CSAS Newsletter 

Aloha,

This semester has flown by so quickly and since we only have one week left of classes before finals we want to remind you there are upcoming deadlines for funding sources, please see details below. 

You still have time to submit your applications for the J Watumull Scholarship for the study of India and we are still accepting submissions for our Spring Symposium. Please see below for more details. 

Wishing you the best through this last week of classes,
From CSAS,
Anna Stirr, Director
Mari Martinez, Coordinator

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Visit from Dr. Peshan Rajeendra “Raj” Gunaratne

Dr. Peshan Rajeendra “Raj” Gunaratne, who is currently on a Fulbright award at Stetson College of Law in Florida from Aug 2024-Jan 2025, visited CSAS and the East-West Center on Monday, November 25. Dr. Gunaratne is researching antiterrorism legislation in the US and Sri Lanka. We were delighted to connect with him and wish him all the best in his research! 

In this photo, Christina Monroe and Carlos Juárez from the East-West Center, Dr. Guneratne, and CSAS Director Anna Stirr pose in front of the banner for the new East-West Center initiative, the Young South Asian Leaders Intiative (YSALI). YSALI will be holding regional workshops in South Asia in Summer 2025, including meetings in Sri Lanka and Nepal. 

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Follow us on Bluesky!

We are now on Bluesky! You can find us at @uhcsas.bsky.social

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The J Watumull Scholarship for the Study of India is now open!

The J. Watumull Scholarship is now open! This scholarship for the Study of India provides support for University of Hawai`i System undergraduate or graduate students with focused and well-developed proposals to study for a minimum of two months in India. The scholarship will support students in any field, including the professional schools and community college programs.

Please carefully follow the application instructions provided on our website before using the UH System Common Scholarship Application website.
For more information please visit our website. 
Deadline: February 15, 2025

Accepting Applications for Spring 2025
Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series (UH Faculty ONLY)

If you are a UH Mānoa faculty member and have someone you would like to invite please see details below on how to apply we are now accepting applications for spring 2025! 
For more information please vitis our website: https://tinyurl.com/4e39v6ve

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2025 CSAS Spring Symposium – Call for Papers

CSAS 2025 Spring Symposium Call for Papers!
Prominence and Power: Party Politics and Transnational South Asia 

For more information: tinyurl.com/bdehzx53
For 2025 Spring Symposium updates subscribe to our newsletter: http://jobshttp://eepurl.com/hG0EnD
Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2025

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Faculty News

Do you have South Asian Faculty News? We would love to feature you in our newsletter! 
Email csas@hawaiil.edu with your information.

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Student News

South Asia Student Association – Looking for Members

Are you interested in joining the South Asia Student Association (SASA)? SASA is looking for new members to join in events, put together events and build community! Email csas@hawaiil.edu for more information.

Students and Student Alumni – We want to know what you’re doing!

Please email us at csas@hawaiil.edu if you are a student or alumni who would like to be featured in our spotlight! We want to know what you are doing now!

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CFP Virtual International Conference on
The Black Indian Ocean: Slavery, Religion, and Expressive Cultures (1400-1700)
April 2-3, 2025

Organized by Dr. Janie Cole (University of Connecticut) in collaboration with Yale MacMillan Center, Yale Council on African Studies, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. This interdisciplinary conference on The Black Indian Ocean: Slavery, Religion, and Expressive Cultures (1400-1700) seeks to explore new perspectives on the impact of slavery, religions, migration and displacement across the Indian Ocean on Afro-Asian communities and their expressive cultures in the early modern world (1400-1700). It aims to uncover the untold musical histories of migration and migratory histories of music around the Indian Ocean world and beyond, how these mobilities can be identified in various cultural manifestations, and how expressive cultures and ritual articulated identity, self-fashioning, community and resistance to human rights’ violations.

