CSAS Newsletter 

Aloha,
Thank you to everyone who came last week to support the book talk with Monisha Das Gupta.

FEBRUARY 15 DEADLINES: The J Watumull Scholarship for the study of India, submissions for our Spring Symposium has been extended to February 15, and the Jagdish P. Sharma Memorial Scholarship. These are great opportunities for UH students and you are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The deadline to submit to the UH Manoa Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference – Call for Proposals – EXTENDED (details below). 

We also hope you will join us for the upcoming presentation of Beyond Collective Action Problems with Atul Pokharel, PhD (see Details below), and the upcoming Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series speaker – Dr. Kalindi Vora (details below).

From CSAS, 
Nandini Chandra, Director
Mari Martinez, Coordinator

---

UH Manoa Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference –
Call for Proposals : Resilience, Restoration and Reconciliation 

The School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) and the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (UHM) welcome proposals for papers, performances, and panels for the 36th annual Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference. Themed “Resilience, Restoration, and Reconciliation”, the conference will be held at the Center for Korean Studies on the beautiful Mānoa campus on 16-17 April 2025.
For more information. https://spasconference.wordpress.com/
DEADLINE EXTENDED for Abstracts: FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Jagdish P. Sharma Memorial Scholarship

The purpose of this Fund is to assist graduate students enrolled in the College of Arts, Languages, & Letters or the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who are pursuing studies on the South Asia region and its people. Funds shall be used for costs associated with attendance (tuition, books, fees, etc.).
Three (3) students will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship each, annually.
Applications through the UH Star System
Deadline: February 15, 2025

UPCOMING SPRING 2025 CSAS EVENTS

• February 11-13: Visiting Scholar Atul Pokharel, in collaboration with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, will visit several Planning classes and give a talk on his new book, Beyond Collective Action Problems: Perceived Fairness and Sustained Cooperation in Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems in Nepal. Exact dates and times TBA; dates on the above graphic subject to revision. 
• March 10-11: Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series Visiting Scholar Kalindi Vora, in collaboration with the Department of Geography, will give a talk entitled “Data Work as Care Work” and a seminar on methods entitled “Interdisciplinary and Transnational Research.”
• March 13: Keya Ganguly talk hosted by the Center for Biographical Research.
• April 2-4: CSAS Annual Spring Symposium, “Prominence and Power: Party Politics and Transnational South Asia” (Online)
• April 11: Visiting Scholar Abdul Haque Chang will give a lecture entitled “Divergence and Alterity: Shrines, sacrality, and performing arts in South and Southeast Asia.” In collaboration with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. 
• May 30-June 1 Asia Pacific Dance Festival & Conference: Stay tuned for more about the Kathak troupe to be featured at this fantastic festival, along with South Asia-related presentations at the Conference.

---

All are welcome for a presentation of – BEYOND COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS

ATUL POKHAREL, PHD
Atul Pokharel holds a Ph.D. from MIT in Urban Planning, and is currently a Doctoral Student in the Department of Computer Science at Yale University where he develops technologies to help make computer networks more sustainable.

WHEN: February 12, 2025 
TIME: 4:00 PM 
WHERE: ARCH 205

For more information about this event visit: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/csas/2025/01/24/atul-pokharel-book-talk-february-12/

Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series – Dr. Kalindi Vora – Yale University
Co-sponsored by The Department of Geography and Environment
and the Center for South Asian Studies 

ABOUT– Kalindi Vora is Professor and Chair of Ethnicity Race and Migration, and Professor of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and of American Studies with an affiliate appointment in History of Science and Medicine at Yale University. 

For more information visit: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/csas/2025/01/31/rama-watumull-collaborative-lecture-series-march-10-11/

---

CORRECTION!!! DEADLINE CHANGE – FEBRUARY 15
PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINE IS EARLIER THAN ORIGINALLY ADVERTISED

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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

---

DEADLINE EXTENSION !! FEBRUARY 15

2025 CSAS Spring Symposium

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

We are excited to announce our Keynote speakers for our spring symposium:
Mona Das, Jessica Namakkal, and Inderpal Grewal.

