06.03.2023River Life and the Upspring of Nature - Book Talk

Lecturer

Prof. Dr. Naveeda Khan (Johns Hopkins University)

Date and Time

March 06, 2023, 4 - 5:30 pm

Venue

ON SITE: University of Zurich, Room KOL G 212, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zürich

ONLINE: To participate in the event online, please register here.

Content

In River Life and the Upspring of Nature I examine the relationship between nature and culture through the study of the everyday existence of chauras, the people who live on the chars (sandbars) within the Jamuna River in Bangladesh. In this talk I sketch out the curiosities that led me to study this mode of existence, a few of the central figures and ideas by which I attempt to show how the alluvial flood plains configure chaura life and how nature can both give rise to and inhabit social, political, and spiritual forms of life. I end with a brief sketch of the next steps I am taking in my research to grapple with the question of how the tempos of climate change appear to the senses, if it does at all, within such a kinetic existence.

Organisation

Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies - Indian Studies