University of Virginia, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Amitav Ghosh, Seminar & Workshop Series on "Indian Ocean and Climate Change"

March 16, 2020

The Indian Ocean in the Anthropocene

Seminar conveners: Amitav Ghosh and Debjani Ganguly

 

March 18 (Wed), 27(Fri)

April 2 (Thurs), 10 (Fri)

 

Hosted by the IHGC and the Mellon Global South Lab

 

Time/Venue: 3.00-5.00pm, Wilson 142

 

As the impact of climate change intensifies, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Indian Ocean region, with its fast-accelerating economies, its innumerable oil and gas producers, its collapsing ecosystems, its vulnerable yet rapidly-increasing populations, and its swiftly-expanding carbon footprint, will be the theatre in which the future of the world will be decided. How will the ongoing changes affect the material and cultural lives of the region’s peoples, who are simultaneously drivers and victims of climate change? Many of the world’s major zones of conflict are already clustered around the Indian Ocean, and the region is also the theater of many accelerating arms races. How will these developments affect the global balance of power? What lessons might past climatic shifts offer for the future? These are some of the issues that will be discussed over the four two-hour sessions of this seminar. 

 

March 18: Indian Ocean Worlds and the Anthropocene  

March 27: The Little Ice Age in Tokugawa Japan and Mughal India: Early Modern Perspectives

April 2: The Arts of Living in a Precarious Age

April 10: Environmental Crisis and Security in the Indian Ocean

 

Visiting scholars Sunil Amrith (Harvard), Julia Adeney Thomas (Notre Dame) and Anand Pandian (Johns Hopkins) will participate in some of the sessions.

 

Approximately 3-4 readings will be assigned per session. The seminar will be capped at 25 participants, and readings will be circulated by the end of February to selected participants.  Please register here if you are interested. The call closes on February 24, 2020.

Homer Statue
Wilson Hall 142