For more information: tinyurl.com/bdehzx53
For 2025 Spring Symposium updates subscribe to our newsletter: http://jobshttp://eepurl.com/hG0EnD
Deadline EXTENDED: FEBRUARY 15, 2025

---

CSAS Student and Faculty News

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – ANJOLI ROY

Global Asias Conference 2025

The UC Irvine Global Asias Research Cluster will host the third Global Asias conference on February 20-21, 2025. This international conference brings together faculty, students, scholars, and artists from around the world. The “Global Asias” rubric foregrounds the dynamics of culture, economics, geopolitics, migration, ecology, and emotion that, especially in recent decades, have deepened Asia’s entanglements with the rest of the world and vice-versa.

CSAS Director Nandini Chandra will be part of a double panel “Global Asias as Uneven Sites of Marxist Theorization” in the third Global Asias Conference at UC Irvine organised by the UC Irvine Global Asias Research Cluster. 

For more information: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/events/global-asias-conference-2025
WHEN: February 20-21, 2025
To register for the event:https://sites.uci.edu/globalasias/ga25/

CSAS Students, Student Alumni, Faculty and Affiliate Faculty – We want to know what you’re doing!

We want to know what you are or have been doing. To update us so we can feature you in our newsletter email csas@hawaiil.edu with your information!

---

UH Student Basic Needs Survey

The insights gathered will help the University of Hawaiʻi develop and enhance programs that directly address these student basic needs, fostering a more supportive and equitable campus environment. Survey responses will also assist with evaluation of the 2024-2027 UH Student Basic Needs Master Plan, which identified student basic needs priorities and goals for each campus and the UH System.  

The survey is anonymous and confidential, allowing students to share honest feedback. Responses will be aggregated to identify key areas for improvement.

Survey Link: UH-Student Basic Needs Survey

AIBS Fellowship Applications for Bangladeshi Citizens are Now Open!

AIBS Bangla Language Fellowship
AIBS is still accepting applications for its Bangla language program for the summer of 2025. For more information, please visit the AIBS website here.
Deadline: February 10, 2025

AIBS Bangladesh Citizen Fellowship
AIBS is now accepting applications for both Bangladesh Graduate Student Fellowships and Professional Development Fellowships for 2025. For more information about the eligibility and application requirements, please visit the AIBS website here.
Deadline: March 7, 2025

2025 AIPS Fellowships and Short Term Research Grants

We are now accepting applications for AIPS Fellowships and Short-Term Research Grants!
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

Call For Papers: South Asia Conference of the Pacific Northwest (SACPAN)

The South Asia Center in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington invites paper proposals for the annual South Asia Conference of the Pacific Northwest (SACPAN), a long-running collaborative venture sponsored by South Asia specialists at the University of Washington, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Oregon, and other institutions in the region. We welcome scholars from across disciplines with research interests in South Asia to universities and colleges in the Pacific Northwest.
For more information: https://tinyurl.com/26bjv7a3
Deadline: March 1, 2025

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship (OVPRS) coordinates and promotes opportunities for UH Mānoa undergraduate students across ALL disciplines and at ALL levels of experience to engage in mentored research and creative work.

Please see below for the merit-based scholarship funding opportunities, programs, and hybrid information sessions provided by UROP in Spring 2025.

1. Funding Opportunities
   1. Entering Research and Creative Work (ERC) Funding – Deadline: March 3, 2025
      • For students early in their undergraduate career (>60 credits remaining in their degree program) to explore what doing research/creative work is like with a mentor and an hourly stipend – NO prior experience or proposal required!
      • Up to $3,000 per individual for two semesters
   2. Project Funding – Deadline: March 3, 2025
      • For students to propose a mentored research/creative work project
      • Up to $5,000 per individual, up to $10,000 per group 
      • UH Mānoa Tyler Fellowship: New funding opportunity for those planning to conduct their mentored research/creative work abroad in Summer 2025! 
   3. Presentation Funding – Deadline: Prior to event date on a rolling deadline (3 months in advance strongly recommended)
      • For students to share their mentored research/creative work project off-campus
      • Up to $2,000 per individual, up to $5,000 per group

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.

