Ø CSAS 24th Annual Symposium a Success

The CSAS' 24th Annual Symposium, Roots and Branches: Articulations of Longing and Belonging in South Asian Contexts, brought sustained attention to such notions as the vernacular, the folk, and the indigenous -- notions through which longing and belonging are often articulated. Lectures and panels explored this theme from various disciplinary perspectives. The CSAS also organized and installed an exhibition of Gond paintings of trees in the lobby outside of the main Symposium area. The exhibit proved a vital and colorful expression of the themes of the symposium, and continued the CSAS' tradition of making cultural programming an integral part of this annual event.

Ø Report from the CSAS-Sponsored 2006 Feminist Pre-Conference at Madison-Wisconsin:
by S. Charusheela

For the past two years, the Center for South Asian Studies has co-sponsored a pre-conference event one day proximate to the annual South Asian Studies Conference at Madison Wisconsin. It provides a vital space for South Asianists working on issues of gender and feminism. Woman's Studies professor and feminist-economist S. Charusheela explains why this pre-conference "has become one of the most exciting spaces at the South Asia conference at Madison."