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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260304T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260304T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T162407Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T104448Z
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SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Yuki Russell - Conservation Practices in Japan
DESCRIPTION:This event is hosted by The Courtauld Institute of Art. For details\, please see this page. \nThis event is part of the Japanese Studies series organised in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and The Courtauld Institute of Art.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-yuki-russell-conservation-practices-in-japan/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/japanese-prints7.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260226T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260226T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T161455Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T155316Z
UID:24080-1772130600-1772136000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Paul Wordsworth - Pathways\, Pastoralism\, and Power: What next with understanding historical trade and travel in Central Asia?
DESCRIPTION:The publication of Moving in the Margins: Desert Travel and Power in Medieval Central Asia was intended as a case study to demonstrate some of the complexity inherent in the ways people navigated Central Asian landscapes in the past. Summarised simply\, such a detailed view of travel and movement highlights how erroneous a model of timeless trans-continental Silk Road trade really is\, and the degree to which historical Eurasian connections relied on highly dynamic and volatile small-scale networks. Critiques of Silk Roads/Routes are by now very common\, and recent efforts to communicate Central Asian history and archaeology across the long first millennium CE have taken a more nuanced and enlightened view\, the recent British Museum exhibition being an excellent case in point. The question remains\, however\, in terms of research\, how do we reconcile the popular (and lucrative) Silk Road narrative and the need to better understand real connections of past peoples in the region? Beyond individual case study regions and periods\, how can we move towards a more comprehensive appreciation of the link between economic\, political\, and cultural impact of trade at multiple scales? \nThis brief talk presents some of the issues which arose through the study of the archaeology of the Karakum Desert\, Turkmenistan\, in the preparation of Moving in the Margins. Reviewing the multiple strands of evidence covered in the volume: architecture\, material culture\, and landscapes\, it is possible to scope out alternative views of pathways and routes to those canonised through texts and tradition. In doing so I hope to set an agenda for future research into historical connectivity\, arguing for the importance of investigating the changing roles of connected communities through time. \nPaul Wordsworth \n  \nFree and open to all. No registration needed. Email mb@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link to join online.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/paul-wordsworth/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260219T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260219T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T161331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T114650Z
UID:23050-1771524000-1771531200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Susan Whitfield - Pilgrimage from Nara to Norwich
DESCRIPTION:This event is hosted by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. For more information\, please visit this page: https://www.sainsbury-institute.org/events/pilgrimage-from-nara-to-norwich/ 
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-susan-whitfield-nara-on-the-silk-road/
LOCATION:SISJAC (Online)\, The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures\, Norwich\, NR1 4DH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T161212Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T153122Z
UID:24077-1770921000-1770926400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Joy Hendry - Doing Field Research in Japan: A Long View
DESCRIPTION:Joy Hendry last year clocked up 50 years since she first travelled to Japan for a year’s field research in her subject of social anthropology. The methods and practice have changed a lot since that time\, but essentially the aims are the same\, namely to understand and explain Japanese ways of thinking and behaving in a variety of contexts. Joy’s talk will lay out these aims in more detail and explain their importance for anyone with an interest in Japan\, illustrating the explanations with examples of her own long-term research over the period in rural Kyushu and seaside Chiba prefecture\, and shorter observations elsewhere. She will also take a glance at the future of the subject\, now very popular in Japan\, both with international scholars and local ones. \n  \nJoy Hendry is professor emerita of Oxford Brookes University\, where she taught for 30 years.She has published 11 books and many articles\, founded the Europe Japan Research Centre and the Japan Anthropology Workshop\, and was awarded an Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Emperor in 2017. The 6th edition of her textbook Understanding Japanese Society has just come out\, co-authored with Emma Cook who teaches in Japan.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-joy-hendry-tbc-doing-field-research-in-japan-a-long-view/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Hendry.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260209T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260209T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T161030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T122143Z
UID:24378-1770661800-1770669000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Agus Suwignyo - Decolonizing Catholicism in Indonesia: Environmental Education as a Local Movement\, 1950–1990s
