The Spirit of Hellas: Landmarks in History, Language, Literature and Culture of the Greeks

The School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University,  New Delhi

 from the 13^th up to the 17th November 2007

Objective:
The objective of the proposed Workshop is to create an awareness among young researchers and scholars about the civilization which is often remarked as “Greek Miracle”. The focus will be on explaining the development of Greek civilization in its various aspects, its strengths and weaknesses, materially, socially, politically, culturally. Many scholars may thereby be tempted and initiated to serious research into Classical Greek Culture; which is a great desideratum in face of the fact that a Centre of Greek Studies, which is pride of any European academic institution, is completely absent in South Asia. India has too long been the object of historical research by western scholars; it is now time for the Indians to turn their attention to the Greek World, to be the authors of researches on the so-called classical civilizations. The present Workshop is directed towards this goal.

Theme and Sub-themes:
The proposed theme for the Workshop is divided into two parts; the first shall cover the aspects of history, language, literature and culture of the Greeks, while the second part shall deal with the comparative analysis of Indian and Greek civilization.

Part One:
(i)                Land and the People
(ii)               The World of Homer
(iii)              Social division and gender relations
(iv)              Greeks and the barbarians
(v)               Athenian democracy
(vi)              Rise and decline of the Polis
(vii)             Language and Literature
(viii)           Philosophical and Scientific Concepts
(ix)             Myth, religion and rituals
(x)              Art and aesthetics
(xi)              Economy
(xii)             Byzantium
(xiii)           Heritage of the Greeks
(xiv)           Greece: Past and Present

Part Two
(i)                  Perception of India in Greek Writings
(ii)                Yavanas in ancient Indian literature and inscriptions
(iii)               Comparative philology: Greek and Sanskrit
(iv)              Comparative mythology
(v)                Greek and Indian epic literature
(vi)              Dramatic concepts: Indian and Greek
(vii)             Interaction between Art and Architecture
(viii)           Greek and Indian philosophical and scientific understanding
(ix)              Political institutions: Indian and Greek
(x)                Greece in Modern European Literature and Thought

Participation:
The eligibility to join the Workshop is restricted to University and College teachers and registered research scholars, from Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences. There shall be an intake of a maximum of 30 participants. The eligibility conditions may be relaxed by the Organizers in case of seats falling vacant.

Each participant shall be provided local hospitality/daily allowance and travel allowance as per the rules of the University.

Programme:
The Workshop shall comprise of 24 Lectures for five consecutive days from 13th to 17th November 2007. The participants will be required to present or submit a paper at the conclusion of the Workshop. Certificates will be awarded on successful completion of the Course.

List of Speakers:

Name
Topic
1. Prof. Jean Marie Lafont
The Greek presentation in Afghanistan  and Northern India
2. Prof. D.N. Tripathi
India and Greece : Pre and proto historic connection
3. Prof. R.N. Misra
Greek and Indian Art : Mathura and Gandhar
4. Dr. Naman P. Ahuja
Dionysus in Indian Art
5. Prof. G.C. Tripathi
India and Greece : Early Philosophical understanding
6. Dr. Ishrat Alam
Influence of Greek Science on India
7. Dr. A.J. Khan
Greek Medical Science and India
8. Prof. Om Prakash
Political Institution : India and Greece
9. Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya
Greek and Indian Historiography
10. Prof. A.K. Sinha
Idea of History in India and Greece
11. Prof. Abhay Kumar Singh
Indo-Greeks : A Reappraisal
12. Dr. Prashant Srivastava
Greek Coins
13. Prof. R.P. Singh
Dialogue Dialectic and Reconstruction: Socrates, Kant, Hegel, and Derrida
14. Ranvir Chakrabarti
India and Graeco Roman Word : Trade Connections
15. Prof. Bharat Gupt
Dramatic Parallels in India and Greece
16. Prof. Prem Singh
Indo-European Background of Greek and Sanskrit Lanuage
17. Prof. Kapil Kapoor
Language and Literature in Greek Thought
18. Prof. Anil Bhatti
Greek Fascination in Modern European Literature
19. Prof. U.P. Arora
Greek Civilization : A Critique
Ancient India and Greece : On Overview
20. Prof. Varyam Singh