The 2-day international conference on The Black Indian Ocean will be held online on April 2-3, 2025. This will be followed by an in-person live performance by the Afro-Asian Kukutana Ensemble of Gabriel’s Odyssey at Yale MacMillan Center on April 4, 2025, free and open to the public. We strongly encourage all delegates in the greater New Haven region, who are able to travel to Yale, to attend the US première of Gabriel’s Odyssey.

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/mtb37tjs
Deadline for abstracts:December 15, 2024

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 
Asia Pacific Dance Festival Conference – May 30 – June 1, 2025

The Asia Pacific Dance Festival (APDF) Conference is held in conjunction with one of the premiere dance festivals in the region with a focus on dance in Asia and the Pacific. APDF showcases the uniqueness and quality of dance, dancers, and choreographers throughout this part of the world with classes, performances, workshops, outreach and ceremonial activities.

The Festival Conference provides opportunities for scholars, dancers, performing artists, choreographers, performance-based activists, critics, writers, arts administrators and organizers, students, faculty, and individuals involved in dance in diverse ways to share traditional and practice-based research and dance concerns with an international audience.
For more information: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/outreach/asiapacificdance/conference2025/
 DEADLINE EXTENDED: December 15th, 2024, 5:00 PM HST. 

The 2025 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA)

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) application for FY2025 is now available. This is an opportunity for doctoral students to conduct their dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. Please visit and thoroughly review all information on the Fulbright-Hays DDRA Program webpage and the Federal Register Notice. Both will discuss eligibility, application, and process details. Please note, if selected, you must have reached doctoral candidacy (i.e., approved Form II by Graduate Student Services) by the start of the fellowship in order to accept the award.  

Important Information (Please Read):
The UH Mānoa application deadline is December 16, 2024, 11:59 PM Hawaii Time. All application materials including all reference letters, language evaluations, and affiliate letter, must be uploaded to the Fulbright-Hays DDRA application system (G6) by the UH Mānoa deadline in order to be considered. The published deadline on the Fulbright-Hays Program page is for the institution, not the student applicant. Late submissions will not be considered. If you plan to apply, students must immediately contact Kristen Connors in Graduate Division (connorsk@hawaii.edu) to verify your eligibility and to begin coordinating application materials.

Deadline:December 16, 2024, 11:59 PM Hawaii Time.

The American Pakistan Foundation (APF) – APF United Nations 2025 Fellowship

The American Pakistan Foundation (APF) is pleased to announce the call for applications for the APF United Nations 2025 Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship is designed to give exposure to students to the inner workings of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and empower themselves to advocate for and explore social and economic issues surrounding the Pakistani-American diaspora.

The APF UN Fellowship is a six-month fellowship program that aims to give selected fellows a chance to understand APF’s role within ECOSOC and provides a chance to champion social and economic causes, delving deeper into the significance and implications of issues that affect our diaspora. Fellows will have the opportunity to attend in-person and virtual UN conferences, submit written statements to the United Nations, publish reports, receive mentorship, engage in thoughtful discussions, and establish lasting connections. 

For more information: https://www.americanpakistan.org/new-events/un-2025-fellows-1124
Deadline: Monday, December 30, at 11:59pm ET.

Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program

The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program provides U.S. educators in the arts, social sciences and humanities with opportunities to participate in short-term seminars abroad to improve their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. In summer 2025, seminars will be offered in:

• Uruguay and Peru,
• India, and 
• Greece and Türkiye

Each thematic seminar features educational lectures and interactive cultural activities specifically designed for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educators, including visits to local schools and organizations and meetings with education administrators, government officials, policymakers, teachers, and students. Participants draw on their experiences during the program to create new or enhance existing cross-cultural curricula for use in their U.S. classrooms and school systems. Sixteen educators participate in each seminar. The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program covers airfare, room and board, and program costs. Participants are responsible for covering the seminar cost-share of $750.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/276hbnhc
Deadline: January 7, 2025

2025 AIPS Book Prize

AIPS is soliciting books (published during the last three years) for the annual AIPS book prize! The award recipient will receive a monetary prize from AIPS ($1,000). Interested applicants should contact AIPS to confirm eligibility before sending books.
For more information on the book prize and specific requirements, as well as past prize recipients, visit: http://www.pakistanstudies-aips.org/programs/bookprize
Deadline for submissions: January 10, 2024.