DESCRIPTION:This presentation will examine the environmental discourses and activism of the Indonesian Catholic community from the 1950s to 1990s. The community’s interest in environmental issues ranged from the impact of wild animal hunting and disasters such as floods and landslides\, to the threats that arose from industrialisation and the effects of deforestation\, industrial land use\, and household waste. Finally\, this presentation will propose that Indonesian Catholics’ involvement in environmental concerns was an emergent form of “Indonesianization\,” situated in the realities of Indonesia. \n  \nAgus Suwignyo is a Professor in the History of Education in the History Department\, Faculty of Cultural Sciences\, Gadjah Mada University\, Yogyakarta\, Indonesia. He received his doctorate degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2012\, and completed post-doctoral projects in Kyoto University (Japan\, 2014)\, Freiburg University (Germany\, 2014-15)\, the University of Agder (Norway\, 2016)\, and the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands\, 2019-22). His research interests include social and education history focusing on knowledge production\, decolonisation\, citizenship and state formation. His recent publications include “Higher Education as an Instrument of Decolonisation: The Community Service Programme in Indonesia 1950–1969\,” Asian Studies Review 48(3)\, 2024\, 447–466. \n  \nSimone Gigliotti is a Reader in Holocaust Studies at Royal Holloway\, University of London. While she publishes mainly in the field of Holocaust studies\, she maintains active interests in the history and geography of comparative genocide. She is especially interested in the survival and regeneration of indigenous communities amid industrialisation\, the environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change\, and resource plunder.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/agus-suwignyo-decolonizing-catholicism-in-indonesia-environmental-education-as-a-local-movement-1950-1990s/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260203T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260203T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T160713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T160713Z
UID:24075-1770143400-1770150600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Halle O'Neal - The Weight of Ephemeral Things: Paper\, Memory\, and Women Makers in Medieval Japan
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-halle-oneal-the-weight-of-ephemeral-things-paper-memory-and-women-makers-in-medieval-japan/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260122T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260122T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T160300Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260113T093710Z
UID:24072-1769106600-1769112000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Bayly Prize Ceremony
DESCRIPTION:The evening will feature presentations from the winners of the 2024 Bayly Prize\, whose work collectively offers a rich and multifaceted view of modern Chinese history – from the occult and visual culture to political science. Join us as the 2024 prize winners take the stage to present their remarkable work in the prize-giving ceremony! \n~~~~~ \nFirst Prize – awarded to Dr Luis Junqueira\, University of Cambridge for his thesis: The Science of the Spirit: Psychical Research\, Healthcare and the Revival of the Occult in a Modernising China\, 1900–1949 \n \nDr Luis Junqueira is currently a D. Kim Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS)\, University of Cambridge\, where he is revising his PhD thesis for publication as a monograph\, The Science of the Spirit: Psychical Research\, Medicine and the Occult in Chinese Modernity. The manuscript is under review with the Cambridge University Press book series ‘Science in History’. Last month\, his first edited volume\, Therapy\, Spirituality\, and East Asian Imaginaries\, was published by Amsterdam University Press. \nIn the coming months\, he will continue at HPS under a three-year Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship\, alongside a new appointment as Research Fellow at Clare Hall\, Cambridge. His next book project\, Healing through the Mind: The Rise of Mind-Cure Movements in Modern East Asia\, explores how laypeople in China and Japan reinvented their own traditions of self-cultivation by engaging with ‘mind-cure’: various popular\, early 20th-century global movements championing self-care and mental healing. \n~~~~~ \nSecond Prize – awarded to Dr Xiaoqing Wang\, University of Edinburgh for her thesis: Bodyscapes of Modernity: A Post-Critical Sociology of Art and the body in republican China (1912-1937) \n \nXiaoqing Wang obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2024. She currently delivers courses on modern Chinese history and visual culture at the University of Nottingham\, Ningbo\, China. A primary research project that she is currently undertaking builds on the findings of her doctoral research and continues to explore the paradoxical nature of Chinese modernity and subsequent developments in the contemporary period. A paper in progress examines the marginalisation of art in Chinese knowledge and its relationship to the process of rationalisation during the socialist era. Additionally\, she is engaged in research exploring the contemporary transformation of aesthetics and visuality. Her recent papers examine the aestheticisation of cheerful faces of marginalised groups in contemporary Chinese visual culture\, and the particularities of aesthetic experience in immersive exhibitions. \n~~~~~ \nThird Prize – awarded to Dr Junda Lu\, School of Oriental and African Studies\, for his thesis: The State as the Celestial: Roots of Statism in Modern China\, 1820-1893 \n \nDr. Lu is currently building upon his PhD thesis by  currently preparing for a new research project that further develops one aspect of his opening chapters by delving into the underlying logic of intellectual transformations within Confucian scholarship from the 1780s to the 1820s. This project can be integrated with the former part of his thesis for the publication of a more well-rounded book\, which historicizes the intellectual foundations of the modern Chinese state and re-examines ideas underlying Chinese statism apart from both the nationalist narrative of China as a unified nation and the essentialist understanding of the authoritarian character in Confucian political thinking. In this way\, he wishes to situate the increasingly aggressive behavior of China’s current regime within a larger historical context to debunk the teleology in modern Chinese history wielded by political authority\, which would help reveal a wider range of possibilities for multi-disciplinary research on China. \n~~~~~ \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/bayly-prize-award-2/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260108T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260108T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20251111T125939Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260102T151345Z
