November 2019
Friday, Nov. 22, 5 p.m.:
If you require transportation from downtown for this event, contact Shabina Moheebulla (shabina.moheebulla@utoronto.ca) by Monday, Nov. 18. Please register for this event at: https://tinyurl.com/sawhney-utm
Friday, Nov. 8, 5 p.m.:
Indian Epistemology Workshop (Amita Chatterjee, Nilanjan Das, Stephen Phillips, and Anand Vaidya) (co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, UTM)
October 2019
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 5 p.m.:
Lata Deokar from Savitribai Phule Pune University (co-sponsored by the Robert H. N. Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies)
Thursday, Oct. 24, 5 p.m.:
The Centre for South Asian Civilizations, the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office, the Department of Historical Studies and UTM’s International Education Centre, will be hosting Shadeism: Digging Deeper, a documentary screening.
Join us on Oct. 24 for the documentary SHADEISM: DIGGING DEEPER. This documentary screening explores the issue of Shadeism and discrimination based on skin tone amongst members of the same communities. All are welcome! This event is open to UTM students and the outside community. Refreshments will be provided.
When: Oct. 24, 5-8 p.m.
Where: MiST Theatre UTM
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/72966138685
Monday, Oct. 21, 5-8 p.m.:
Attend the lecture with Prof. Jennifer Dubrow on Oct. 21, 2019 at 5 p.m., Maanjiwe Nendamowinan, Room No: 3230
Please register for this event at https://tinyurl.com/jdubrow
She is an associate professor of Urdu, with affiliate appointments in Textual Studies and the South Asian Studies Program in the Jackson School of International Studies. Her research and teaching focuses on modern Hindi and Urdu literature's; print culture and the history of the book in South Asia; and South Asian modernism's.
Her first book, Cosmopolitan Dreams: The Making of Modern Urdu Literary Culture in Colonial South Asia (University of Hawai'i Press, 2018; Permanent Black, 2019), showed how the arrival of print fostered a dynamic and interactive literary culture. In the pages of Urdu-language periodicals and newspapers, readers found a public sphere that not only catered to their interests but encouraged their reactions to featured content.
Friday, Oct. 11, 11 a.m.:
Amitav Ghosh , an Indian writer and the winner of the 54th Jnanpith award, best known for his work in English fiction came to speak at the Centre for South Asian Civilizations. After this exciting conversation he joined several CSAC faculty for lunch in Mississauga
November 2018
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 5-7 p.m. Davis Building (DV 2082) — CSAC Urdu Film Series: Had-Anhad (in Urdu with English subtitles) — All are welcome!
Monday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.: MiST Theatre (CCT Building 150) — CSAC presents: The Poetry of Amazement, An Evening with Vikram Chandra. To reserve your admission free seat, please register here.
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 5:30-8 p.m. New North Building (NE 4207) — CSAC Urdu Film Series: Nikaah (in Urdu with English subtitles) — All are welcome!
October 2018
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 5:30-8 p.m. New North Building (NE 4207) — CSAC Urdu Film Series: The Chess Player (In Urdu with English subtitles)
Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m., MiST Theatre - Film & Concert - Hari OM Tatsat. Tickets are $20 for Adults and $10 for Students.
The Many Lives of Aurangzeb Workshop:
Thursday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., New North Building (NE 4207) — Graduate Workshop on Reading, Writing, and Teaching Religious ‘Controversy’ in South Asian Religious History
Friday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Jackman Humanities Building (UTSG) — Student Presentations
Friday, Oct. 5, 4-6 p.m., Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, 5 Bancroft Street (UTSG) — Muzaffar Alam, Persian in the Age of Mughal Decline: A Reevaluation
September 2018
Thursday, Sept. 20, 3 p.m., North Building (NE4207) - The Spirit of the Sepoy Host — free talk given by Priyamvada Gopal (Reader in Anglophone and Related Literature at the University of Cambridge)
Monday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m., Mist Theatre - REASON, a film by Anand Patwardhan — free screening and discussion with the film maker. Please Register Here
October 2017
Oct. 5, 2017: "Aspirations and Agitations for the future Buddha in Theravada sources" - Associate Professor Kristin Scheible of Reed College
The Fourth Biennial Conference on South Asian Religions welcomes Associate Professor Kristin Scheible, as the UTM Featured Keynote.
Thursday, Oct. 5 at 11:45 a.m. in the UTM Council Chambers (DV 3130).
Oct. 6, 2017: "Conquest and Community: Historical Writing in Troubled Times" — a roundtable discussion with Shahid Amin, Natalie Zemon Davis and Rosalind O'Hanlon
The Fourth Biennial Conference on South Asian Religions welcomes Professor Emeritus Shahid Amin (University of Dehli), Professor Emerita Natalie Zemon Davis (University of Toronto, Princeton University) and Dr. Rosalind O'Hanlon (University of Oxford) for a roundtable moderated by Dr. Malavika Katsuri (University of Toronto).
