CONFERENCE AND AFTER

[Debnarayan Banerjee]

Dear All,

Please note the following updates as a follow-up of the conference. 

1. IASA, Eastern Region is going to offer an Australian Studies Fellowship 2017-18 with support from one of our benevolent Australian professors ( who wishes to remain anonymous) and the consortium of Australian Universities. Eligibility criteria for the Fellowship programme will be circulated soon ( through newspapers and Bankura University website: www.bankurauniv.ac.in )

2. The proposal for publication has been finalised. The theme of the proposed book is: Transnational Spaces. So please start re-structuring your papers in accordance with the theme and submit it by 15th April, 2017. All papers received will be sent to Australian referees and their assessment will be considered final.

3. 3 research projects working through a network of Australian universities and Bankura University ( which is entrusted with the task of identifying resources and potentials from other universities of West Bengal) have been identified:

  a) South Asian Diasporic Ageing Populace in Australia

  b) Indigenous Handicrafts and Rural Development in selects districts of West 

      Bengal

   c) Transnationalism/transculturalism: Global Cultural Exchange in Indo- 

      Australian Region

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

Best wishes,

Deb Narayan Bandyopadhyay

[Paul Sharrad]

THis looks good, Deb.

I thought I should brief you on the postgrad workshop so you can factor ideas into your supervision meetings.

Anandarup has a strong thesis on an unusual topic, and I can see it making a good book at some point. His problem is that he needs to fine tune his focus (central aim) which seems to be that Rolls was before his time and that his writing shows evidence of anticipating later developments in environmental thinking. The rest is really an explanation of why he was under-regarded.

He is swamped by all the material he has gathered, most of which he needs, but some of which should be pulled together into a solid literature review and referred to only as needed in later chapters. That would leave room for more consideration of ROlls as a writer (and for attention to reviews of his publications and his legacy as evidence of how he was received).

Shourav's thesis needs a lot of work. Admittedly, Ive only seen one chapter, so may be missing something, but his basic problem is that he sets up an argument based on two novels that skew his sample to make the argument work.

His research problem -- that no one has talked about Malouf as a cultural nationalist -- is based on very limited reading and convenient overlooking of hte fact that so many works don't talk about Australia at all and don't seem to posit any fixation on national identity etc.

Frankly, the defense that 'I can't find the books' doesn't wash: the doctorate has to stand up amongst its peers in the field, and it's his job to find the books any way he can. His reading of the novels also amounts to description, so that any argument occurs in the final paragraph -- too late and too little.

We did consider how looking at Malouf as a public intellectual might solve some of his difficulties. That occurs later in his career once he settles down back in Australia and his essays and speeches are probably available through TROVE and INFORMIT. He can still refer back to An Imaginary Life as evidence of early interest in 'the matter of Australia', and the mix of essays and fiction might allow him to produce some original insights.

Hope that makes sense. The other two are just starting, so will probably end up focusing on some different aspect once they've read more, but they on the right tracks for the time being.

cheers,

Paul

 

---

From: iasa-east...@googlegroups.com <iasa-east...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Debnarayan Banerjee <debna...@gmail.com>
Sent: 09 February 2017 03:10
To: iasa-east...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [iasa-eastern-region] CONFERENCE AND AFTER

 

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