UID:24069-1767897000-1767902400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Dr Christopher Harding - Barbarians: The First Century of Encounter Between Japan and Europe
DESCRIPTION:In this lecture\, historian and broadcaster Christopher Harding explores the first 100 years of encounter between Japan and Europe\, beginning in the mid-1500s. What led each side to regard the other as ‘barbarians’ – and how did the relationship evolve from there? \nChristopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. His books include Japan Story: In Search of a Nation\, 1850 to the Present. You can also find him on Substack and Instagram: ‘History with Chris Harding’. \n\nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD. To join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-dr-christopher-harding-barbarians-the-first-century-of-encounter-between-japan-and-europe/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251211T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251211T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250814T130110Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T124543Z
UID:22172-1765477800-1765485000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Prof Kikuko Hirafuji - Japanese Mythology Across Cultures:  Gods\, Encounters\, and Global Views
DESCRIPTION:This lecture introduces the myths and gods of Japan in a cross-cultural perspective. It will explore how Japanese mythology has been compared with traditions from other regions\, how it was first presented in Britain\, and how Japanese deities have been represented and reinterpreted over time. Finally\, the talk will consider how these gods are understood in the contemporary world\, showing the continuing significance of Japanese mythology in a global context. \n  \n \n  \nKikuko Hirafuji is Professor of Shinto Studies at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and a Visiting Scholar at SOAS\, University of London. She specializes in Japanese mythology and religious culture\, exploring how myths have been reinterpreted across history\, art\, and contemporary popular culture.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-kikuko-hirafuji/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251204T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251204T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250814T130039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T124219Z
UID:22170-1764873000-1764880200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr. Sandhya Fuchs - Fragile Hope: Seeking Justice for Hate Crimes in India (Busuttil Prize Winner Lecture)
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the award of the Busuttil Prize for human rights to Dr Sandhya Fuchs for her book Fragile Hope: Seeking Justice for Hate Crimes in India. \n  \n \n  \nSandhya Fuchs is a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Bristol. Previously\, she was an Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam and a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. She holds a PhD in social anthropology from the LSE\, a MPhil degree in social anthropology from the University of Oxford\, and a BA in Anthropology and Philosophy from Colby College\, USA. Sandhya specializes in legal anthropology\, and her work explores the relationship between legal institutions\, histories of marginalization\, and culturally embedded concepts of truth\, violence\, hope and justice in India. Sandhya’s first book entitled “Fragile Hope: Seeking Justice for Hate Crimes in India\,” analyses the social life of India’s only hate crime law: the 1989 Scheduled Castes /Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA). Her recent research explores what historical narratives\, and temporal models Indian Supreme Court Justices and advocates mobilize when evaluating hate speech accusations.  Sandhya’s research has been published in a variety of journals\, such as the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute\, Social and Legal Studies\, and Contemporary South Asia.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-sandhya-fuchs-busuttil-prize-lecture/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251127T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251127T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250812T161938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T151616Z
UID:22167-1764268200-1764275400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Neil Price - The Vikings and Asia: New Frontiers of the Norse Diaspora
DESCRIPTION:Asia is not a region readily associated with the Vikings\, the generic (and somewhat problematic) term for the Scandinavians of the period c.750-1050 CE. While it has long been known that the Norse maintained extensive trading links\, and physical presence\, in many regions of Western and Central Asia\, their activities further east and south have hitherto remained largely unexplored. This is puzzling\, in that many thousands of imported Asian objects have been excavated from burials and settlements in Scandinavia\, with origins as far east as India\, Pakistan\, and Tang China. These have their counterparts in Nordic material found in Asia\, such as Baltic amber from elite tombs in China and Korea. Moreover\, textual records of the Abbasid Caliphate’s intelligence service specifically describe Norse traders as travelling to East Asia by land and sea. Shipwreck discoveries\, such as the Belitung and Phanom Surin vessels\, demonstrate the maritime realities of this milieu\, linking the so-called Silk Roads with the Norse networks in Western Asia. This talk\, from the new national Swedish Centre of Excellence for The World in the Viking Age\, will explore this new frontier of the Norse diaspora. \nMap showing the Silk Roads and the source of finds from Viking graves. Credit: Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson.\nNeil Price is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala in Sweden\, where he also leads the national Centre of Excellence for the World in the Viking Age. Educated at UCL\, York\, and Uppsala\, he previously taught at Aberdeen\, Stockholm\, and Oslo universities. A leading specialist in Norse history and traditional religions\, with further interests in the archaeology of the Asia-Pacific\, his research has taken him to more than 50 countries. Neil’s publications have appeared in 22 languages\, and include Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings\, a Times and Sunday Times ‘History Book of the Year.’ He is also a frequent contributor to TV and film\, including as historical consultant for The Northman movie.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-neil-price-the-vikings-and-asia-new-frontiers-of-the-norse-diaspora/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250811T161713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T151554Z