September 2017
Sept. 21, 2017: Free Screening of AMAL followed by a Q&A with Award Winning UTM Alum & Director, Richie Mehta
Professor Ken Derry and the students in his course Reel Religion (RLG332) welcome 2017 UTM Convocation Speaker, Writer, Director, Filmmaker Richie Mehta for a screening of his film AMAL. Set in modern-day New Delhi, India, AMAL tells the story of poor autrickshaw driver, Amal Kumar.
Thursday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. in the MiST Theatre.
November 2016
Nov. 24 — Sufi Music: Lecture and Concert
The Centre for South Asian Civilizations (CSAC) presented a beautiful Sufi music concert and lecture, organized by Dr. Reza Tabandeh on Nov. 24, 2016. Please click here to view the video.
Master Musicians: Ustad Javad Bathaei (santur), Ali Nematollahi (percussion), Ehsan Ghaffari (taar)
June 2016
June 12 — Khoya Film Premiere
U of T's Centre for South Asian Civilizations (CSAC) has arranged an exclusive viewing for U of T's students, faculty and staff at the theatrical premiere of this heart wrenching feature film for the 6:45 p.m. showing on Sunday, June 12 at Carlton Cinema in downtown Toronto, 20 Carlton St., Toronto, ON M5B 2H5. There will be prizes and a post screening discussion with the filmmakers including director Sami Khan and star Rupak Ginn. At the box office, those carrying a U of T ID will get tickets for $3.50 (regular price $10).
Sunday, June 12, 2016
6:45 p.m.
Click here for full event details
October 2015
Oct 21 — Ashok Vajpeyi: Shattering the Silence
Ashok Vajpeyi, the celebrated Indian writer currently embroiled in a political controversy in his homeland. His talk, “Shattering the Silence: India’s Authors Protest Recent Murders,” will discuss what motivated him and others to take a stand against recent violence against several Indian activists.
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015,
6 p.m.
Instructional Centre, Room 120
Click here for full event details
Oct 2 — Sugar in Milk with Thrity Umrigar
Thrity Umrigar, a prominent writer of Indian Zoroastrian decent, will be discussing how growing up as an ethnic and religious minority in India contributed to her outsider-insider take on literature and fueled her growth as a writer. One of the things a writer has to be able to do is imagine a story from multiple points of view and growing up a Parsi and attending Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city, gave Umrigar a naturally cosmopolitan, multicultural view of the world. She will also talk about how the 'origin myth' story of the Sugar in Milk has informed her own life as an immigrant to America.
Friday, Oct. 2, 2015
7 p.m.
Instructional Centre, Room 120
Click here for full event details
MAY 2015
May 9 - Ritual Landscapes Symposium
APRIL 2015
April 2 - Rabindranath Tagore Screening
MARCH 2015
March 25 — Trans(Sub)continental Imaginations: Three Centuries of South Asian Literary English
Writing in English has often lived on the margins of South Asian literary histories, due to its associations as the cultural voice of a class of postcolonial elites, its perceived alien status, its outsized global reputation, and its absence of discernable schools or movements. This symposium featuring a keynote address by poet and translator Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, uses the frame of literary history to explore a number of related themes, including bilingualism and split identity among South Asian writers, counterrealism and experimental form in postcolonial action, the influence of English on South Asian modern vernaculars and the power of translation, especially in the Diaspora, to bend language and overturn canons.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Studio 89 /1065 Canadian Place / #104
Mississauga, ON L4W 0B8
Click here for full event details
FEBRUARY 2015
Feb. 13 Jazz Fusion Workshop with Avataar
JUNO-nominated jazz saxophonist vocalist and composer Sundar Viswanathan has shared the world stage with national and international artists alike. Avataar is the latest incarnation of his dynamic earlier group Avataar Collective. The music marries Hindustani raag and taal, hardbop jazz, Brazilian lyricism, electronica, atmospheric textures and ambiance, Javanese gamelan and contemporary improvisation. The resulting con-
uence is a mesmerizing blend of rhythmic hypnotism, sonic landscapes and soaring melody that marries old and new musical sounds. The new sound includes group members Felicity Williams (voice), Ravi Naimpally (tabla), Michael Occhipinti (guitar), Justin Gray (bass) and Giampaolo Scatozza (drums, laptops).
Friday, Feb. 13, 2015
7 p.m.
