Skip to main content

South Asia Program

Farmers, Traders, Slaves, and Princes: Retrieving Lives of Eighteenth Century Inhabitants in and around Colombo, Sri Lanka, by Dries Lyna - CMS Seminar Series

April 28, 2021

4:30 pm

In this talk I will present the ongoing research project "Colonialism inside out" a Sri Lankan-Dutch research project, which has been running since 2017. The project aims at historical life writing, by combing macro-data from 18th century parish and census registers with qualitative data from legal courts, notary offices and church councils. The project brings in view the local farmers, Muslim and chettiyar merchants and Indian ocean exiles and slaves who inhabited Colombo and its surroundings.

Dries Lyna is Assistant Professor in Cultural and Economic, Social & Demographic History and Cultural History, Radboud University, Netherlands. He was trained at the Centre for Urban History (University of Antwerp), and was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Duke University and the Getty Research Institute. In the past he has been a guest lecturer at the History Departments of the University of Antwerp (2006-2012) and the Free University of Brussels (2011-2012), as well as at the Institut d'Etudes Supérieures des Arts in Paris (2006-2012).

His current research interest lies in the socio-legal history of colonial cities, with a focus on eighteenth-century Sri Lanka. Among others he studies the social function of colonial courts in Colombo, Jaffna and Galle. In addition he is interested in the family life of former slaves in the suburbs of Colombo, as part of the project 'Life after Slavery: Setting the Research Agenda of Slave Histories in the Global Era, 1750-1900', a collaboration with the University of Glasgow of which he is project leader. In the past he published on creative economies, art markets and material culture in the Low Countries (late 17th -19th centuries).

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

South Asia Program

LRC JAM session - Advancing online language teaching and learning

February 3, 2021

11:00 am

In need of some inspiration for another semester in the virtual classroom? Just A Minute! The LRC has your back with the JAM, our winter video series investigating quick ways to spruce up the online language teaching and learning experience.

Short videos drop twice a week on YouTube and our live jam sessions provide the opportunity to debrief with us and address any questions sparked by watching our LRC JAM series.

Join us to talk about all things online language teaching and learning.

More details and link posted on our website: https://lrc.cornell.edu/learning-communities

Additional Information

Program

Southeast Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

South Asia Program

LRC Happy Hour

May 11, 2021

12:00 pm

Join us on Zoom throughout the spring for LRC Happy Hour. Every second Tuesday of the month (third Tuesday in April). We'd love to hear how it’s going! All of it.

Bring your (language instruction) stories whether they be good, bad, amazing, or unusual. It takes all kinds of stories to make a Happy Hour great!Bring your own coffee, tea, or mystery beverage.While we can't serve lunch, the LRC will provide fun, jokes, and laughs free of charge.Also, we just want to see your smiling faces, because we miss you.

More details and link posted on our website: https://lrc.cornell.edu/live-help-sessions

Additional Information

Program

Southeast Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

South Asia Program

For a Post-Nationalist Biden

capitol building
January 6, 2021

Kaushik Basu, SAP

Kaushik Basu, professor of economics, writes this opinion piece about the challenges President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris face when President Donald Trump leaves office.

Additional Information

Islam and Asia: A History

February 19, 2021

4:00 pm

Asia is central to global Islam’s development as a religious, social, and political reality, according to Chiara Formichi, associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies.

In a live, virtual Chats in the Stacks talk, Formichi discusses Islam and Asia: A History (Cambridge University Press, 2020), her recent book that explores how intertwined histories and cultures have shaped both Islam and the Asian region from the seventh century to today, influencing different spheres from politics to the arts. Rich in illustrations, maps, insets, and primary sources, the book serves both as an in-depth exploration and as a primer for those curious about Islamic history.

A live Q&A will follow the talk. The audience is encouraged to write their questions into the Chat field for inclusion during this session.

Additional Information

Program

Southeast Asia Program

South Asia Program

Antiracist Pedagogy Workshop for Asian Studies

January 27, 2021

3:30 pm

The workshop aims to offer an understanding of race, racism, and the particular racial formations embedded in the classroom and a discussion on ways to apply anti-racist pedagogy to courses in Asian studies. With scholars of Asian culture, history, and language participating, this workshop opens discussions on the challenges of incorporating anti-racist pedagogy into our classrooms to overcome both perceived personal and institutional barriers and on practical strategies and models of intentional anti-racist curriculum. The topics of discussion include teaching models of anti-racist and social justice, syllabus-making, selection of teaching materials, challenges and problems in the classroom, etc.

