Würzburg Academics in India – Autumn 2015

India remains one of the main partner countries of the Institute for Political Science and Sociology - both in teaching and in research. The members of the IPS India Forum as well as three students from our Bachelor’s programme Political and Social Studies were traveling to India in September and October 2015. The program included participation in conferences, guest lectures and interviews, background discussions and literature for doctoral and bachelor theses.

Prof. Dr. Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet, PD Dr. Michael Becker, Dr. Matthias Gsänger, Philipp Gieg und Timo Lowinger participated in the first conference of the new M.S Merian – R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies ‘Metamorphoses of the Political’ (ICAS:MP), which is currently being established in New Delhi. Only a few days earlier, in the final communiqué of the German-Indian government consultations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to the new center as the "heart for ambitious research projects" and "visible platform for exchanges between eminent scientists from both countries". An official Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian and the German side is expected to be signed in the following months.

Lukas Belser, Dr. Matthias Gsänger, Stefanie Bachtin, Philipp Gieg, Timo Lowinger, Jean Christoph Seipel, Prof. Dr. Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet, Prof. Girish N. Jha, Prof. Dr. Ummu Salma Bava, Dr. Barbara Lotz, Mrs. Jha, Dr. Stephan Schröder-Köhne, PD Dr. Michael Becker, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kreft

The IPS India Forum, the University of Würzburg's Centre for Modern India Studies and its Indian partners involved in ICAS:MP mainly in the module "Performing Gender", which deals with issues such as gender equality from the perspective of political theory and international relations, Gender Performativity in literature and media as well as the impact of educational programs employed on gender equality. During the planning meeting at the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi the agenda of the module has been set out and the themes of the upcoming workshops and conferences were set, which will bring the center to life in 2016.

Timo Lowinger, Philipp Gieg, Prof. Dr. Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet, Dr. Matthias Gsänger, PD Dr. Michael Becker during the ICAS:MP conference at the Institute of Economic Growth

Planning Meetings of the module „Performing Gender“ at the Institute of Economic Growth

Besides attending the ICAS:MP conference, Prof. Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet delivered a guest lecture at the Department of Political Science of the Panjab University Chandigarh. Prof. Sanjay Chaturvedi, who has visited our institute in the summer semester, teaches there. In Chandigarh, as well as at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Prof. Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet held guest lectures on current challenges of the European Union and – together with Philip Gieg  – on the foundations of European integration.

Philipp Gieg and Timo Lowinger connected the conference participation with research stays for their theses. Philipp Gieg participated in the international conference "Africa's commitment with Japan, China, South Korea and India: A Comparative Perspective", which took place in New Delhi’s India International Centre, and presented his paper on "China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo".

Lecture by Prof. Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet at Panjab University Chandigarh

In addition, three students from our Bachelor’s programme Political and Social Studies are currently abroad: Stefanie Bachtin, Lukas Belser and Jean Christoph Seipel traveled to India to conduct interviews and background discussions and to use the libraries of our partner institutions for literature research. The three Bachelor students from Würzburg met with about fifteen scholars in order to obtain valuable information, comments and insights for their bachelor theses, which deal with the Indo-Chinese relations and India as an emerging power (more).

Parallel to the Würzburg delegation's stay in India, the new edition of the Institute’s WAPS Working Paper Series was published under the title “Exploring Emerging India. Eight Essays”. The authors of the essays are Indian guest professors who visited the IPS in past semesters, as well as professors and staff of the IPS and the University of Würzburg. They collectively compose a multifaceted and multidisciplinary picture of emerging India taking into account, for example, the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, economic development and democratization of India, foreign policy issues as well as secularism, religious and social factors. "Exploring Emerging India - Eight Essays" is available for free download.