American Institute of Indian Studies Podcast

The American Institute of Indian Studies
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The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) was founded nearly sixty years ago to further the knowledge of India in the United States by supporting American scholarship on India. The programs of AIIS foster the production of and engagement with scholarship on India, and promote and advance mutual understanding between the citizens of the United States and of India. AIIS seeks to provide access to scholarship about India to a wide and diverse audience.Through this podcast series, we hope to explore various exciting AIIS initiatives and engage with our current and former fellows, students, instructors, and researchers in this challenging time for connection.

  1. Apr 24

    The Drama of Democracy: Performance and Politics with Dr. Lisa Björkman

    In this episode, we’ll hear from Lisa Björkman on her new book: Drama of Democracy: Political Representation in Mumbai. Dr. Bjorkman explains her approach to democracy through performance, emphasizing audience, interpretation, and "uptake" in how political displays are encountered and evaluated. The conversation explores representation as an embodied, real-time process shaped through rallies, crowds, and affective communication, and considers how Mumbai’s political theatricality challenges common assumptions about truth, emotion, and authoritarianism.  Drama of Democracy: Political Representation in Mumbai is available now through The University of Minnesota Press.  For more information about AIIS programs, visit indiastudies.org. Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

  2. 09/17/2025

    The Next Era of AIIS

    In this episode, we’ll meet the new Executive Director of AIIS, Dr. Emily Rook-Koepsel. As many of you know, the long-time US Director of AIIS, Dr. Elise Auerbach, retired this spring and has left us an incredible legacy of language, research, and outreach programs that have become the gold standard across disciplines for study abroad. Today, we’ll hear from Dr. Rook-Koepsel about this next era of AIIS, the plans for the future, and what to look forward to this year. For more information about AIIS programs, visit indiastudies.org. Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

  3. 04/07/2025

    DIL Futures: Exploring the present and future of the AIIS Digital India Learning initiative

    In this episode, we explore the bright and fascinating futures of the AIIS Digital India Learning initiative. Launched in 2019 as a new effort from AIIS President Sumathi Ramaswamy, the DIL program has already awarded several rounds of grants to senior scholars and students creating digital projects on India from across the spectrum of disciplines and methodologies. The initiative has funded work on everything from digital resources on urban planning, to bhakti or devotional digital archives, to image archives of 18th century South Indian textiles, and oral epics and clay modeling digital exhibits.  Joining us today to talk about the current state of the DIL initiative and its broad and promising futures, is James Nye, Director of the Digital South Asia Library and an associate of the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago; Gil Ben-Herut, Professor in the Religious Studies Department, University of South Florida; Haimonti Dutta, Associate Professor of Management Science and Systems in the School of Management at the University of Buffalo; Jajwalya Karajgikar, Applied Data Science Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania; and Deepthi Murali, Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University. www.indiastudies.org/digital-scholarship/ Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

    DIL Futures: Exploring the present and future of the AIIS Digital India Learning initiative

  4. 12/30/2024

    Marriott Memories: The life and impact of McKim Marriott

    In this episode, we look back on the work and impact of McKim Marriott, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, who passed earlier this year on July 3, 2024. Initially, we recorded this conversation as a celebration of work and impact, but after his passing this summer, we wanted to share this as a celebration of work and a remembrance.  Joining us today in conversation on the life and work of McKim Marriott is Nita Kumar, Brown Family Professor Emerita of South Asian History at Claremont McKenna College, Ralph W. Nicholas, William Rainey Harper Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, Gloria Raheja, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, and Ann Gold, Thomas J. Watson Professor Emerita at Syracuse University. Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

  5. 05/28/2024

    AIIS and Tech: Languages, Code, Design, and Careers with former AIIS language students

    In this episode, we look to the world of tech and the bridges that AIIS students create between Indian and South Asian Studies and successful careers in technology fields of all kinds. The stereotypical careers that stem from the study of Indic languages and South Asian Studies may be in the humanities, but many AIIS language students have made the jump from South Asian Studies to STEM fields. They have used their diverse language and humanities training to make themselves stand out in a crowded applicant field and have also applied their AIIS study abroad experiences directly into their daily work to allow them to bring fresh perspectives to traditional solutions in tech, whether it is coding, design, or leadership and management. Join us today to speak with three former AIIS language students as we chat about study abroad experiences, how they switched careers from South Asian Studies to tech, and tips on making the leap to a non-traditional career track. Joining us in this episode is Nicole Hemenway Bratz, former AIIS Sanskrit and Urdu student and current Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Capsle Stories: www.capslestories.com; Tyler Neill, former AIIS Prakrit student and currently a software engineer and Sanskritist living in NYC: tylerneill.info; and Rachael Hyland, former AIIS Hindi and Bangla student and current Senior Content Designer at Intuit. Rachel's blog post on Hindi and product design was a major catalyst for this conversation. You can read her thoughts on combining study abroad, language learning, and product design on the Intuit Design blog. The AIIS Language Program offers nine-month academic year, summer and semester courses at elementary to advanced levels in many languages, including several that are rarely taught outside of India.  Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

