India

Scholars from around the globe will gather at UC Davis for a major conference on the study of Jainism, one of the world’s oldest religions, and other South Asian religions. The conference is organized through the recently established Mohini Jain Presidential Chair for Jain Studies in the Department of Religious Studies. It will be held Aug. 11–14.

Sudipta Sen, a professor of history and Middle East/South Asian studies, was recently awarded a Sir Williams Jones Memorial Medal from the Asiatic Society of India for his influential work on the history of South Asia. Sen is a historian of the late Mughal and early British India and the British Empire, and of the environment. 

In her native India, recent Department of Design MFA graduate Nikitaa Sivaakumar saw people struggling with inadequate lighting and noxious fumes from kerosene lanterns. Her solution is MakeGlow, a lantern made from a small solar panel, rechargeable battery, LEDs and recycled cardboard.

A photo exhibition organized by UC Davis graduate Lisa Trivedi and sponsored by the Middle East/South Asia Studies (ME/SA) Program at UC Davis focuses on the lives of working women in India during the 1930s.

The UC Davis Department of Religious Studies and the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts have teamed up for a year-long celebration of the arts of India. “India in the Artist’s Eye” will include music, theatre and dance along with exhibitions, lectures and workshops.