EAP Faculty host: Suyoung Son (Asian Studies)

Panelists include: Naoki Sakai (Asian Studies), TJ Hinrichs (History), Christine Balance (Performing & Media Arts), Ivanna Yi (Asian Studies), Stephanie Divo (Asian Studies), and Razima Chowdhury (Asian Studies)

Image by Getty Images

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

South Asia Program

Seed Grants

Application Deadline: April 7, 2026
Application Timeframe: Spring
Kassam climate/calendar research team in the field

Details

The Einaudi Center's faculty seed grants advance international research and education at Cornell and support international activities and events.

Read about the research Einaudi seeded last year


Priority: Bringing Researchers Together

Einaudi seed grants promote the work of internationally engaged Cornell faculty. The awards seed faculty's interdisciplinary research and educational initiatives and support international studies workshops and seminars organized under faculty leadership. All disciplines and topics are welcome.

"If you think about the issues of nationalism, climate change, threats to humanitarian aid—a lot of the things that are foremost on our minds these days are affecting not only the U.S. They really are very global. And at the same time as they’re global threats and interests, the forms they take and the abilities to address them differ a lot across different regions and across different peoples and places."

~ Ellen Lust

Program Alignment

Our seed grants aim to encourage research and thinking that reach across world regions and bring together researchers who have deep knowledge in different regions and disciplines.

Proposals must indicate alignment with at least one of our international studies programs. The program director's acknowledgment of alignment does not guarantee the proposal will be funded or that the program will provide logistical or administrative support. 

Applicants: Please initiate a discussion with the faculty program director(s) in advance of submitting your application. We encourage discussing any necessary program support before submitting your proposal.

Proposals that engage two or more programs are eligible for larger awards of up to $25,000.

Eligibility

Tenured and tenure-track Cornell faculty are eligible to apply as individuals or as a team. Faculty-led programs and centers across campus, in all Cornell colleges and schools, are also eligible for the awards.

  • Funding-eligible activities include data collection, travel, meetings, research assistance, public engagement initiatives, curricular development, conferences/workshops, and virtual networks.
  • Activities not eligible for funding include salary offset, summer salary, computers/equipment, student stipends, and tuition.

Note: The Einaudi Center will not accept proposals from previous awardees whose projects are still in progress or recipients who failed to submit a final report by the deadline stated in the award letter.

Period of Activity

All funds must be used within one year of the award date.


Proposal Evaluation 

All successful proposals will meet these criteria. The proposal:

  • Shows a high likelihood of generating new knowledge of key economic, environmental, social, cultural, or political problems in the world.
  • Includes a detailed dissemination and/or public engagement strategy.
  • Includes a methodologically sound assessment plan and clearly articulated deliverables.
  • Includes a budget appropriate for planned activities.
  • Includes a sustainable future funding plan.

Research Criteria

Successful research proposals will also meet the following criteria. The research project: 

  • Aligns with one or more Einaudi international studies programs and produces long-term benefits to international studies at Cornell.
  • Engages faculty from different disciplines and colleges. Creates networks that connect scholars across the university and around the world.
  • Generates new knowledge of key economic, environmental, social, cultural, or political questions in the world.
  • Will launch external funding requests with high potential of securing follow-on funding.

Workshop and Event Criteria

Successful proposals for event support will also meet the following criteria. The event: 

  • Aligns with one or more Einaudi international studies programs and produces long-term benefits to international studies at Cornell.
  • Increases the global understanding and competence of faculty, students, international partners, and/or the general public.
  • Generates valuable discussion and knowledge of key economic, environmental, social, cultural, or political questions in the world.

How to Apply

Complete the seed grant funding application. Applicants must submit a proposal including the following:

  • Statement including objectives, activities, work plan, expected outputs, beneficiaries, and impact
  • Detailed budget with justification of expenses
  • Curricula vitae (CVs) for principal faculty
  • For research proposals:
    • Plans for pursuing future research and external follow-on funding
    • Human subjects approval, where relevant

Questions?

Please email our academic programming staff if you have questions about the seed grant program or your application.

Additional Information

Subscribe to South Asia Program