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowship program

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowship program provides opportunities for doctoral candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. The program is designed to deepen research knowledge and increase the study of modern foreign languages, cultural engagement, and area studies not generally included in U.S. curricula.
Students may request funding to support overseas research for a period of no less than six months and no more than 12 months. Funds support travel expenses to and from the residence of the fellow and the country or countries of research, maintenance and dependent allowances based on the location of research for the fellow and his or her dependent(s), an allowance for research-related expenses overseas, and health and accident insurance premiums. Projects may focus on one or more of the following geographic areas: 

• Africa
• East Asia
• Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands
• South Asia
• the Near East
• Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia
• Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States and its territories)

For more information:https://tinyurl.com/4y34ds35
Deadline: January 15, 2025

American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS)

American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS) is now accepting applications from U.S. citizens for a range of fellowship opportunities, including Senior, Junior, and Pre-dissertation fellowships. All fellowships are for research involving Bangladesh and must be a minimum of two months, but no longer than twelve months pending available funding. These grants are supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. Scholars from all academic disciplines are eligible.
Applicants must be:

• Enrolled/employed/affiliated with a US or non-US academic institution (independent scholars are also welcome to apply)
• US Citizens (Unfortunately, US Permanent Residents are not eligible)

For more information and how to apply: https://aibs.net/fellowships/fellowships-for-us-citizens/
Deadline: January 15, 2025

2025 Boren Awards for International Language Study

Boren Scholars and Fellows study a wide range of critical languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, and Swahili. Boren Awards are available to students of all proficiency levels who are committed to enhancing their skills.

Boren Scholars and Fellows from diverse fields of study immerse themselves in the cultures in world regions underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Boren Awards alumni are committed to public service, working in positions critical to U.S. national security throughout the Federal Government, including the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, and USAID.

For more information: https://www.borenawards.org/

DEADLINE: Boren Fellowships for graduate students: January 22, 2025
DEADLINE: Boren Scholarships for undergraduate students: January 29, 2025

AIIS summer 2025 and Academic year 2025-2026 Language Programs – 
There are three different programs available

The American Institute of Indian Studies welcomes applications for its summer 2025 and academic year 2025-2026 language programs. For summer Hindi we require the equivalent of one year of prior Hindi study. For summer Urdu, we require the equivalent of one year of either Hindi or Urdu. We can offer courses at all levels, including beginning, in other Indian languages for the summer. Summer students should apply for FLAS or other funding if available at their institutions to cover the costs of the program. AIIS will award language fellowships, on a competitive basis, to academic year and fall semester students, which would cover all expenses for the program. Those eligible for these fellowships are U.S. citizens or permanent residents who will have had the equivalent of at least two years of prior language study by September 2025. Application Deadline: January 31, 2025. 
For more information and to apply visit:  https://www.indiastudies.org/language-programs/
For more information: Email: aiis@uchicago.edu.

2025 AIPS Fellowships and Short Term Research Grants

We are now accepting applications for AIPS Fellowships and Short-Term Research Grants!
AIPS Fellowships – Apply by February 1 – https://www.pakistanstudies-aips.org/fellowship
AIPS Short-Term Research Grants – Apply by February 15 – https://pakistanstudies-aips.org/content/short-term-research-grants-pakistan

Cornell-Keystone NFLP Summer Program in India

The Cornell-Keystone NFLP Summer Program in India, the South Asia Program, College of Arts & Sciences, and the Office of Global Learning will be holding two zoom information sessions (listed below) for students to learn more about the summer study abroad opportunity.
Virtual Information Sessions: Cornell-Keystone NFLP Summer Program in India
Are you interested in the intersection of mental health and culture, global health, and community engagement? Do you want to gain field research skills and learn about indigenous communities in South India’s beautiful and fragile Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve? If so, the Cornell-Keystone Nilgiris Field Learning Program might be for you!