UID:22164-1763663400-1763670600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Vayu Naidu - The Evergreen Epic:  Ramayana as Forest Literature and its Reinventions
DESCRIPTION:Ramayana was told and sung in regional dialects and languages by itinerant storytellers travelling across India. Festivals created infrastructures for pageants\,  at rituals in temples and in  homes for celebrating Diwali\, and this story spread with interpolations. It also travelled across the seas with tradesmen and craftsmen across to south east Asia. Ramayana offers a complex matrix of statecraft\, relationships between parents\, siblings\, men and women through its predominantly linear narrative. More than any other epic\, the relationship between humans\, animals\, and plants in the forest is very marked in this exploration of Ramayana. It is the epic that travelled across land and sea\, as metaphor and with migrants. The Living Legend  draws  every being is connected\, sustaining the equilibrium of love as life between conflicting forces. \nDr Vayu Naidu has followed the different tellings of Ramayana in rural and urban location. Her transposition of the epic as Storytelling in English for theatre audiences began in 1988\, and her research methods experiment with Indian aesthetics and British Contemporary performance with the AHRC. She has completed more than 2000 performances of telling Ramayana. Sita’s Ascent is the sequel to this\, also published by Penguin. The Sari of Surya Vilas (Speaking Tiger books/Affirm Press: India – Australia) features the importance of oral tales in pre-independent India. Manimekalai is a new composition that the Chettinad Heritage Festival commissioned her to compose and perform in 2025\, featuring the Sangam Tamil literary epic. \nThis evening she will talk on her discovery of what makes the forest so significant in the epic and how oral traditions are the swiftest technology of keeping the philosophy alive and why it means so much now. Combining performance practice with a source from the Yoga Vasistha Sara for sadhana on Advaita philosophy\, The Living Legend is part of the oral tradition about the flora and the flaming spirit of this epic. It endeavours to bridge the original context of an epic age with the contemporary listener’s daily reality in the 21st century. \nShe was Founder and Artistic Director of Vayu Naidu Intercultural Storytelling Theatre funded by Arts Council England. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow and an Editorial Member of Writers Mosaic. She is Professor of Practice at SOAS. She teaches Indian Theatre Influences at RADA. On the Advisory Committee of the Chelsea Physic Garden\, and as a volunteer\, her research on plant life is owed to her work there. www.vayunaidu.com. As a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society\, this is her first talk. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-vayu-naidu-the-evergreen-epic-ramayana-as-forest-literature-and-its-reinventions/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T190000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250811T161850Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251114T104420Z
UID:24055-1763661600-1763665200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Dr Michelle Damian – Networks of Violence and Trade: Premodern Piracy in Japanese Waters
DESCRIPTION:Third Thursday lecture – Sainsbury Institute\n\n\nThursday 20 November\, 2025\n6:00pm GMT – 7:00pm GMT\nOnline lecture via Zoom.\n50 min lecture followed by Q&A.\nFree and open to all\, booking essential.\nTo check your time zone conversion if you are joining from outside the UK\, click here. \nIf you have limited access to the internet but would still like to view the lecture\, please email sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org or call us on +44 (0) 1603 597507 to book to attend our livestream from 64 The Close.  \nSpeaker\nDr Michelle Damian (Associate Professor of History\, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) \nAbout the Talk\nPiracy was a constant\, looming threat in premodern Japan. Yet the role of the “pirates” themselves shifted depending upon who was being impacted by their actions. For some\, they were threatening figures\, intimidating travelers and disrupting trade. To others\, they functioned more as “sea lords\,” mimicking terrestrial daimyō (samurai lords) in their control of sea lanes instead of land routes.  In nearly every case\, however\, piratical activities demanded some kind of response from central authorities. Through these actions and reactions we can see the development of different types of networks in premodern Japan. The threat of piracy resulted in forces being mobilized against them\, or in strategies to actively work with them\, or sometimes simply complying with them in order to avoid rousing their ire. From the tenth-century royal court’s mobilization of forces to combat the “first pirate\,” Fujiwara no Sumitomo\, to the fifteenth-century Murakami pirate group’s impact on domestic trade patterns\, this presentation will consider written and archaeological evidence to explore those networks of violence and trade. \nAbout the Speaker\nMichelle Damian is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She specializes in Japanese maritime history and archaeology\, and has authored chapters in the volumes Land\, Power and the Sacred: The Estate System in Medieval Japan (University of Hawaii Press) and Historical and Archaeological Perspectives on Early Modern Colonialism in Asia-Pacific (University of Florida Press)\, among other publications. Michelle has worked and studied in Japan for over nine years. Her current research focuses on 14th– to 16th– century Japanese maritime-based trade networks\, tracing the movements of both people and commodities in the Seto Inland Sea region. \nImage: The swirling currents offshore Taizaki Island\, Ehime Prefecture\, part of the stronghold of the Nōshima Murakami pirates. Photo by Michelle Damian\, 2013. \nRegister here
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-dr-michelle-damian-networks-of-violence-and-trade-premodern-piracy-in-japanese-waters-online-lecture/
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251118T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251118T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250811T160011Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T110625Z
