Vernacular Foundations

Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Seminar Room

Organized by Telugu Studies at Emory. Co-sponsored by: Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Arts & Humanistic Enquiry initiative of Office of the Provost, Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Department of Religion, Department of History, and Studies in Sexualities.

This one-day symposium brings together new scholarship and diverse perspectives on the Telugu language and its role in shaping critical discourse and political community in South Asia. It builds on conversations held at last year’s symposium – Vernacular Rhetorics: Politics, Language, and Identity in Telugu South India – which focused on the twentieth century, to envision a more robust longue durée approach to the foundations of Telugu cultural politics in South Asia. The purpose of this symposium is to gauge current research interests in Telugu Studies and explore the possibility of creating a two-part edited volume that outlines fundamental themes and questions in the field.

10:00 Welcome

10:10 Morning Presentations: Premodern Texts and Contexts

Harshita Mruthinti Kamath, Emory University

Aalekhya Malladi, McGill University

Chris Chekuri, San Francisco State University

Gautham Reddy, Emory University

12:00 Lunch Break

1:30 Afternoon Session I: Vernacular Publics

Rama Mantena, University of Illinois-Chicago

Sravanthi Kollu, Boston University

Rumya Putcha, University of Georgia

2:30 Break

2:40 Afternoon Session II: Caste and Power in Postcolonial India

Lisa Mitchell, University of Pennsylvania

Chinnaiah Jangam, Carleton University

Shiva Urella, Emory University

3:40 Break

3:50 Discussion Session

5:00 Adjourn for dinner