Past Workshop:
South Asia in the Global Economy
February 18-19, 2010
John Hope Franklin Center, Duke University
Workshop Topics
"U.S. and Indian Education: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global Environment"
Ambassador Arun Singh serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. As a member of the Foreign Service since 1979, Ambassador Singh’s assignments have included posts in Russia, Ethiopia, Japan, USA, and Israel. While in India, Ambassador Singh served as Joint Secretary dealing first with the United Nations Policy, and then Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran Divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs.
"Globalization in South Asia"
Gilbert Merkx, Duke University’s Vice Provost for International Affairs and is responsible for furtherance of the internationalization of the University as a whole, general oversight of Duke's numerous international and foreign language and area studies programs, and the development of new international initiatives. Merkx is President of the Association of International Education Administrators, co-Chairman of the Council of Directors of Title VI National Resource Centers for Foreign Language and Area Studies, and a member of the Board of the OAS Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and of the Board of the Scholars-at-Risk Network.
"Educating India in the 21st Century"
Yash Garg is the Head of the Curriculum Materials Center at NC Central University. She is the founder and president of The Heritage India Association of North Carolina. Garg started and taught Hindi at NC State University, hosted Indian cultural programs, chaired Gandhi Statue Committee, and served on the boards of Hindu Society of North Carolina and Hindi Vikas Mandal. Garg holds four graduate degrees: library science from Indiana University, educational media from Miami University, and English and Sanskrit from India’s Punjab University.
"Religion and Culture"
Bruce Lawrence is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor of Religion and Chair of Duke University’s Department of Religion. Lawrence engages in West Asia and South Asia studies, with particular reference to the history and religious practices marked as Muslim. He also concerns himself with the non-Muslim religious traditions of Asia, especially Hinduism and Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Lawrence earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.
"Conflict and Security"
Steve Kelly is a 26-year career Senior Foreign Service Officer who is currently the U.S. Department of State Diplomat in Residence at Duke University. His primary role is to seek out those interested in careers formulating and implementing U.S. foreign policy. He is a resource for students and faculty interested in internships, scholarships, fellowships or general advice on a diplomatic career. Prior to Duke he was Director of the Senior Level Assignments Division at the State Department where he oversaw the counseling and assignments of the most experienced and high-ranking career officers in the U.S. diplomatic service.
"Media and Entertainment"
Debashis “Deb” Aikat is Associate Professor and the Media Futurist in UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research focuses on the role and impact of communication technologies and has appeared in publications of the Microsoft Corporation, International Radio and Television Society, and Association for Computer Machinery. Aikat earned his Ph.D. from Ohio University.
"Foundations of Intercultural Competence"
Darla Deardorff is Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators, a national professional organization based at Duke University. With nearly twenty years of experience in the international education field, she has published widely on topics in international education and serves as a consultant and trainer on intercultural competence development and assessment for universities, schools, corporations, and non-profit organizations.
"From Kitty Hawk to Kolkata"
Baishakhi Taylor is the Associate Director of the NC Consortium for South Asian Studies at Duke University where her primary focus is to promote course work in South Asia studies and infuse South Asia into the K-12 curriculum. Taylor's current research, funded by the Department of Homeland Security, focuses on understanding terrorism in South Asia. Taylor received her master's degree in comparative literature from India and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Kentucky.