UID:23978-1763490600-1763497800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Suranjan Das - Transnational Sites of Indian Nationalism: The Cambridge and Oxford Majlis in Anti-Colonial Politics
DESCRIPTION:The paper presents the first outcome of a collaborative research project to reframe Indian nationalist politics as a transnational formation by foregrounding the under-studied anti-colonial engagements of Indian students in colonial Britain. Taking the Cambridge and Oxford Majlis as twin case studies\, the lecture draws on archival sources and activists’ reminiscences to trace the transformation of Cambridge and Oxford Majlis from debating and social clubs into platforms for Indian nationalism and progressive internationalism—forging solidarities among Indian students and cultivating networks with pro-Indian forces within and beyond the United Kingdom. Notably\, many Majlis activists later assumed leadership roles in postcolonial South Asian politics. By centring student politics\, the paper contributes to debates on the emergence of a global anti-colonial public sphere. \n  \nDr. Suranjan Das\, currently the Vice-Chancellor\, Adamas University\, Kolkata\, was earlier Vice-Chancellor of two front-ranking public universities of India: the Calcutta University and Jadavpur University\, Kolkata. \n  \nDr. Sunrita Dhar-Bhattacharjee is Associate Professor\, Anglia Ruskin University\, UK. \n  \nDr. Suvajit Halder is Assistant Professor\, Panchakot Mahavidyalay\, West Bengal\, India. \n 
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-suranjan-das-transnational-sites-of-indian-nationalism-the-cambridge-and-oxford-majlis-in-anti-colonial-politics/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251113T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251113T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250810T160926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251110T151652Z
UID:22161-1763058600-1763065800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Joe Cribb\, Robert Bracey and Marzbeen Jila - The Third Side of the Coin
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a discussion on Marg’s recent volumes\, The Third Side of the Coin\, with Joe Cribb\, Robert Bracey and Marzbeen Jila\, moderated by Naman P. Ahuja. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/the-third-side-of-the-coin-book-launch-with-joe-cribb-robert-bracey-and-shailendra-bhandare-moderated-by-naman-p-ahuja/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251107T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251107T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250809T160526Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T151512Z
UID:22159-1762540200-1762547400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Bashar Tabbah - Shiro 城: A Photographic Exploration of Japanese Castles
DESCRIPTION:Bashar Tabbah is a Levantine-English photographer and author based out of Amman\, Jordan. His work primarily focuses on cultural and religious heritage\, particularly within the Islamic and Mediterranean worlds.  With over 600 sites documented globally\, as well as several books published on Jordan and Palestine\, Bashar continues his work while also sharing his experiences and photography through talks\, exhibitions and publications. \nOver the past two years Bashar has been actively documenting Japan’s incredible feudal era strongholds with the intent to publish a book on the subject in the near future\, in this lecture he takes us on a visual tour of these castles. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/bashar-tabbah-shiro-%e5%9f%8e-a-photographic-exploration-of-japanese-castles/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251030T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251030T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250808T160320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T151321Z
UID:22157-1761849000-1761856200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof. Peter Clift - Societal Development in Asia and its links to Evolving Climate and Rivers
DESCRIPTION:The strength of the Asian monsoon has varied over timescales spanning millions to thousands of years and even decades. Climate records stored in lakes\, caves and marine sediments now allow its reconstruction with unprecedented precision. Since around 10\,000 years ago changes in monsoon intensity have impacted the development and then demise of civilisations across Asia especially those located on the edge of the monsoon system. The Indus Valley Civilization is a good example of a culture that developed when the monsoon was stronger\, then responded to the slowly drying climate before eventually dissipating\, leading to the abandonment of their cities. It is largely through agriculture that the monsoon control is recognised. Other examples of societal crises brought on by climate change include Angkor Wat but also the Ming and Song dynasties in China. Strong monsoons appear to have allowed the Mongol conquest of Eurasia in the 13th century. Future warming of the climate is expected to result in stronger monsoons but also more stormy conditions which are also not connected to productive agriculture. Some areas like northern China are predicted to become drier. The monsoons furthermore fuel the large rivers of Asia which have been critical to the development of major urban centres across the continent in the historical and prehistorical past. Climate changes also affecting the track of typhoons in the Western Pacific with fewer going into the South China Sea and towards Vietnam and more moving to the north-east towards central China and Japan. The future prosperity of Asia is also threatened by rising sea levels\, particularly in southeast Asia and eastern China. Understanding how people adjusted to claim a change in the historical and archaeological past is important for developing effective strategies for dealing with current and  future changes. \nPeter Clift has been a professor in the Department of Earth sciences at University College London since 2023. He previously worked at a variety of institutes in the US and the UK and has been a sabbatical or visiting researcher in India and China. He has been a visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences\, South China Sea Institute for Oceanology for 20 years. Clift did his BA at the University of Oxford and a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. He is most well known for his work on the origin and development of the Asian monsoon and has used sediments preserved in the seas around Asia to look at the evolution of landscape with the impact of climate change and human settlement being of particular focus. He has a special interest in the Indus Valley Civilisation and the interactions of the Indus river and Thar Desert system with the human history of South Asia. Clift is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union as well as the Geological Society of America and in 2023 he was awarded the Lyell medal by the Geological Society of London. In 2024 he was Jubilee Chair Professor at the Indian Academy of Sciences and this year holds a Chinese Academy of Science President’s International Fellowship. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-peter-clift-societal-development-in-asia-and-its-links-to-evolving-climate-and-rivers/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251028T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251028T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250807T160221Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T151242Z
UID:22155-1761676200-1761683400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Scott Redford - The Medieval Period:  Bilkent University Excavations at  Kinet Höyük\, Hatay\, Turkey
DESCRIPTION:This study\, focusing on the Rum Seljuk dynasty in thirteenth-century Anatolia\, combines local history\, geography\, art history\, and archaeology to examine instances of an only partially understood garden tradition in one corner of the medieval Mediterranean. Gardens\, and their architecture\, have been neglected\, not only because of the paucity of remains\, the architecture they inspired was not monumental and relied strongly on a sense of place\, and a sensitivity to the landscape. This book attempts to recover a measure of that sense and that landscape\, as well as the activities that endowed them with meaning for those that enjoyed them. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/professor-scott-redford-book-launch-landscape-and-the-state-in-medieval-anatolia-seljuk-gardens-and-pavilions-of-alanya/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251027T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251027T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250806T224736Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T192022Z
UID:22998-1761589800-1761597000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Jochen Sokoly: Textiles of the Early Islamic Caliphates
DESCRIPTION:A collection of precious inscribed or decorated Islamic textiles produced before the thirteenth century CE\, many published here for the first time. \nThe al-Sabah Collection\, Kuwait\, includes a remarkable array of textiles from the Islamic world\, ranging widely in form\, function\, and place of origin. Textiles of the Early Islamic Caliphates focuses on a group of tiraz and tiraz-style textiles produced before the thirteenth century CE\, mainly in the central Islamic lands. \nTiraz textiles—the word tiraz can be traced back to the Persian word for “embroidery”—were highly valued in the early Islamic world. Inscribed with sacred invocations and the name of the ruling caliph\, together with information relating to their year of manufacture\, these textiles provide an invaluable window into the political\, administrative\, and religious life of early Islam\, as well as various traditions of textile production. The large majority of the surviving fragments of tiraz textiles\, which were originally given as robes of honor to courtiers and ambassadors\, have been found in Egyptian tombs: most of the textiles examined in this book once belonged to burial outfits from the diverse religious communities in Egypt during the early Islamic period. \nFeaturing more than 180 textiles from The al-Sabah Collection\, some never published before\, this book provides authoritative analysis not only of the textiles themselves\, but also of the historical and cultural context in which they were produced. With hundreds of illustrations\, including specially commissioned macrophotography\, Textiles of the Early Islamic Caliphates is a landmark publication that will appeal to scholars and general readers alike. \nJochen Sokoly is associate professor of art history of the Islamic world at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. He has published on early Islamic inscribed textiles\, served as cochair of the Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium\, and curated exhibitions on contemporary Middle Eastern art. \n  \n\nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/jochen-sokoly-textiles-of-the-early-islamic-caliphates/
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250805T155959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T150850Z
UID:22153-1761244200-1761251400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof. Usha Vijailakshmi - Stewards of Heritage: The Asiatic Society of Mumbai’s Legacy and Contemporary Role
DESCRIPTION:Founded in 1804 by James Mackintosh\, the Asiatic Society of Mumbai was envisioned as both a research body and a library\, dedicated to advancing knowledge of the East in fields ranging from Sanskrit studies and history to geology\, botany\, and medicine. At a time when Bombay lacked institutions of higher learning\, the Society became a hub of intellectual exchange\, sustained by British administrators\, Indian scholars\, and local patrons. Over two centuries\, it has amassed a vast collection of manuscripts\, coins\, inscriptions\, and rare books\, while also shaping public intellectual life through lectures and publications. \nYet today\, the Society faces pressing challenges: financial constraints\, administrative pressures\, and the delicate balance of autonomy with state obligations. Despite these hurdles\, it continues to catalogue\, conserve\, and engage the public\, striving to uphold its relevance in a rapidly changing academic and cultural landscape. This talk examines the Society’s enduring significance and the formidable challenges it faces in sustaining its legacy. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-usha-vijailakshmi-stewards-of-heritage-the-asiatic-society-of-mumbais-legacy-and-contemporary-role/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251022T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251022T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250804T155525Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T150832Z
UID:22151-1761157800-1761165000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Liz Driver - Elphinstone\, Malcolm and the Wellesleys: An Introduction to Central India in the Early 19th Century
