some of the topics covered will be: (i) Contemporary India in the science fiction of last two centuries, (ii) Future India in the contemporary science fiction, (iii) Images of futures in the literary and political works of last two centuries; and (iv) The notion of changing time-use-pattern and digital future of Indian history and literature.
9:00 - 9:45
Opening Felicitations
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Bernd Engler, Tuebingen
H.E. M. Sevala Naik, Consul General of India, Munich
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Leonhardt, Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Tuebingen
Divyaraj Amiya, M. Phil., Department of Indology, Tuebingen
9:45 - 10:30
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Anil Menon, Eminent Science Fiction Author, USA
The Seventh Horse of the Sun: The Dawn of Indian Science Fiction (19th and 20th Century)
10:30 - 10:45 Tea Break
10:45 - 12:15
Session I: Contemporary Science Fiction in India and the Question of Changing-Time-Use-Pattern
Dr. Vandana Singh, Framingham State University, USA
Transgressive Possibilities in Indian Science Fiction: A Writer’s Perspective
Divyaraj Amiya, M. Phil., Department of Indology, Tuebingen and University of Zuerich, Switzerland
A Video Report on Time Prosperity and Time Poverty in Delhi (20 minutes) and Some Projections for Coming Decades
12:15 - 13:45 Lunch Break
13:45 - 15:15
Session II: Imaginations of Future in Indian Politics of 19th and 20th Century India
Dr. Mirella Lingorska, Department of Indology, Tuebingen and University of Zuerich, Switzerland
Images of Future in Mahatma Gandhi´s Works and the Reality of India Today
Dr. Ajay Gudavarthy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Ambedkar and Jotiba Phule in the Neo-Liberal Times: Prefigurations of a Post-Caste Society
15:15 - 15:30 Tea Break
15:30 – 17:00
Session III: The Digital Future of Indian Literature Production and Images of Futures in Indian Literature
Dr. Elena Mucciarelli, Department of Indology, Tuebingen
Epigraphia Carnatica Digitization Project: Medieval Inscriptions and New Media
Rainer Kimmig, M.A., Department of Indology, Tuebingen and University of Heidelberg
The Birth of the Mother from an Opium Dream. Bankimchandra’s Vision of the Nation as
Charismatic Gemeinschaft
17:00 – 17:15
Concluding Remarks by PD Dr. Heike Oberlin, Department of Indology, Tuebingen
For more information contact the Department of Indology, Tuebingen, at
divyaraj.amiya@uni-tuebingen.de
How to reach the venue? The conference will take place in the building “Neue Aula” (Geschwister Scholl Platz / Wilhelmstrasse 7) not more than 15 minutes walk from the main railway station, Tuebingen. In case you have problems in finding the venue, please contact us on 13.02.15 after 8:15 am at +49-(0) 7071- 2972675.
The participation is open to all and free of charge.