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Dissent, Democracy, and the Crisis in the Indian University
03/09/2016 - 6:00PM
DIGITAL COMPUTING LAB, ROOM 1320
The Unit for Criticism in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies presents:
TEACH-IN
"Dissent, Democracy, and the Crisis in the Indian University"
A discussion of the massive protests roiling Indian universities for the last few weeks. These are the largest student protests in India in over 25 years. The protests erupted over the suspension and subsequent suicide of Dalit student, Rohith Vemula, at Hyderabad Central University, and over the arrests of Kanhaiya Kumar and five other students at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on charges of sedition for raising "anti-national" slogans. The targeting of academics and students by the state and the struggles over academic freedom and free speech inside and outside universities in Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Russia, and China raise important questions about dissent, nationalism, and education in a neoliberal moment.
In the days leading up to the teach-in, a group of UIUC graduate students will be organizing information sessions and setting up a dissent wall in the Main Quad (across from the Union).
INFORMATION SESSION AND DISSENT WALL
From March 2-March 9 (weekdays only), 11-4 pm, UIUC graduate students will hold information sessions and set up a dissent wall in the Main Quad (across from the Union) for those who want to write messages of solidarity. Please stop by to learn about the events and show support.
Featured speakers include:
Arvind Rajagopal (NYU), Tyler Williams (U of Chicago), Rohit De via Skype (Yale U), Siddharth Narrain via Skype (Lawyer, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi), and Tariq Ali (History).
UIUC Graduate students
Via Skype JNU students