DESCRIPTION:The first decades of the 19th century have been described as the “golden age of English rule” “a brief but glorious interregnum between eighteenth century corruption and nineteenth century complacency”. This was the age of Elphinstone and Malcolm in Central India and Bombay\, Tod in Rajputana and Munro in Madras. All were Scots\, with the impressive ability to combine military\, political and diplomatic roles with literary and linguistic skills. All worked hard to restore order and prosperity in the aftermath of the Anglo-Maratha and Pindari wars and believed that there should not be excessive interference by the now paramount power in the running of the native states and in their judicial systems. They were opposed to colonisation and to attempts to convert to Christianity and\, above all\, believed that Indians should be educated to govern their own country when the English left\, as they should and inevitably would. Their views on the need for education and the role of the state in funding it were at least a decade ahead of the government at home\, where it was only just being recognised that the state had a duty to see that its citizens could read and write. \n  \nInevitably\, the accusation of orientalism has been made against them and it is argued that their interpretation of Indian culture and history was distorted by their Scottish enlightenment “cultural luggage”. This talk looks at the achievements–and failures-of Elphinstone and Malcolm in Central India following the expansion of East India Company territory under Governor-General Richard Wellesley and the military successes of his brother Arthur\, the future Duke of Wellington. It examines the characters of the men and the influence that had on the way they fulfilled their various roles\, including\, in both cases\, that of Governor of Bombay. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-liz-driver-elphinstone-malcolm-and-the-wellesleys-an-introduction-to-central-india-in-the-early-19th-century/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251021T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251021T200000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250803T115408Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T150802Z
UID:23037-1761069600-1761076800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Rosina Buckland and Alexander Owen - TBC: Conservation and installation project of a Japanese bodhisattva
DESCRIPTION:Further details TBC \n  \nSainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) \n64 The Close \nNorwich NR1 4DH \nsisjac@sainsbury-institute.org \n  \nThe Courtauld Institute of Art \nVernon Square \nPenton Rise \nLondon WC1X 9EW \nSujatha.Meegama@courtauld.ac.uk
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/rosina-buckland-and-alexander-owen-tbc-conservation-and-installation-project-of-a-japanese-bodhisattva/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251016T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251016T190000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250802T160009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250926T082238Z
UID:23031-1760637600-1760641200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere - The Art of Manga
DESCRIPTION:Register here \nOnline lecture via Zoom.\n50 min lecture followed by Q&A.\nFree and open to all\, booking essential.\nTo check your time zone conversion if you are joining from outside the UK\, click here. \nIf you have limited access to the internet but would still like to view the lecture\, please email sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org or call us on +44 (0) 1603 597507 to book to attend our livestream from 64 The Close.  \nThis lecture forms part of the Japan Studies: Past\, Present and Future series in collaborations with the Royal Asiatic Society\, and the Courtauld Institute of Art. \nSpeaker\nProfessor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere (Research Director\, Sainsbury Institute) \nAbout the Talk\nInternational enthusiasm for manga and anime is at an all-time high. Manga has finally established itself as part of the mainstream culture in the United States\, with sales of print manga titles in the U.S. increasing 27 times faster than those in the conventional book industry in the USA. In Europe\, manga has long been recognised as a powerful form of visual graphic expression. Britain\, however\, has traditionally been a bit slower in its embrace of manga. Bucking this trend in 2019\, the British Museum held one of the most ambitious exhibitions on manga\, focusing on its history\, range\, and impact. Featuring over 50 artists from past to present\, the Citi Manga exhibition attempted to contextualise and as well as capture the power of manga. Happily\, the exhibition was a confirmed success with record visitor numbers\, attracting new diverse audiences to the museum. \nSix years later\, the de Young Museum\, part of the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco in the United States is currently hosting a very different manga exhibition featuring the art of manga drawings (genga) highlighting 10 manga artists (mangaka). With a total of 689 individual works on display\, this exhibition is one of the most ambitious one to showcase this important art form. Working with the artists\, multiple Japanese publishers\, and various stakeholders to create this exhibition was instructive. This lecture will introduce the Art of Manga and explore the lessons learned and possibilities for the future. \nAbout the Speaker\nNicole Coolidge Rousmaniere\, Ph.D.\, is the founding Director and currently the Research Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and Professor of Japanese Art and Culture at the University of East Anglia\, Norwich UK. She wrote Vessels of Influence: China and the Birth of Porcelain in Medieval and Modern Japan with Bloomsbury Academic in 2012 and translated Professor Tsuji Nobuo’s A History of Art in Japan with Tokyo University Press in 2018\, re-issued by Columbia University Press in 2020\, among numerous other publications. She was the lead curator for the Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan exhibition in 2007 featuring Moriguchi Kunihiko and his father’s yuzen kimono\, and the Citi Exhibition Manga マンガ in 2019\, both held at the British Museum where she was curator from 2008-2019. She is currently curator of a large art of manga exhibition\, The Art of Manga\, on display at the de Young Museum\, San Francisco\, from 27 September 2025 to 25 January 2026. She was made the Tottori Prefecture furusato ambassador in 2021. \n  \nImage: ©︎ Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan; ©︎ PAPIER/Jirō Taniguchi\, Masayuki Qusumi\, FUSOSHA; ©︎ Mari Yamazaki\, Tori Miki/Shinchosha; ©︎ Hirohiko Araki & LUCKY LAND  COMMUNICATIONS/Shueisha; ©︎ Kazumi Yamashita/KODANSHA LTD.; ©︎ Fujio Akatsuka; ©︎ Gengoroh Tagame/Futabasha Publishers Ltd.; ©︎ Fumi Yoshinaga/HAKUSENSHA\, Inc.; “Hinemosu notari nikki” ©︎ Tetsuya Chiba/Big Comic (Shogakukan); ©︎ Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/sisjac-nicole-coolidge-rousmaniere-the-art-of-manga/