MiST Theatre CCT building, CC0150
Click here for full event details
Feb. 28 — Hindustani Classical Workshop with Narendra Dataar
Toronto’s own Narendra Datar presents a lecture demonstration on the modal and rhythmic structures of North Indian classical music, followed by a performance of classical, semi-classical and devotional pieces.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015
7 p.m.
MiST Theatre, CCT building, CC0150
Click here for full event details
NOVEMBER 2014
Nov 6 — A Discussion with Mazher Hussain, Director of COVA: Women, Youth, Children as Catalyst of Social Transformations
COVA (Confederation of Voluntary Associations) is a national network of voluntary organisations working for communal harmony in India and peace in South Asia. One of the very few organisations that has operations from grassroots initiatives to international policy interventions, COVA is engaged in training 15,000 children, youth and women in the city of Hyderabad (India) for responsible citizenship and elective social activism; collaborations with more than 1000 organisations at the national level to promote communal harmony in India and secure governance from grassroots; advocacy with the state and national governments for pro-poor and sustainable policies; networking with organisations across South Asia to facilitate better understanding and peace in the region through increased people to people contacts; and engagement with multilateral bodies like the United Nations Organisation, G20, OIC and others for structural transformations of the world order to make society more equitable, sustainable, just and peaceful.
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014
2 p.m.
Instructional Centre, Room 39
Click here for full event details
OCTOBER 2014
Oct 6 — An Evening of Dastangoi: The Lost Art of Storytelling
Dastangoi, the lost art of storytelling which once ourished in early modern India, developed around the tales of the adventures of an 8th-century Arab hero — Amir Hamza. S. R. Faruqi, the noted Urdu litterateur, and Mahmood Farooqui, who conceived of the modern format of the art form, have been instrumental in reviving this art in India Ankit Chadha, a disciple of Mahmood Farooqui, will introduce the audience to Dastangoi and the work done by the team to revive it. This will be followed by a performance of two episodes from the Dastan-e Amir Hamza.
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014
7 p.m.
MiST Theatre, CCT building, CC0150
Click here for full event details
Oct. 10 — Monitor 10: Performing the Political
From found footage to performance video, reality television to observational documentary,
this set of videos is an investigation into how artists’ moving images perform the political. Join us for a screening and conversation on how cultural agents, with similar socio-political concerns, can create new forms of resistance. Speakers will include Indu Vashist and Sharlene Bamboat of SAVAC and University of Toronto Professors Kajri Jain and Shivaji Mukherjee.
Monitor 10 is ultimately a celebration of how dramatic narrative within the context of artists’ moving image connects our aesthetic, political and emotional lives, and is derived from radical political and intellectual positions.
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014
1 p.m.
Blackwood Gallery
Click here for full event details
SEPTEMBER 2014
Sept. 18 — Gita Govinda: MTDC Live Streaming of Classical Indian Dance
Dr. Menaka Thakkar, Artistic Director of the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (MTDC),
launches her dance series “MTDC Live Streaming of Indian Dance" on Sept. 18, 2014, 8 p.m. at MTDC Studio Theatre in Thornhill, ON. We will have a live streaming of this event at the MiST Theatre located at the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus.
Sunday, Sept. 18, 2014
7:45 p.m.
MiST Theatre, CCT building, CC0150
Click here for full event details
APRIL 2014
International Hindi Conference
Come on out and support the first ever International Hindi Conference, taking place from April 25–27 at New York University, New York. The conference’s primary theme will focus on “Hindi Language in the 21st Century Global World." The conference has two sub-themes: "Hindi as the Language of the Indian Diaspora" and "Hindi Education."
Book Launch Event: The Light of Knowledge – Literacy Activism and the Politics of Writing in South India
Professor Frank Cody, recently published a new book entitled: "The Light of Knowledge." The book launch event will take place at the Munk School of Global Affairs on April 8, 2014 from 2-4 p.m.
Dr. Crispin Branfoot's Lecture (1): Imperial Designs: The Tamil Temple and the Vijayanagara Empire
Dr. Crispin Branfoot's Lecture (2): Heavens on Earth: Madurai and the South Indian Temple-City
Francis Cody Book Launch -The Light of Knowledge: Literacy Activism and the Politics of Writing in South India
Past Events:
- March 27, 2014 Graduate Workshop: The Materialities of South Asian Islamicate Manuscripts, University of Toronto (Mississaga & St. George Campus).
- Nov.14, 2013 Forced (Un) Veiling: Questioning Multiculturalism and Accommodation, University of Toronto (Mississauga Campus).
- Sept. 27, 2013 Religion, Sexual Diversity and South Asian Youth Culture in the GTA. University of Toronto (Mississauga Campus).
- Sept. 19, 2013 An Evening with Mira Nair, University of Toronto (Mississauga Campus)
- March 8, 2013 South Asia Day, University of Toronto (Mississauga Campus).