    AIIS and Tech: Languages, Code, Design, and Careers with former AIIS language students

  6. 12/13/2023

    Creating and collaborating through digital projects with the AIIS Digital Sonic and Visual Projects fellowships

    In this episode, we explore what it’s like to create born digital projects in India with support from the two AIIS research centers: the Center for Art and Archeology (CA&A) and the Archives and Research Centers for Ethnomusicology (ARCE). Both units share an online archive and digital exhibit space, the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds, that you can visit and browse at vmis.in. The DIL Summer Student Fellowships for Digital Sonic and Visual Projects has supported two cohorts of students in 2022 and 2023 to travel to India and conduct research at the CA&A and ARCE under the fantastic guidance of Dr. Vandana Sinha and Dr. Shubha Chaudhuri. We will hear reflections on the process of creating the 2023 DIL summer digital exhibits from beginning to end with Arya Adityan, a graduate student in the Department of Religion at Florida State University, Ava Bush, an undergraduate student completing her B.A. in Art History at Tulane University, Balakrishnan Raghavan, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Jamphel Shonu, a graduate student in the Department of History at Pennsylvania State University, and Tyler Thom, a graduate student in the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of Denver. We’ll begin with a conversation at the beginning of the summer program and then catch up with the participants after the program has ended. Explore the digital projects on the VMIS website: Arya Adityan - Oral Epics and Narratives: Villupāttu Ava Bush - People’s Art: Clay Modelling in Ancient India Balakrishnan Raghavan - Oral Epics and Narratives of India: Annanmar Katai  Jamphel Shonu - The Great Monastery of Nalanda Tyler Thom - The Song Lines of Arnold Bake For more information on AIIS digital program and fellowships, visit https://www.indiastudies.org/digital-scholarship. The DIL Digital Sonic and visual Projects fellowships are partially supported by a grant from the US Department of Education. Produced by AIIS Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

    Creating and collaborating through digital projects with the AIIS Digital Sonic and Visual Projects fellowships

  7. 10/09/2023

    Sitar, Dhrupad, and breathing into the space of South Asian classical music

    In this episode, we highlight new forms of innovative research being done on South Asian classical music through the AIIS performing and creative arts fellowship. Sitarist and ethnomusicologist Brian Q. Silver interviews sitarist and AIIS fellow Paul Livingstone. Through their knowledgeable experiences as international performers and dedicated musicians, Brian Q. Silver and Paul Livingstone discuss Paul's AIIS fellowship,  the flavor of Dhrupad, and the techniques and freedom of giving space to music. Paul Livingstone's latest podcasts, live event information, and fellowship inspired works are available online at paulzlivingstone.com and www.soulforceproject.com. For more information on AIIS fellowships, visit www.indiastudies.org/research-fellowship-programs/. Produced by AIIS and Paul Livingstone Intro and Outro music: “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

    Sitar, Dhrupad, and breathing into the space of South Asian classical music

  8. 11/30/2022

    60th Anniversary Series – Building Collaborations, Relationships, and Shared Homes in US-India Scholarship

    This year we have been celebrating a history of scholarship in and through AIIS – exploring the narratives within the walls of the institute and the conversations that have happened thanks to the support of AIIS. In this episode, we turn from history to current research that highlights collaboration and co-creation, a foundational piece of what makes AIIS the American Institute of Indian Studies. Join us for a discussion on forms of home inspired by the 2016 collaborative conference between Elon University and the University of Madras entitled “To Take Place: Culture, Religion and Home-Making in and Beyond South Asia.” In this conference, “speakers addressed the means and practices by which migrants, displaced persons and various other subcommunities in South Asia establish physical, conceptual and emotional spaces that put them at home or give rise to conflict with other groups.” With conference co-creators Amy Allocco and James Ponniah we look to how AIIS has supported various forms of institutional collaboration, how concepts of the home shift in spaces and places, and how to successfully build a base (or home) from which to build long-lasting dialog and partners in scholarship. The following interview is taken from a webinar that took place virtually on November 4, 2022. *Transcript coming soon* Produced by AIIS Music “Desh” by Stephen Slawek

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The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) was founded nearly sixty years ago to further the knowledge of India in the United States by supporting American scholarship on India. The programs of AIIS foster the production of and engagement with scholarship on India, and promote and advance mutual understanding between the citizens of the United States and of India. AIIS seeks to provide access to scholarship about India to a wide and diverse audience.Through this podcast series, we hope to explore various exciting AIIS initiatives and engage with our current and former fellows, students, instructors, and researchers in this challenging time for connection.

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