Professor Vivek Kumar (Jawaharlal Nehru University) will deliver the Inaugural Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Lecture at York on 15 November 2017. The event at York is part of a series of lectures across Canada organized by the Dr Ambedkar International Mission (AIM) Canada. At York, the lecture is presented by the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) with support from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.
The AIM established the Memorial Lecture to commemorate the multifaceted contributions of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an Indian scholar, jurist and activist who is an iconic figure in the history of anti-caste struggles.
“We have a history of commemorating Ambedkar’s work at York,” said Abidin Kusno, YCAR Director. “In addition to research, teaching and events featuring Ambedkar’s work at York, we also have a bust of Ambedkar in Scott Library, which was installed in 2015 to honour his contributions to social justice and education.”
In his talk at York, Professor Kumar will decode ideas of modernity and nation building in Ambedkar’s work and highlight why his idea of self-representation is important in the process of nation building. He will trace the evolution of different shades of movements launched by Ambedkar, his role in the making of the Indian Constitution and his image as a global icon.
Vivek Kumar is Professor of Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His latest book is Caste and Democracy in India: A Perspective from Below. Professor Kumar was a Nehru-Fulbright Teachers Fellow at the Department of Sociology, Columbia University. He was also a visiting faculty at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University in Berlin.
All are welcome. For more information visit https://yorku.ca/research/ycar/event/ambedkarlecture