Baha Lecture Series

As part of the Social Science Baha Lecture Series, the Baha has been providing a forum to local and visiting scholars to present their work and interact with the larger public in an open lecture format. The Lecture Series is a not a periodic event but rather is held whenever there is someone ready to make a presentation. The following are the lectures hosted by the Baha so far.

Note: Audio versions of lectures are available online from Lecture Series XXI onwards, and also available are abstracts from Lecture Series XI and later.

Series	Title/Speaker
CXV	Aging, Care, and Place: Himalayan Elders in an Era of Migration December 13, 2024 Speaker: Sienna R. Craig
CXIV	Democratising Democracy June 19, 2024 Speaker: Vijayendra Rao
CXIII	Migration during Climate Change: Broadening the Discourse beyond Disaster Displacement and Failure to Adapt May 14, 2024 Speaker: Amina Maharjan
CXII	Ethnic Bias, Migration, and the Formation of New Social Identities among Returnees in Nepal April 10, 2024 Speaker: Slesh A. Shrestha
CXI	Migration and Development: Spring of Hope or Winter of Despair? November 9, 2023 Speaker: Jonathan Rigg
CX	Two-Party to Multi-Party System in Nepal: Causes and Consequences of Consolidation August 17, 2023 Speaker: Mahendra Lawoti
CIX	Nepal’s Great Transformation? Political Economy of Social Change and Development in Nepal August 7, 2023 Speaker: Jeevan R. Sharma
CVIII	Images and/as Language in Kathmandu’s Older and Vulnerable Deaf Person’s Project January 24, 2023 Speaker: Erika Hoffmann-Dilloway
CVII	Why Embracing Uncertainty Means Rethinking Development October 20, 2022 Speaker: Ian Scoones
CVI	A Brief History of Lo Gekhar Monastery, Mustang September 5, 2022 Speaker: Christian Luczanits
CV	Bringing Back the Gods: Activism and Repatriation of Cultural Objects in Asia August 25, 2022 Speaker: Emiline Smith
CIV	What Does Democracy Sound Like? Āwāj as Metaphor and Material of Democratic Practice August 14, 2019 Speaker: Laura Kunreuther
CIII	(After)life as Ground Zero of an Industrial Beginning Death of the Garment Industry in Nepal June 13, 2019 Speaker: Mallika Shakya
CII	From Military to Market Political Economies of Private Military and Security Companies May 15, 2019 Speaker: Amanda Chisholm
CI	Nepali Labour Migration to Japan From Sojourners to Settlers? April 22, 2019 Speaker: Keiko Yamanaka
C	Nepal’s Development Predicaments through the Lens of Cultural Theory November 21, 2018 Speaker: Dipak Gyawali
XCIX	Disasters, Development and Building Codes August 2, 2018 Speaker: Bishnu Pandey
XCVIII	Indigenous Resurgence in Canada Implications for Nepal? July 30, 2018 Speaker: Mark Turin
XCVIII	Surplus and Security India’s National River-Linking Project and Its Implications for River-Sharing Agreements in South Asia June 25, 2018 Speaker: Trevor Birkenholtz
XCVI	Situating Muslim Nepal in Islamic South Asia Historical Themes, Directions for Future Study, and the Case for Religion June 20, 2018 Speaker: Megan Adamson Sijapati
XCV	The History and Future of Food (Especially Corn, Apples, and Chickens) May 3, 2018 Speaker: Mart Stewart
XCIV	Elections, Parties and Alliances Observations from Abroad November 27, 2017 Speaker: Karl-Heinz Krämer
XCIII	Climate Change in the Himalaya Implications, Adaptation Responses and Social-Ecological Vulnerability November 20, 2017 Speaker: Rishikesh Pandey
XCII	Reflections on Working with Gurungs in the Last 50 Years October 27, 2017 Speaker: Alan Macfarlane
