Religion and Politics in Indian Society: On Hinduism and Hindutva
Religion and Politics in Indian Society: On Hinduism and Hindutva
Presenter: K. B. Usha (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India)
Date: May 17, 2024, at 12:30 pm
Place: Faculty of Social Sciences, Jonavos Street. 66, Room 208.
About the seminar:
The relation between religion and politics is a controversial question in the traditional ways of Indian thinking and the idea of India enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Today, the relationship between Hinduism as a religion and Hindutva as a political ideology represented by Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is an important debate in India. Hinduism, as a religion with its philosophy, values, rituals, customs, symbols, etc., is integral to social and cultural life in India. Hinduism coexists with other religions. RSS-BJP Hindutva equates India with a Hindu identity, faith, culture, and race. It resulted in a merger of religion and politics for building India as a monolithic and homogenous Hindu Rashtra, resembling the civilisation and golden Vedic era glories. Their success in the Ayodhya Ram Temple case allows them to pursue their controversial Hindutva agenda at the cost of democracy and constitutional values.
About the author:
K.B. Usha is an Associate Professor at the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Her main areas of teaching and research interests include the Baltic States, post-Soviet space and Eurasia. She teaches courses on Politics and Society in the Baltic States and Environmental Security in the Post-Soviet Space for PhD students and Gender in International Politics and Politics and Society in Eurasia for MA students. She has published many articles and research papers including India-Baltic Relations, India-Lithuania cultural Interactions, and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War on the Environmental Security of the Arctic and Baltic Sea Region. Nation-Building in Baltic States: Nationalism, Memory and Identity (edited) (Adroit Publishers, 2018) is her latest book. She is working on her two Book manuscripts regarding the Baltic States and Lithuania.
“Eastern Criminals” and Moral Panic: On Lithuanian Offenders in Danish Prison Facilities
“Eastern Criminals” and Moral Panic: On Lithuanian Offenders in Danish Prison Facilities
Presenter: Ida Harboe Knudsen, Vytautas Magnus University
Date: May 16, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.
Place: Faculty of Social Sciences, Jonavos Street. 66, Room 324.
About the seminar:
Based on an increased number of arrests made on young Lithuanian burglars in Denmark, this seminar explores how the eastern European offender has become a new “Folk Devil” in the public image. Following the newspaper hype and political reactions to the burglaries, a distorted picture of “the devils” is produced, letting the public believe that the Lithuanian offenders are particularly inhumane, ruthless and violent. Despite the police reporting that they never had any violent incidents with the Lithuanians, the public image prevails. This negative image ends up affecting their treatment and their rights in Danish detention centres, as prison guards act according to the image, rather than in accordance with their own experience. This makes Lithuanian inmates a particularly vulnerable group in Denmark.
About the author:
Ida Harboe Knudsen is a social anthropologist, who primarily has worked with legal anthropology. She received her PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale (Germany). Her PhD focused on the rural development in Lithuania after the entrance to the EU, and was later published as a book. Following this she has been involved in two post.doc projects. One financed by the Danish research Council focusing on informal working strategies in Lithuania, and one financed by the Scandinavian research Council for Criminology on Lithuanian inmates in Danish prison facilities.
Prof. David Sutton „Making Taste Sustainable“
Center for Social Anthropology (VMU) are inviting you for a research seminar by the visiting anthropologist:
Prof. David Sutton (Southern Illinois University)
Title of Presentation: “Making Taste Sustainable”
Date: May 10, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.
Place: Faculty of Social Sciences, Jonavos Street. 66, Room 112.
About the lecture:
When and how does taste matter? As we face various crises, economic, ecological, social and cultural, what role does taste play in various efforts at sustainability? Drawing from my work on the importance of a gustemological approach—a taste-based worldview—this talk will present research very much in progress and focusing on the different ways that understanding taste in context can help make sense of sustainability or regenerative practices in Greece and elsewhere.
About the author:
David Sutton (PhD University of Chicago, 1995) is a Professor of Anthropology specializing in Anthropological Theory, Historical Consciousness and Memory, Food and the Senses, Movies and Material Culture. He does research primarily on the island of Kalymnos (the Sponge Divers’ island) in Greece.
Recent publications include a consideration of cooking and anthropological theories of continuity and change entitled Bigger Fish to Fry: A Theory of Cooking as Risk, with Greek Examples (Berghahn Press, 2022).
For a preview, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFZ2UGZFxxE
For more information about the Author please see: https://cola.siu.edu/anthro/facultyandstaff/faculty/sociocultural/sutton.php
Psychologist working for MSF: work with refugee children
Kateřina Šrahůlková from Prague City Vysoka skola
Lecture: Psychologist working for MSF: work with refugee children
Children with Autism and Asperger syndrome
Kateřina Šrahůlková from Prague City Vysoka skola.
