Events

SOUTH ASIA: RELIGION, FAITH & WELL-BEING

Thursday, 22 October | 4.30pm UK

ONLINE only

Registration details below

What is the relationship between mental health and religion, spirituality, faith and belief? As medical practitioners increasingly consider the importance of 'well-being' in their practice, this inter-disciplinary panel will discuss how individuals and communities use religion to cope and heal in everyday life.      

SPEAKERS: Dr Swayam Bagaria is Assistant Professor in Hindu Studies, Harvard Divinity School, and is currently working (with Dr Bhrigupati Singh at SOAS) on a research-based training programme on the anthropology of mental health & religion for mental health practitioners; Gaithri Fernando is Professor in the Department of Psychology, Cal State University, Los Angeles, and co-author (with Dale E. Berger) of 'The Role of Religion in Youth Exposed to Disasters in Sri Lanka' (2017); Sajama Nepali is a freelance researcher based in Kathmandu, and author of 'Spirituality as a Coping Resource' (2026); Dr Bhrigupati Singh is Reader in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, SOAS University of London, and is currently working (with Dr Swayam Bagaria at Harvard Divinity School) on a research-based training programme on the anthropology of mental health & religion for mental health practitioners; James Walters is Founding Director of LSE Faith Centre and LSE Religion and Global Society, and Professor in Practice in the Department of International Relations at LSE.     

DISCUSSANT: Veena Das is Emeritus Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University, and author, most recently, of Slum Acts (2022).

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre (@SAsiaLSE).

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Please e-mail southasiacentre@lse.ac.uk to register free for this event; the livestream link will be sent to all registered attendees on the day of the event.

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Image © Dan Meyers, 2019, Unsplash.

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PAKISTAN: PRAETORIANISM AT HOME & ABROAD

Wednesday, 18 November 26 | 3pm

ONLINE only

Registration details below

Pakistan's role in negotiating between the US and Iran in the early stages of the ongoing war in the Middle East is widely seen as symbolic of the country's emergence on the global stage, and in the region; at the same time, domestic politics remains unstable following the controversial 27th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in November 2025.  

SPEAKERS: Dr Sadaf Aziz is Dean & Associate Professor of Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, Lahore University of Management Sicnes, and author of The Constitution of Pakistan: A Contextual Analysis (2018); Dr Asfandyar Mir is Senior Fellow for South Asia at Stimson Center, Washington DC, and an expert on South Asian security affairs and dynamics; Zahid Hussain is a journalist and writer based in Karachi, and author of 'A Praetorian State?' (2018).  

DISCUSSANT: Dr Farzana Shaikh is Associate Fellow, Asia-Pacific Program at Chatham House, London, and author of Mystic and Modern: Sufism and the Politics of National Identity in Pakistan (forthcoming in 2027).

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre (@SAsiaLSE). 

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Please e-mail southasiacentre@lse.ac.uk to register free for this event; the livestream link will be sent to all registered attendees on the day of the event.

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Image © Kashif Afridi, 2021, Unsplash.

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MUSIC, SPIRITUALITY & ATTENTION IN NORTH INDIA

 Wednesday, 25 November 26 | 5pm | LSE 

ON-SITE only

Registration details below

Did you know that there are almost 20 (well, 16, to be precise) academics/researchers at LSE whose work & interests involve music? We launch the LSE Music Research Network with this special event.  

SPEAKERS: Dr Thomas Graves is Lecturer in Music at The Open University, with research interests in listeners' emotional experiences with the Islamic musical tradition of qawwali; Dr Rahul Rose is Visiting Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at LSE, with research interests in Hinduism, mental health, and the relationship between the mind and broader social, cultural and technological forces.  

CHAIR: David Lewis is Professor of Anthropology & Development in the Department of International Development at LSE, and member of the Facuty Advisory Group of LSE South Asia Centre. 

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This event is in collaboration with LSE Religion Scholars Network. 

This event will be on-site at LSE; please e-mail southasiacentre@lse.ac.uk to register free. Further details will be sent to all registered attendees on the day of the event.

Image © LSE Photo Library: Joan Armatrading and Kingdom Chorus singing 'The Messenger', with Nelson Mandela wearing LSE cap, Peacock Theatre, LSE, 6 April 2000.  

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INDIA: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & THE FUTURE OF WORK

Monday, 14 December 29 | 10am | Kolkata

ON-SITE only

Registration details below

What is the impact of AI on the future of work in the blue-collar sector in India in general, and West Bengal in particular? Should workers be re-skilled? Should there be new cultures of working remotely from anywhere? This alumni networking event will discuss this important question.

SPEAKERS: Ruchir Agarwal (@RuchirAgar) is President & Co-Founder of the Global Talent Fund, and M-RCBG Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School; Prithwiraj Choudhury is Professor of Organisational Behaviour in the Department of Management at LSE; Cosmina Dorobantu (via Zoom) is Co-Director & Professor in Practice at LSE Data Science Institute; Naufel Vilcassim is Director, LSE South Asia Centre & Professor of Marketing in the Department of Management at LSE. 

CHAIR: Nasser Munjee, an LSE alumnus, is Chair of the Senior Advisory Board, LSE South Asia Centre. 

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This event is in collaboration with LSE Kolkata Alumni Chapter, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and LSE Research and Education Foundation India.

This event is on-site in Kolkata; please e-mail southasiacentre@lse.ac.uk to register free. Further details will be sent to all registered attendees on the day of the event.

Image © Markus Spiske, 2020, Unsplash.

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