C ent r e N ews
Podcasts of the lectures organised by the College Centres are available at: http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/st-antonys-college-podcasts
Asian Studies Centre Dr Faisal Devji, Director of the Asian Studies Centre, University Reader in Modern South Asian History
African Studies Professor Jonny Steinberg, Academic Director of the African Studies Centre, Professor of African Studies
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, former Prime Minister, President of East Timor and Antonian José Ramos-Horta (SAM 1988) addressed the Asian Studies Centre this year. © Mike DuBose, UMNS Quman Akli, international public lawyer, delivers the African Studies Centre annual lecture in the Investcorp Auditorium.
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ne the most notable events the African Studies Centre held this year was our annual lecture, delivered by Quman Akli, an international public lawyer involved in facilitating negotiations around constitution-making in Somalia. Somalia is famous for having been without a state from the inception of its civil war in January 1991 until well into the 2000s. How does one go about negotiating constitutional principles in a context where levels of trust between protagonists are very low, where bitterness and anger about the recent past are very close to the surface of politics, and where the longevity of agreements reached is uncertain? Akli’s lecture asked these engaging and difficult questions and provided robust and provocative answers. She argued that constitution-writing processes that privilege short-term pragmatism over principle are bound to fail; that pessimism about what is possible becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hers was an argument that those who leverage hope in building the foundations of a new order are most likely to succeed. In the context of the bleakness of contemporary discussions about Somalia, Akli’s rigorous intellectual defence of optimism was very engaging indeed. And that she is young – Akli turned 30 this year – gave the lecture the flavour of an inter-generational challenge.
African Studies Centre Podcasts https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/units/centre-african-studies 6
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he Centre held three regular and well-attended seminar series, on South, Southeast and East Asia, as well as several special events. The weekly South Asian History seminar served as a lively forum for research, holding discussions on a wide range of topics, from the political thought of prominent thinkers to the study of Adivasi histories; from Pakistani Shia politics to Gandhian entrepreneurship or Mughal musical culture. Scholars spoke on the contemporary politics of most of the ASEAN countries at the bi-weekly Southeast Asia seminar, covering topics of regional and global interest – including education, finance and religion – and making the seminar one of the main spaces for discussion of the region within the University. Notably, current postgraduate students presented their ongoing research at sessions from both these seminars. The Centre hosted talks with Antonian and Nobel laureate José Ramos-Horta and former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri; special lectures were also delivered by the Chief Minister of the State of Perak and the Former Chief Election Commissioner of India. Evan Medeiros, President Obama’s former senior China advisor, gave this year’s Chun-tuHsueh lecture. Many of these events were recorded, and podcasts are available from the Centre website. The Centre is hosting Drs Reshmi Banerjee and Nagamuttu Ravindranathan as Academic visitors and has appointed a new Wai Seng Senior Research Scholar for 2016-18.
Asian Studies Centre Podcasts http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/asian-studies-centre