Lecture: Children with Autism and Asperger syndrome
Lecture “Adult attachment in the workplace”
“Adult attachment in the workplace” on April 24th, 9:00-12:15 in Jonavos st. 66 – 325, Kaunas.
Lecturer:
Dr. Elena Lisá, associated professor in Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia. Her research interests include Organizational Psychology, Personality Psychology and Applied Psychology. More about this researcher – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elena-Lisa-2
Lecture “The relationship between psychological and neurophysiological processes used in attachment research”
“The relationship between psychological and neurophysiological processes used in attachment research” on April 23th, 13.45-16.15 in Putvinskio st. 23 – 103, Kaunas.
Lecturer:
Dr. Elena Lisá, associated professor in Institute of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia. Her research interests include Organizational Psychology, Personality Psychology and Applied Psychology. More about this researcher – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elena-Lisa-2
Lecture “Student’s Path to Self-Awareness: Social Competences in Contemporary Academia”
Lecture of Teresa Pozo-Rico, PhD in Educational Research and senior lecturer at the University of Alicante Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactics.
This seminar explores the journey of students towards self-awareness and the development of social competences within the contemporary academic landscape. Participants will examine the importance of nurturing skills such as communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence to empower students for success in academia and beyond.
More about lecturer:
She boasts notable recognitions, including a six-year period acknowledged by CNEAI and another by AVAP, as well as a standardized scientific productivity indicator of 1.9 points.
Her outstanding cross-cultural research work in Spain, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Argentina, and Finland, following a year-long doctoral stay, culminated in a thesis defended in December 2016 with a “cum laude” and international mention, earning an extraordinary award in 2019 for the relevance of her publications. She has presented communications at international conferences, articles in JCR-indexed journals and book chapters in prestigious publishers such as Octaedro and Dykinson.
She stands out as the investigator of three projects, one granted by the Department of Innovation, Universities, Science, and Digital Society within the Promotion of Scientific Research Program in the Valencian Community (Ref. GV/2021/153), another by the Vice-Rectorate of Research of the University of Alicante for the Promotion of research, innovation, and development (Ref. GRE20-22-A), and a third recently awarded by the European Commission (Erasmus+, KA2). (Ref. 2023-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000156880). Additionally, she is part of the research team of national (PID2021-125279OB-I00 and EDU2015-64562-R) and international projects (INSHIP 19, 19-KA203-060579). Furthermore, she belongs to a consolidated and competitive research group with significant scientific production over the last fifteen years (SOCEDU, VIGROB-140).
In her role as a Professor in Evolutionary and Educational Psychology, she teaches classes in the Bachelor’s degrees of Primary Education and Early Childhood Education, Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Social Work, and Psychology, as well as in Teacher Training and Educational Research programs. She has co-supervised four doctoral theses, as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s theses and supervised internships in educational centers. Similarly, she was hired within the framework of the United Nations Development Program’s Project 110378 “INEDITA” to improve the academic performance of students in situations of vulnerability and risk of social exclusion.
Alongside this trajectory, she collaborates with the Teacher Training, Innovation, and Educational Resources Service to implement projects and training activities aimed at teachers of all educational levels. She holds three triennial periods and two five-year periods. She has been the Deputy Director of the Department of Evolutionary Psychology and Didactics at the University of Alicante since 18/11/2021.
Her research focuses on teacher training, teaching and learning strategies, attention to specific educational needs, educational intervention for students at risk of social exclusion, emotional intelligence, academic performance, burnout, new technologies, and e-learning educational environments.
Dr. Alesander Cala lecture “Forensic Social Work and Families in Spain” for master students
Dr. Alesander Cala (Professor Department of Labor and Social Security, Degree in Social Work, University of Cadiz, Spain) lecture for master students.
Topic: Forensic Social Work and Families in Spain:
- The Professional Practice of Forensic Social Work with Families in the Administration of Justice
- Deontology and ethical principles in the practice of forensic social work in the family
- Specific models and techniques for the social expert
- Social harm as a theoretical model for forensic social work with
- Moral damage as an area of intervention for forensic social work in the family
Dr. Alesander Cala lecture for bachelor students
Dr. Alesander Cala (Professor Department of Labor and Social Security, Degree in Social Work, University of Cadiz, Spain) lecture for bachelor students.
Topic: Forensic Social Work and Families in Spain:
- The Professional Practice of Forensic Social Work with Families in the Administration of Justice
- Deontology and ethical principles in the practice of forensic social work in the family
- Specific models and techniques for the social expert
- Social harm as a theoretical model for forensic social work with
- Moral damage as an area of intervention for forensic social work in the family
