Project Sanctioned by Indian National Science Academy
Yet another moment of pride and honour for SRM University-AP as the Indian National Science Academy (INSA, New Delhi) has sanctioned the Project “Nalanda and Bodhgaya: Understanding the past environment and transnational networks of the World Heritage Sites” to Dr Sharmishtha Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Department of History with a total outlay of Rs 5 lakhs. The co-investigator of the project is Dr Amrita Saha, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences and Amity Institute of Social Sciences, Amity University, Kolkata. The project is a pioneering initiative to make a comprehensive study of the landscape and environmental factors (physical and cultural) governing the Buddhist World Heritage Sites of Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar, India).
One of the first attempts in South Asia to understand monasteries and monastic complexes in relation to the landscape parameters, the work is distinctive in its scope and methodology because of its multidisciplinary approach involving archaeology, history, and environmental science. It aims for a holistic understanding of the sites and the region. Bodhgaya and Nalanda are two major Buddhist sites of India, the first marking the site of enlightenment of Gautama Buddha and the other being one of the oldest educational institutes of ancient times. Both the sites have been witnessing travellers, pilgrims, students, and religious preachers from the farthest corners of the world.
The foremost objective is to investigate the environmental settings (location, settlement geography, palaeolandscape features, layout of the monastic complexes, dietary patterns) of the monastic sites. This will be executed through the generation of a series of maps by superimposing colonial site plans, old maps, satellite imageries and corroboration of the same with extensive field surveys. The scientific study of the topographic delineations, soil samples, and artefactual evidences would be undertaken in the course of the study.
These attempts would generate a detailed study of the regular lives in the two monastic complexes along with the social and cultural ties established with the lesser-known monasteries and villages of the hinterland area. The project also seeks to explore the local, national, and transnational networks emanating from the sites, thus contributing to a global networking. The project is expected to create frameworks for extending the study to the other monastic complexes across South and Southeast Asia. In the long run the work will be published in the form of an annotated atlas featuring the monastic complexes, the wider geographical hinterland, and the transnational networks between India and Southeast Asia. This would serve as one of the noteworthy contributions that puts forth a holistic study of the cultural landscapes of the World Heritage Sites.
- Published in Departmental News, Faculty Achievements, History Current Happenings, History News, News, Research News
Decoding the problematic narratives in mainstream Queer cinema
The trajectory of trans representation in cinema is essentially critical since the predominant viewers belong to the heteronormative cisgender public. Visual media played a massive role in inculcating the idea of gender identity into the preconditioned entity of heteronormativity. The skill and sympathy of the filmmaker in handling trans issues hold a significant chunk of this representational politics.
The popular media in Kerala has reconfigured its space to include people with gender non-conforming identities and sexual orientation as a matter of concern in contemporary times. However, there are times when the filmmakers fail to understand the assignment. The new research chapter of Assistant Professor Dr Anu Kuriakose, Department of English, articulates the discomfort of seeing the misrepresentation of transgender identity in mainstream cinema. The chapter titled The Hetero- Normalisation of Transgender Identity: A Critique on Njan Marykkutty was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishers, UK (WoS) and belongs to the book Theory and the Transformative Humanities.
Problems that face the humanities discipline today have sparked an intense debate across the globe. The Theory of the transformative humanities envisions a domain of inquiry that attempts to transform cultures, individuals, and society. This volume explores different theoretical perspectives and practical orientations through which to perceive, innovate and transform the world in which we live. It opens diverse fields of thinking and research. It offers a broader perspective on how a critical-literary approach could be deployed in addressing the multidimensional and evolutionary nature of the humanities in a way that caters to the needs of the present. A compilation of scholarly essays on topics as diverse as post-millennial theory, trans-humanities, posthumanism, interdisciplinarity, psychoanalysis, and film studies, the book provides an enabling platform for intellectuals, research scholars, and experts in the humanities to tap into the transformative potential of the field.