PROGRAM DEADLINE: Last Friday in February, 2025

University of Hawaiʻi System Common Scholarship Application – NOW OPEN

The University of Hawaiʻi System Common Scholarship Application is now available online for the 2025-2026 academic year. This is a single application for several hundred different scholarships.  Students attending any University of Hawaiʻi campus are encouraged to apply in order to be considered for system and campus scholarships.

Information and application can be found at www.hawaii.edu/scholarships.  You will need your UH email address in order to log into the scholarship application.
Deadline: 4:00 p.m. (HST) March 3, 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are applying for The J. Watumull Scholarship for the Study of India
Follow the instructions on our website before opening the common application.

The Asia Pacific Dance Festival Intensive

The Asia Pacific Dance Festival Intensive is a unique two-week experience that gives participants an opportunity to expand their awareness and understanding by learning about specific cultures in Hawaiʻi, Asia, and Pacific through an embodied approach directly from renowned artists and cultural practitioners.
Students will experience hula and Hawaiian culture as a way of life through place-based learning, as Na Mokupuni o Hawaiʻi Nei (the Hawaiian Islands) is the home of the Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiians). The 2025 APDF Intensive will also feature teachers from Fiji and India. Since the Hawaiian Islands host Fijian and Indian diasporas, participants will have the opportunity to engage with local Fijian and Indian communities through field trips and community events.

For more information: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/outreach/asiapacificdance/intensive2025/
Where: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
When: May 19 to June 1, 2025
Registration Deadline: April 30, 2025, limited space available

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There is still time to register for Spring 2025 course offerings

in South Asian Studies

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COMMUNITY EVENTS

[Online]

Meet & Celebrate The Undergraduate Students Published in 

Horizons Journal Vol IX Reception!

Learn about diverse topics:

• Addressing Inclusivity in Hawaiʻi’s Art Museums: Accessibility Strategies for Visitors Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision (Art History)
• Assessing Relative Quality of Care in Mental Health Services with the Transition to Telehealth (Medical Field)
• Exploring Tensions Between National Sovereignty And Regional Governance In Indonesia’s Maritime Disputes (Political Science/Peace Conflict Studies) 
• The Complexities of Women’s Commercial, Sexual, and Social Empowerment: Seen in the Works of Gertrude Käsebier and Hannah Höch (Art History)
• Artificial Estimators: A Study in Training Expert Systems for Estimating Software Development Task Efforts (Computer Science) 
• Trade, Religion, Literacy, And Laws: How Aliʻi Wahine Shaped The Early Hawaiian Kingdom (Anthropology/History/Hawaiian ʻIke) 

WHEN: December 13, 2024
TIME: 11:30am – 12:20pm
WHERE: Zoom
RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/j8wpw5m8

Get Published! Submit to the 10th Anniversary Edition Vol X. 
First round submissions due: JANUARY 27th, 2025 

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Vanderbilt University – Senior Lecturer, Hindi-Urdu language

The Asian Studies Program at Vanderbilt University seeks to make an appointment in Hindi-Urdu language instruction. The rank is Senior Lecturer, with initial appointment of three years and possibility of renewal, conditional upon performance review and institutional need.
For more information: https://apply.interfolio.com/156646
Deadline: December 6, 2024

Lehigh University – Postdoctoral Scholar, Transnational History of South Asia

To build the Lehigh of the future, the Advancing Future Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Scholars Program seeks applications from outstanding scholars with diverse backgrounds and perspectives who plan to pursue a career in the professoriate. The Department of History is a qualified host unit, and seeks applicants in the area of transnational South Asia, broadly defined.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/4feuybnx
Deadline: January 1, 2025

