The Sawyer Seminar is a series of events and activities through October 2014, centered around the theme, CrossRoads: Culture, Politics, and Belief in the Balkans and South Asia. The seminar features nine lectures by invited speakers, two film screenings with discussion led by films' directors, and a two-semester discussion group and seminar course, culminating in a conference in October 2014 that brings together specialists of the two regions.
The activities of the Seminar are funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, through the John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Comparative Study of Cultures grant program. The following arts and sciences faculty members are Co-PIs on the grant:
- Theodora Dragostinova (History): Balkan history
- Yana Hashamova (Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies): Balkan film and literature
- Pranav Jani (English): South Asian literature
- Brian D. Joseph (Linguistics, and Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures): Balkan linguistics and South Asian linguistics
- Jessie Labov (Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures): Balkan film and literature
- Scott Levi (History): Central and South Asian history
- Andrea Sims (Slavic & East European Languages and Cultures): Balkan linguistics
- Mytheli Sreenivas (Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and History): South Asian modern history and culture
On November 4, Victor Friedman, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago, will present his talk titled “The Indic Origins of Europe’s Romani People: From Myth to History and Back Again”.
This talk examines Romani, Europe’s only autochthonous Indic language, which took its definitive modern shape in the Balkans before spreading to the rest of Europe, to explore the unique links between South Asia and Southeastern Europe. It examines the roles of both history and myth concerning Southeast Europe and South Asia via the Romani people.
On December 2, Chandra Mallampalli, associate professor of history at Westmont University, will present "Religion, Law, and Identity in Colonial India: The Role of Court Cases in Defining Religious Boundaries."
For more info, visit sawyer.osu.edu.