This chapter critically examines the representational politics of the central transgender character Marykkutty in the 2018 Malayalam film Njan Marykutty. The release of this film marked an unprecedented debate on transgender identity in Kerala’s public sphere, more specifically, about transwomen’s visibility in the public sphere. This is quite significant, as it has been a moment of the culmination of various activist, academic, and governmental interventions in the state attempt to mainstream the trans identity from the margins of society. She has used visual and thematic analysis as a method to critically look at the visualization of a trans feminine body in this film. The chapter analyses the trans identity in terms of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, Julia Kristeva’s ‘abject,’ and Jacques Lacan’s notion of ‘object petit a’ or object of desire. It is argued that the excess in normalisation of the transgender body ironically endorses the heterosexual values of the binary gender performance when the surgically re-appropriated body is celebrated, clapped on the big screen, and sensationalised as an achievement when the central character themselves voices, “I am not a transgender, I am a transsexual.”
Heteronormativity safeguards the normalisation of heterosexuality through myriad practices so as to concrete the notion of a legitimate form of sexuality. Dr Anu Kuriakose attempts to denaturalise and denormalise the excessive lauding of heterosexuality in cinema to open up a less distorted corridor to queer desires and identity.
- Published in Departmental News, English Current Happenings, English news, News, Research News
SRM AP and AIIMS Mangalagiri share healthcare research of mutual interest
AIIMS Mangalagiri, one of the premier healthcare institutes of National importance, has agreed in principle to collaborate with SRM University-AP to carry out joint research programs of mutual interest in health care. Doctors from AIIMS Mangalagiri and faculty members of SRM University-AP had a joint meeting held at AIIMS Mangalagiri on Wednesday evening.
Pro Vice Chancellor of SRM University-AP, Prof D Narayana Rao, expressed the significance of AIIMS Mangalagiri’s collaboration in the proposed research projects, outreach programmes, and patent inventions undertaken by SRM university-AP during the last three years. Dr C H Lakshmi Rajyam, Medical Officer of SRM University-AP, requested the support of AIIMS-Mangalagiri to provide medical and health services to the university faculty, staff and students.
Director of AIIMS Mangalagiri, Dr Mukesh Tripathi, agreed in principle to these proposals. He opined that AIIMS would visit SRM University-AP on July 26, 2022, and expressed his interest in inking an MoU. Dr K A Sunita, Prof G S Vinod Kumar, Prof Prakash Jadhav, Dr S Mannathan, Dr Pradyut Kumar Sanki and other faculty from SRM University-AP gave a PowerPoint presentation about the proposed research projects. Dr Mukesh Tripathi, Dr Joy A Ghoshal, Dr Deepti, and Dr Vamsi Prabhrutlu of AIIMS Mangalagiri took part in the meeting.
- Published in Collaborations, News
SRM University-AP collaborates with Taurean Surgical
Introducing students to cutting-edge technologies and acquainting them with the latest industry practices help encourage their competitive skills. SRM University-AP has inked an MoU with Taurean Surgical in July 2022 for a promising collaboration. Taurean Surgical has solid expertise in surgical robots, next-generation visualisation for surgical robots, ergonomic surgical robot platforms, augmented reality, and precision image guidance systems. Free webinars, summer internships, skill-building projects, on-campus internships, and job offers are the key highlights of this collaboration.
SRM University-AP students can attend free webinars on Surgical Robot Technology and similar topics. Taurean Surgical offers full-time summer internships on industry-oriented projects to BTech and MTech programmes students. They also propose a series of skill-building projects based on industry works. Real-life industry problems are the foundation of the projects. These projects target students who pursue BTech and MTech degrees. They will work under the combined guidance of the faculty of SRM university-AP and the experienced professionals of Taurean Surgical.
On-campus internships are another attraction of this collaboration. This will benefit the students who excel in their project performance. The company may consider giving job offers to the brightest students by evaluating their project performance. They are also open to research collaborations with the faculty of SRM University-AP from any department based on the common topics of interest.