Summer Institute 2025: Contemporary Asias Application

Contemporary Asias: Pluralities Beyond Areas is a 4-week Institute for college and university teachers and advanced graduate students on the East-West Center campus in Honolulu by the Asian Studies Development Program. This multidisciplinary program will explore recent changes in the production, structuring, and sharing of knowledge about Asian cultures and societies, and how these changes might foster knowledge communities that are more collaborative, responsive, and attuned to the pluralities of Asian experiences. Combining methodological reflections on area studies with context-rich engagement with key dimensions of societal and cultural transformation in contemporary Asia, the Institute will support diversity-focused teaching and learning and next-generation digital humanities.

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/4hywdmuy
Application Deadline: March 5, 2025 11:59 pm Pacific Time

The Bridge to Asia Fellowship –  Henry Luce Foundation

The NBR Bridge to Asia Fellowship provides exceptional undergraduate and community college students with immersive professional experience in Asia policy and international affairs. Fellows gain hands-on research training, mentorship from leading experts, and opportunities to publish their work while building lasting professional networks.

Through paid summer fellowships in Seattle and Washington, D.C., participants join NBR’s research teams to deepen their understanding of critical policy challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

For more information and to apply: https://www.nbr.org/bridge-to-asia-fellowship/
DEADLINE: March 9, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

2025 Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) fellowships program

The FRA program funds fellowships through institutions of higher education (IHEs) to faculty members to conduct research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies to improve their skill in languages and their knowledge of the culture of the people of these countries. Fellows conduct research abroad for three to 12 months. Funds support travel expenses to and from the fellow’s residence and the country or countries of research, a maintenance stipend related to the fellow’s academic year salary, and an allowance for research-related expenses, such as books and photocopying, tuition, affiliation fees, local travel, and other incidental expenses. Proposals focusing solely on Western Europe are not eligible.

For more information:https://tinyurl.com/mrnf69pf
Deadline: March 10, 2025

AIPS Urdu Course

AIPS will be hosting the Introduction to Urdu Language and Culture online course again this spring! Enrollment is open to all interested in exploring Urdu language and culture, and faculty members at 2-year colleges and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are eligible to receive full funding to participate in the course thanks to support from AIPS’s Department of Education’s Title VI Overseas Research Centers funding. The 10-week course will run from March 13 to May 22, 2025.

The course registration fee is $259, due upon enrollment. Faculty members at two-year colleges and Minority-Serving Institutions are eligible to have enrollment fees covered by AIPS. Please email AIPS for a code that will waive your dues at registration. Spots in the course are limited, so sign up today!

For more information:http://www.pakistanstudies-aips.org/Urdu
Enrollment Deadline: March 12, 2025

Call For Papers: Asian Drama and Performance Session –
Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association 78th Annual Convention

In an era marked by global interconnectivity, rapid cultural change, and social transformation, Asian drama and performance emerge as vital sites of aesthetic negotiation and political intervention. Through embodied practices, transmedial production, and creative expressions, drama and performance have shaped how Asian and Asian diasporic communities remember, resist, and reimagine their place in the world.

Please direct any inquiries to session organizers: Yucong Hao (yucong.hao@vanderbilt.edu), Kevin Gao (gao.y@wustl.edu), and Zhuohao Li (zhuohao5@ualberta.ca)

Please submit an abstract of approximately 250 words along with a short (2-3 sentences) biography in English, formatted as a Word document. All presentations will be conducted in person and in English.