Utah State University (USU) – Assistant Professor in the History of South Asia

The Department of History at Utah State University (USU) invites applications for a tenure-track, nine-month position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the History of South Asia. The time period and research focus are open. The successful applicant will teach one of our lower-division surveys inworld history (HIST 1500 or HIST 1510), as well as upper division and graduate courses in their area of specialization. The department seeks a highly motivated teacher and researcher to join a vibrant community of scholars at our Logan campus. Teaching is the primary focus of this position, and the faculty member will be responsible for teaching six courses per year, including courses taught in different modalities (face-to-face, online, and broadcast). The anticipated start date is August 2025.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/44n4zbtp
Deadline: January 15, 2025

Princeton University – Assistant Professor in South Asian Art History (tenure-track)

The Department of Art & Archaeology invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in South Asian art history before 1850.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/49bzyxaj
Deadline: January 15, 2024

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholars Fellowship

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholars Fellowships in Buddhist Studies places recent recipients of the PhD in professional positions at host institutions (museums, libraries, and publications) that present and interpret knowledge of Buddhist traditions. The selected Buddhism Public Scholars will use their academic knowledge and professional expertise to bolster the capacity of host institutions in the area of Buddhist art and thought in any tradition and location where Buddhism is practiced. We expect the Buddhism Public Scholars initiative to nurture mutually beneficial partnerships between scholars and hosts that will help disseminate knowledge of Buddhist traditions to broad publics.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/2me8tdet
DEADLINE: January 23, 2025

KU Leuven – Social and Cultural Anthropology

The Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology welcomes submissions for a new professorship (Assistant/Associate/or Full) in Social and Cultural Anthropology focusing on Asia (all regions) in the Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven. Applicants with an expertise in economic anthropology (e.g. development, inequality, precarity, consumption, production), or urban anthropology (e.g. urbanization, planning, rural-urban migration, urban heritage) are encouraged to apply.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/2s3a5efz
Deadline: February 28, 2025

Columbia University – Open-Rank Faculty Position (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor)

The Department of Anthropology at Columbia University invites applications for an open-rank faculty position (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor) in the sociocultural anthropology of Asia, to begin as early as July 1, 2025.
For more information: https://apply.interfolio.com/155575
Deadline: March 3, 2025

University of California Santa Cruz – Asian History Lecturer Pool

The Department of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites applications for an ongoing pool of lecturers with expertise in the fields of history of East Asia, history of Southeast Asia, and history of South Asia. 
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/58m9apm2
Deadline: June 14, 2025

Yale University – Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in South Asian Politics

The Department of Political Science at Yale University is seeking to hire a faculty member with expertise in South Asian Politics at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor, beginning July 1, 2025.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/3sbv3jbx

Azim Premji University, Bhopal – 3 Full-Time Faculty Positions in History

We invite applications for full-time faculty positions in early India and modern South Asia. We are currently looking for candidates who can teach a broad range of core and elective courses in their period of specialization, including courses such as Ancient World, Early India, Early Medieval South Asia, Colonial India, and more. We encourage applicants with a diverse teaching and research portfolio. 
For more information: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/jobs/faculty-positions-in-history-4
Deadline: August 9, 2025

Cornell University Library

Cornell University Library seeks a South Asia Studies Librarian to develop, make accessible, and promote holdings of the South Asia Collection with the Cornell’s Kroch Asia Collections.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/2rztv5p7

MIT – Program Manager, India/South Asia

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is seeking a program manager for the Center for International Studies-MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), to be responsible for the management and overall development of the India program
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/2s4z5zed

University of Washington – Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Art History

The Division of Art History in the School of Art Art History Design at the University of Washington in Seattle invites applications for a 100% full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the history of art in South Asia and its diasporas from the 19th century to the present.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/4t6tazsj

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To submit content for future CSAS newsletters, 

please send information in the following format to csas@hawaii.edu in the body of an email. 

News/Opportunity/Event Title (and subtitle if applicable)
Organizing Entity
Relevant Date + Time + Location
Short Description, links for further information
Image (.jpg or .png, minimum 1200 pixel on the long side)

For all inquiries, please send an email to: csas@hawaii.edu