XCI	Waves of Alterity: Korea-Nepal Engagement and the Challenge of Area Studies August 1, 2017 Speaker: Heather Hindman
XC	Everybody Has a Story: New Approaches to Story Analysis in Far Western Nepal April 10, 2017 Speaker: Walter Winkler
LXXXIX	Nepali Heritage and You September 26, 2016 Speaker: Dipesh Risal
LXXXVIII	Reconstruction in Gujarat: Possible Lessons for Nepal June 22, 2016 Speaker: Edward Simpson
LXXXVII	Conservation and Restoration of Alpine Ecosystems in the Himalaya and the Andes: New Challenges for the 21st Century April 7, 2016 Speaker: Alton C. Byers
LXXXVI	Contracting and the Repercussions of Neo-Liberal Warfare in Nepal and Beyond February 22, 2016 Speaker: Noah Coburn
LXXXV	Decolonizing the Social Sciences: Problems and Prospects November 3, 2019 Speaker: Vivek Dhareshwar
LXXXIV	International Copyright and Domestic Exceptions: Wipo, Treaties, and the Politics of Libraries September 3, 2015 Speaker: Kenneth D. Crews
LXXXIII	PARI: Strengthening Health Research in Nepal April 6, 2015 Speaker: Edwin van Teijlingen
LXXXII	The Holy Mountains of Nepal March 23, 2015 Speaker: Damien Francois
LXXXI	Redefining Human Rights Through the Lens of Critical Theory January 5, 2015 Speaker: Sarah Paoletti
LXXX	Gods, Power and Common Folks: City and Religion in Kyoto, Japan December 22, 2014 Speaker: Eiko Ikegami
LXXIX	The Bāhāḥs and Bahīs of Nepal: Thirty Years of Transformation, Preservation, and Innovation July 3, 2014 Speaker: Bruce McCoy Owens
LXXVIII	When are Elections Bad for Democracy? Internationally Sponsored Elections in Post-Invasion Afghanistan June 25, 2014 Speaker: Noah Coburn
LXXVII	Caste And The Republic: Critical Reflections On Modernity And Human Rights In South Asia May 28, 2014 Speaker: Edward A. Rodrigues
LXXVI	Developing International Development: DDT And U.S. Environmental And Social Engineering In The Chitwan Valley, 1952-1965 May 20, 2014 Speaker: Thomas Robertson
LXXV	Securing Our Future Despite Our State: The Quest For Salaried Work Within Political Turmoil April 30, 2014 Speaker: Amanda Snellinger
LXXIV	Summits Of Modern Man And Thresholds Of Climate Change: Mountaineering After The Enlightenment April 23, 2014 Speaker: Peter H. Hansen
LXXIII	The Crisis Of Secularism In South Asia: Towards An Indo-Pakistani Convergence? April 21, 2014 Speaker: Christophe Jaffrelot
LXXII	The Judiciary As A Political Actor In Pakistan March 24, 2014 Speaker: Philip Oldenburg
LXXI	The Issue Of Indian Nepalis March 19, 2014 Speaker: Awadesh Coomar Sinha
LXX	Is There Such a Thing as a Nepalese Diaspora? Reflections from India-, Qatar- and Web-based Nepalese Dispersed Communities March 12, 2014 Speaker: Tristan Bruslé
LXIX	Self-Determination And Its Contestations: The Indian Experience October 28, 2013 Speaker: Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya
LXVIII	The Path to Prosperity for Developing Economies August 6, 2013 Speaker: William Ruger
LXVII	India’s Second World War April 16, 2013 Speaker: Yasmin Khan
LXVI	Agrarian Relations And Rural Poverty March 25, 2013 Speaker: Magnus Hatlebakk
LXV	Revisiting the Concept of ‘Prana’ in Nepali and Indian Art February 28, 2013 Speaker: Gautama V. Vajracharya
LXIV	Peace: Four Components February 14, 2013 Speaker: Johan Galtung
LXIII	Something Big And Glorious And Magnificently Insane’: Hippie Kathmandu January 9, 2013 Speaker: Mark Liechty
LXII	Access To Appropriate Medicines: Challenges For Nepal December 20, 2012 Speaker: Roger Jeffery