LOCATION:SISJAC (Online)\, The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures\, Norwich\, NR1 4DH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251009T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251009T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250802T155354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T150713Z
UID:22149-1760034600-1760041800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Tirthankar Roy - Building a state in late-18th century India: Revisiting the Permanent Settlement debate
DESCRIPTION:“The principle on which [Akbar] secured his conquest was [to show regard] to the right of the Zemindars\, the ancient proprietors of the soil\,” said Philip Francis in 1777. Disagreeing radically\, his rival and critic Warren Hastings said that “much the greatest part of the Zemindars… are incapable of judging or acting for themselves\, being either minors\, or men of weak understandings\, or absolute idiots.” \nTwo statesmen in charge of building a state in Bengal made these conflicting comments about the zamindar\, a magnate in the countryside. Their debate reveals the complicated nature of the statebuilding project in Bengal at that time\, with limited trust in indigenous institutions and intermediaries and yet limited power to supersede these. The talk will discuss this debate and suggest how we should read institutional reforms in early-colonial India. \n  \nFree and open to all at 14 Stephenson Way\, NW1 2HD \nTo join us online email: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-tirthankar-roy-title-tbc/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250801T135455Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T150541Z
UID:22112-1758825000-1758832200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Alexandra Buhler - Relations between Zoroastrians in India and Iran: the role of the British and the impact of the ‘Great Game’
DESCRIPTION:This talk will draw on the research Alexandra Buhler conducted for her recent book\, Zoroastrianism in India and Iran: Persians\, Parsis and the Flowering of Political Identity\, which examines the cultural\, religious\, and political ties between the Zoroastrian communities of Iran and India during the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. In particular\, she will focus on the role played by the British in encouraging strong relations between the two Zoroastrian communities and on the geo- political factors that motivated them to do so. \nTowards the end of the nineteenth century\, the rivalry between Britain and Russia over Iran led the British to attempt to utilise their positive relations with the Parsis\, Zoroastrians in India\, to establish strategic ties with Zoroastrians in Iran. Additionally\, the British supported efforts being made by Parsis to reconnect with their co- religionists and with their ancient homeland. \nDiplomatic relations between Britain and Russia underwent a significant development with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Convention in August 1907. She will assess the extent to which the tripartite relations between the British\, Zoroastrians in Iran\, and Parsis were affected by the convention in the following months and years.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/alexandra-buhler-relations-between-zoroastrians-in-india-and-iran-the-role-of-the-british-and-the-impact-of-the-great-game/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T170000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250925T131051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T131051Z
UID:23042-1758787200-1758819600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Benedetta Lomi - The Lives and Afterlives of Buddhist Icons: Deactivation and Reactivation Rituals in Medieval Japan
DESCRIPTION:Further information not yet available. Check soon for updates!
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-benedetta-lomi-the-lives-and-afterlives-of-buddhist-icons-deactivation-and-reactivation-rituals-in-medieval-japan/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250918T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250918T203000
DTSTAMP:20260316T115836
CREATED:20250811T094527Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250923T151412Z
UID:22086-1758220200-1758227400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Nicolas Revire - Charting Dvāravatī: The Making of an Early Buddhist Polity in Central Thailand
DESCRIPTION:This lecture explores the intellectual foundations of Dvāravatī studies and the making of an early Buddhist polity in central Thailand during the mid-to-late first millennium CE. It highlights the pivotal roles of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (1862–1943) and Professor George Cœdès (1886–1969)\, whose historical and epigraphic work shaped modern understandings of Dvāravatī as a Theravāda Buddhist culture with Old Mon\, Sanskrit\, and Pali influences. Beginning with the 19th-century rediscovery of sites like Nakhon Pathom\, the talk traces how their scholarship framed Dvāravatī in both historical\, and cultural terms. It also considers the legacy of their work in the writings of later scholars and Orientalists such as Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales (1900–1981)\, Pierre Dupont (1908–1955)\, Jean Boisselier (1912–1996)\, or Piriya Krairiksh (b. 1942)\, whose contributions continue to shape debates on early Southeast Asian religion\, language\, and state formation. \nBorn in France\, Nicolas Revire holds a doctoral degree from Paris\, specializing in Hindu-Buddhist art of early Southeast Asia\, particularly pre-modern Thailand. As a senior research fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago\, he brings expertise from two decades of teaching and research in Bangkok. The speaker has published extensively on the subject and is currently the managing editor of the Journal of the Siam Society.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/nicolas-revire-charting-dvaravati-the-making-of-an-early-buddhist-polity-in-central-thailand/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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