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/tfnct6nt
Deadline for submissions: March 15, 2025

2025 Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL) in Action Summer Institute

Project-based language learning (PBLL) engages language learners and teachers in real-world challenges, problems, or questions. In this intensive institute, you will learn how to design and orchestrate rich language learning experiences and how to develop a plan to research their effectiveness or your own practice. Participants who complete their action research report after the institute qualify to receive a stipend.

Prerequisite: Applicants must earn a digital badge from the NFLRC Envisioning Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL) MOOC to submit an application.
For more information, visit our summer institute webpage.
Application deadline: March 16, 2025

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

---

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Brown Bag Spring 2025 Schedule 
including CSAS affiliate faculty events!
More details to follow.

• April 24: “The Mahele of Our Bodies: Nā Moʻolelo Māhū/LGBTQ Kupuna” – Nohelani Teves, Associate Professor & Chair, Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
• February 13: “Genealogies of Accountability” – Cameron Rasmussen, Assistant Professor, Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health
• February 20: “Graphic Energy: Comics, Ecology, and the Politics of Extraction” – Jeffrey Mather
• February 27: Indigenous Women: Strength, Resilience, and Inspiration – Patricia Cutright, Lakota author, Dean of Libraries Emerita, Retired, Central Washington University
• March 6: “My 9th Birthday— a native Palestinian story of beauty and struggle” – Ma’an Odah
• March 13: “Religion and Revolution: Aurobindo Ghose and Indian Independence- Keya Ganguly, Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota | Time: 12:00-1:15PM HST 
• March 13: “White Magic & Other Wonders: A Reading & Book Talk” – Elissa Washuta, Professor | Time: 3:00-4:30PM HST
• March 27: “Life Narrative at the Terminus: Glacier Memoirs and Planetary Relationality” – John Zuern, Department of English and Co-editor for the Center for Biographical Research, University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa 
• April 3: “Retrospective on Mark Takai’s Legacy” – Jenny Duhaylonsod Delos Santos, Author and Former Journalist 
• April 10: “All of Us or None: Movement-Building Migrant Stories to Confront Settler Carcerality” – Monisha Das Gupta, Professor in the Departments of Ethnic Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa 
• April 17: “Letters: Living Archives of Everyday Politics” – Dr. Pallavi Gupta, Faculty, Department of Geography, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 

---

Stony Brook University – Full-Time Lecturer in Hindi

The Department of Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) at Stony Brook University seeks to appoint a full-time Lecturer in Hindi. The initial appointment, starting beginning of Fall semester 2025, is for two years, with the possibility of renewal.
For more information: https://apply.interfolio.com/145629
Deadline: February 19, 2025 | 11:59 EST

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

Duke University, Asian/Pacific Studies Institute Post-Doctoral Associate in Asian Climate and Environmental Studies

The Asian/Pacific Studies Institute (APSI) at Duke University seeks applications for a postdoctoral associate researching environmental and climate studies in Asia from Fall 2025 for one year, potentially renewable for a second contingent on funding. Candidates should be researching contemporary aspects of environmental studies and/or climate change in East or Southeast Asia. Applications will be entertained from both the social sciences and humanities fields. 
For more information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68480
Deadline: March 1, 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 Pittsburgh, Asian Studies Center
Assistant Director for Academic Affairs

The Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh is a hub for interdisciplinary research, education, and community engagement focused on Asia. With over 100 affiliated faculty, the Center supports a variety of academic programs and resources, including the East Asian Library, the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia, and funding opportunities for students and faculty. The Center serves students, faculty, K-12 educators, and the broader western Pennsylvania community. It is a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center (NRC).
For more information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68476
Deadline: April 16, 2025

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga – Lecturer, Asian History

The Department of History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, College of Arts and Sciences, invites applications for a non-tenure-track position at the rank of Lecturer with the anticipated start date of August 1, 2025. We are searching for a world historian with a focus on East, Central, or South Asian history—chronology and specialization are open. Review of applications will begin February 17, 2025.
For more information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68522
Deadline: May 1, 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

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

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

---

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