Workshop @ Tripura University

Six-day Workshop

On

Secularism, Identity, and the Enlightenment: India and the West

at

Tripura University

18 – 23 December 2017

Overview

The overall purpose of the course is to explore the basic issues of secularism and identity and political rationality by situating them in a framework of basic concepts of the Enlightenment such as liberty and equality and in the institutional setting of a democratic society, such as India is committed to being. The idea is to explore the extent to which we need to reconfigure this framework of concepts and provide thereby a better sense of the intellectual foundations of the form of polity and society that was adopted as an ideal and a goal in the Indian constitution. Not only will there be a focus on the historical background of our political framework in the ideas and ideals that can be traced back to the European Enlightenment but also via a critical examination of some of the elements of that European inheritance, drawing from the work of Gandhi and others, we will seek to transform that framework within the context of India’s own historical past and present.

The expected participants will learn these topics through lectures and tutorials. In order to make the participants fully conversant with the topics, there will also be full-length discussions on the topic in question. Number of participants for the course will be limited to fifty (50).

Modules A: The basic issues of secularism and identity in a broader conceptual framework of Enlightenment.

B: The importance of the concept of secularism for a democratic society.

C: Critically examine the basic difference between India’s and West’s idea of Secularism and Identity.

D: Understand the historical background of West’s and India’s political framework.

E: Understand how Gandhi and others had challenged the West’s idea of Enlightenment.

Dates: December 18th to 23nd December, 2017, (6 days), Venue: Tripura University.

You Should Attend If…

1. Post graduate (MA, M.Phil. and Ph.D.) students

2. Faculty from reputed academic institutions

3. From the industry with similar interests

4. Independent researchers and Intellectuals with similar interests

Fees

The participation fees for taking the course is as follows:

Participants from abroad : US $300

Industry/ Research Organizations: Rs. 10,000/‐ Academic Institutions:

Teachers : All modules : Rs. 2000/‐ Students/Independent Researchers : All modules : Rs. 1000/‐ The above fees include all instructional materials, computer use for tutorials and internet facility at the host

institute during the course. The participants will have to take care of their travel, accommodation and food.

However, accommodation can be arranged for the participants at University Guest House on first‐cum‐first‐ serve basis strictly against payment. For any queries regarding registration or other practical information, please contact the course coordinator. Participants can register for the course on the link below:

The Faculty

Prof. Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy, Professor Committee of Global Thought, Columbia University. His area of interests includes Philosophical, Political & Cultural Studies, and Gandhian Studies. He has published a book in 1992 called Belief and Meaning(Blackwell) and another book published in 2006 called Self Knowledge and Resentment (Harvard University Press). He is presently working on a book on the relations between agency and practical reason.

His book Secularism, Identity, and Enchantment was published by Harvard University Press in 2014. He is

contracted to publish two small books in the very near future, one called What is a Muslim? (Princeton University Press) and another on Gandhi's philosophy, situating Gandhi's thought in seventeenth century dissent in England and Europe and more broadly within the Radical Enlightenment and the radical strand in the Romantic tradition (Columbia University Press). He is also the editor of the books Democratic Culture (2011), Who’s Afraid of Academic Freedom? – with Jonathan Cole (2014), Marx, Gandhi, and Modernity (2014), and Beyond the Secular West (2016).

Dr. Nishikant Kolge, is currently Assistant Professor in Department of History, Tripura University. He is the author of Gandhi against Caste (New Delhi: OUP), 2017. He has been Sabarmait fellow at The Sabarmati Ashram Preservation andMemorial Trust (SAPMT), Ahmedabad (2017).

Registration Guidelines (Step-by-Step):

1. First, ‘web register’ at GIAN ‘Courses Registration Portal’: https://goo.gl/AhcCyS. If you’re already registered, skip this step.

2. Then, log in, click ‘Course Registration’ tab on the GIAN Portal, and ‘check box’ to select this course (Secularism, Identity, and the Enlightenment: India and the West) from the list. Click ‘save’ to register, and ‘Confirm Course(s)’ to confirm.

3. Now, pay the requisite Course Fee online in favour of the Finance Officer, Tripura University , A/C No: 35660996430, IFSC Code: SBIN0010495, MICR Code: 799002524. Keep the payment info (transaction # & date) handy. You’ll need this during the next step. Also, please retain the receipt for on-spot submission.

4. Next, fill out the form here: https://goo.gl/forms/kt1hiD8CMkFJpB122 , and click ‘submit’. This is for the Course Coordinator’s record. Now, await the Course Coordinator’s confirmation.

P.S. Registering on the GIAN portal does not guarantee participation in the course. Please do not confuse with web registration with course registration. You might have been ‘shortlisted’ after paying the 500/-, but your selection is subject to paying the requisite course fee to Tripura University. For successful enrolment, make sure you’ve made both the payments. Number of participants for the course is limited to 50, and the registration will be open till the seats are filled. For queries and clarifications, write to the Course Coordinator at:

kolge270477@gmail.com; nishikantkolge@tripurauniv.in