LXI	The Rise Of China And Its Implications For Indo-Lanka Relations December 13, 2012 Speaker: Neil De Votta
LX	Christianity And Nepali Society December 4, 2012 Speaker: John Whelpton
LIX	The Mystery Of Shakti Yogmaya: Politics Or Religion? November 2, 2012 Speaker: Barbara Nimri Aziz
LVIII	Kathmandu Journey: Sir Ivor Jennings In Nepal (28 March-24 April 1958) July 26, 2012 Speaker: Mara Malagodi
LVII	Nepal Diary: Reflections And Impressions July 5, 2012 Speaker: Rachel Stevens
LVI	Border Effects: Analytical Issues In Border Crossing May 29, 2012 Speaker: Jeevan Raj Sharma
LV	Migration During Armed Conflict: A New Look At Variability In Migration Decisions April 19, 2012 Speaker: Nathalie E. Williams
LIV	Anthropology And Development Policy: A Difficult Relationship? March 30, 2012 Speaker: David Mosse
LIII	Ethnicity In The University: Heterogeneity And Inequality March 19, 2012 Speaker: Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka
LII	Chittadhar Hridaya’s Sugata Saurabha: The Known And Unknown In The Composition Of The Epic March 6, 2012 Speaker: Todd Lewis and Subarna Man Tuladhar
LI	The Multi-Local Livehihoods Of Bajhangis February 23, 2012 Speaker: Ulrike Muller-Boker
L	Shaping Secularism In Nepal January 9, 2012 Speaker: Chiara Letizia
XLIX	The Iconisation Of Yogmaya Neupane May 4, 2011 Speaker: Michael Hutt
XLVIII	A More Social Military? Or A More Militarized Sociology? Human Terrain Teams And The ‘New’ Army April 22, 2011 Speaker: Paul Joseph
XLVII	Cultural Theory And Clumsiness: Some Lessons From Nepal March 28, 2011 Speaker: Michael Thompson
XLVI	The Structural Landscape Of Social Science Journals Published From Nepal March 14, 2011 Speaker: Pratyoush Onta
XLV	World Heritage In The Global Tourism Market: Consumption Versus Cosmic Order February 24, 2011 Speaker: Kurt Luger
XLIV	Legal Pluralism In The Supreme Court: Law, Religion, And Culture Concerning Women’s Rights In Nepal February 11, 2011 Speaker: Rajendra Pradhan
XLIII	Growing Old In Nepal: The Impact Of Social And Economic Changes In The Chitwan Valley November 14, 2010 Speaker: Amy Pienta
XLII	Deliberative Governance: Reframing Democracy October 9, 2010 Speaker: John Dryzek
XLI	Mediaeval Maithili Stagecraft In The Nepalamandala The Bhaktapur School August 2, 2010 Speaker: Ramawatar Yadav
XL	Challenges Of Sustainable Peace Building And Demilitarizing Development In Post-Conflict Sri Lanka: One Year After The War July 6, 2010 Speaker: Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake
XXXIX	Humanitarianism In The 21st Century: Lessons From Afghanistan And Other Crises April 15, 2010 Speaker: Antonio Donini
XXXVIII	Apparent Horizons: South Asia From Its Borderlands March 30, 2010 Speaker: Willem Van Schendel
XXXVII	Levels Of Narration In The MahāBhāRata January 27, 2010 Speaker: Amiya Dev
XXXV	Landscape And Life History In The Himalaya January 11, 2010 Speaker: David Zurick
XXXVI	Politics Without Guarantees: Gramsci, Uneven Development, And The Constitution Of A ‘People’ January 8, 2010 Speaker: Vinay Gidwani
XXXIV	Nepali Muslims, Islamic Revival, And The ‘New Nepal’: A Look At Secularism, Religion, And The Politicisation Of Identities January 4, 2010 Speaker: Megan Adamson Sijapati
XXXIII	From Liberal Democracy To Authoritarian State: A Tale Of Constitutional Evolution In Sri Lanka And Possible Lessons For Nepal December 4, 2009 Speaker: Arjun Guneratne
XXXII	The Fragile Yam: Nepali ‘Stateness’ And The Renegotiation Of Gendered Citizenship November 29, 2009 Speaker: Seira Tamang
XXXI	The Linguistic Survey Of Sikkim: Mother Tongues In Education And Public Policy April 14, 2009 Speaker: Mark Turin
XXX	Nepal: Opportunities And Threats-The Dilemmas Of Transition March 12, 2009 Speaker: David Seddon
XXIX	Epistemological, Methodological, And Theoretical Dependency: Postmodernism In Development Studies March 8, 2009 Speaker: Ravi Bhandari
XXVIII	Discourse Ethics As A Framework For Intercultural Environmental Philosophy September 24, 2008 Speaker: Konrad Ott
XXVII	Development In The Republic Of Nepal: Some Thoughts And Reflections September 16, 2008 Speaker: John Cameron
XXVI	Emergent Forests: Networks, Subjectivity, And The Governance Of Natural Resources September 4, 2008 Speaker: Andrea Nightingale
XXV	Democracy, Accountability, And A New Nepal August 21, 2008 Speaker: Mahendra Lawoti
XXIV	Racial Thinking In Nepal Origins And Contemporary Political Uses June 22, 2008 Speaker: Susan Hangen
XXII	Unravelling The Mosaic: Spatial Dimensions Of Ethnicity In Nepal June 15, 2008 Speaker: Pitamber Sharma
XXI	Nepali Masculinities: Ranas, Shahs, And Gurkhas June 1, 2008 Speaker: Sanjeev Uprety
XX	Oral History And Its Social Context In Dullu, Western Nepal October 28, 2007 Speaker: Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
XIX	Nepali History As World History June 20, 2007 Speaker: Bernardo A. Michael
XVIII	A Preliminary Critique Of The World Bank/DFID Summary Report Unequal Citizens: Gender, Caste, And Ethnic Exclusions In Nepal December 3, 2006 Speaker: Rajendra Pradhan
XVII	The Maoists And The Shamans: A Tale Of Bullets, Hail, And Prejudices November 19, 2006 Speaker: Anne de Sales
XVI	Script And Orality In The Kiranti Language Movement April 12, 2006 Speaker: Martin Gaenszle
XV	Doing Field Work In The United States Of America And Nepal: Some Cross-Cultural Experiences March 17, 2006 Speaker: Dilli Ram Dahal
XIV	Globalization And The Securitization Of Migration: The Context Of Nepali Foreign Labour Migrants And Sustainable Livelihood December 16, 2005 Speaker: Jagannath Adhikari
XIII	Mapping Actors In Carpet Production In The Kathmandu Valley: A Relational Economic Geography October 27, 2005 Speaker: Elvira Graner
XII	Missions And Medicine In Nepal: Some Anthropological Reflections August 9, 2004 Speaker: Ian Harper
XI	The State, Ethnic Diversity And The Development Of National Identity: Comparisons Between Nepal And The British Isles July 26, 2004 Speaker: John Whelpton
X	Exclusionary Democratization In Nepal: Political Institutions And Elite Attitudes In Comparative Perspective June 1, 2004 Speaker: Mahendra Lawoti
IX	Rebuilding Buddhism: Transnational Theravada Revivalism In Nepal May 27, 2004 Speaker: David Gellner
VIII	Sufism In South Asia: A Meeting Point For Secularism April 15, 2004 Speaker: Asghar Ali Engineer
VII	Women, Ideology, And Agency In Nepal’s Maoist Movement January 15, 2004 Speaker: Judith Pettigrew
VI	Thirty Years Of Change In A Northwestern Tamang Village November 26, 2003 Speaker: Kathryn March
IV	Power Sharing: Learning Lessons From Switzerland August 12, 2003 Speaker: Walter Kaelin
III	Opening The Chest Of Nepal’s History: The Survey Of Brian Houghton Hodgson’s Manuscripts From The British Library And Royal Asiatic Society July 1, 2003 Speaker: Ramesh Dhungel
II	Political Culture, Political Participation, And Political Leadership January 9, 2003 Speaker: Joe Heim
I	Bhutanese Refugees: Some Reflections On The Past And Present July 19, 2002 Speaker: Michael Hutt

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