idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
A broad panorama of current research on South Asia – from history, religion and languages to politics, economics and society – is on offer at the 28th European Conference on South Asian Studies (ECSAS), which is taking place at Heidelberg University from 1 to 4 October 2025. The conference displays the whole breadth and dynamics of international South Asia studies and has this year attracted over 780 participants from 34 countries. Besides a variety of expert panel discussions and two keynote lectures, the event also includes an extensive accompanying program aiming to combine research, culture, and public outreach.
Press Release
Heidelberg, 25 September 2025
ECSAS 2025 at Universität Heidelberg: South Asia in Focus
International conference with extensive accompanying program brings together research, culture and the public
A broad panorama of current research on South Asia – from history, religion and languages to politics, economics and society – is on offer at the 28th European Conference on South Asian Studies (ECSAS), which is taking place at Heidelberg University from 1 to 4 October 2025. The conference displays the whole breadth and dynamics of international South Asia studies and has this year attracted over 780 participants from 34 countries. Besides a variety of expert panel discussions and two keynote lectures, the event also includes an extensive accompanying program aiming to combine research, culture, and public outreach. That includes a dance performance, two exhibitions and several themed tours of the city. The conference convenors are Indologist Prof. Dr Ute Hüsken and historian Prof. Dr Kama Maclean, whose teaching and research are based at the South Asia Institute (SAI) of Heidelberg University.
The biennial ECSAS follows a wide interdisciplinary approach and takes up scholarly topics from all areas of South Asian Studies. “The topics raised at this year’s conference will mainly relate to history, cultural studies and linguistics, along with anthropology, economics and politics,” says conference convenor Ute Hüsken. As the organizer, the SAI itself can boast comprehensive expertise in this broad field of research, which connects up geography, social sciences and economics, and offers a broad basis for relating modern regional studies to the present-day, Prof. Hüsken explains. The conference program includes 125 thematic panels. They explore topics like the future of cities in South Asia, caste and violence, family, law and democracy, and political dynasties. Other panels deal with premodern temple legends, materiality, and cultural change. Experts are expected to come from all over Europe, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the United States, and Canada.
Keynote lectures
The first main speaker at the conference on 1 October is Prof. Dr Patrick Olivelle, Asian Studies scholar at the University of Texas in Austin (USA). His keynote lecture “An Invitation to Listen and to Learn” is devoted to the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who ruled in the 3rd century BCE and was known for his tolerant and integrating understanding of governance; Prof. Olivelle will refer here to his latest biography of this ancient ruler, which has also appeared in German translation. The second keynote entitled “Until I too, in my time – slough off the snake-skin’” will be given on 3 October by political scientist Prof. Dr Malvika Maheshwari of Ashoka University in New Delhi (India). In it she illuminates the role of Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy (1905 to 1970), who published and continued the work of her husband, the Indian cultural theoretician Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877 to 1947). At the same time, Prof. Maheshwari will address questions about authorship, intellectual cooperation and gender roles in knowledge production.
Dance drama “Vegavatī”
The accompanying program also offers a wide range of insights into the cultures of South Asia to public audiences. The dance drama “Vegavatī” stages an old Sanskrit temple legend: in it, the goddess Sarasvati, as a torrential river, rushes towards the city of Kanchipuram and is only tamed by the god Vishnu. The dance drama, conceptualized, composed and choreographed by Dr Aneesh Raghavan, carries the audience away into a mythical game of destruction, rescue, and divine power. The over 20 dancers in the ensemble have been trained in differing Indian dance traditions. The dance drama “Vegavatī” will be premiered on 3 October in the Great Hall of the New University, starting at 8.15pm. For external visitors, admission costs ten euros, or five euros with a discount.
Exhibition “Bungadyah”
Exhibited in the library of the Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS) of Heidelberg University, the presentation “Bungadyah: The Rain-Making God” is part of the Bungadyah procession, which is one of the biggest and most elaborate ritual events in the Kathmandu Valley. Extending over more than two months – from the chariot’s preparation to its conclusion – the festival embodies a rich and living tradition, documented by places, people, texts and performances. The exhibition can be viewed from 1 to 31 October in the entrance hall of the CATS library, Voßstraße 2, during the library's opening hours.
Exhibition “Sacred Dirt of Mother Teresa”
The Heidelberg Völkerkundemuseum vPST is showing the exhibition “Sacred Dirt of Mother Teresa: Volunteering with the ‘Poorest of the Poor’ in Kolkata”, which illustrates the volunteer work of the Catholic nun Mother Teresa in the Indian city of Kolkata, using descriptive sketches, photos and artefacts. The presentation is based on a research project of SAI staff member Egor Novikov. Using ethnographic methods and artistic elements, he explores modern humanitarianism, religion and social exclusion. The exhibition, which is already open, runs until 22 March 2026 in the Völkerkundemuseum vPST Heidelberg, Hauptstraße 235.
Exhibition project “Heidelberg and South Asia”
A further highlight of the accompanying program is the exhibition project “Heidelberg and South Asia – Five Paths through the City”, which was designed by Heidelberg students and will be presented at ECSAS in a public opening at the Völkerkundemuseum vPST on 2 October. It involves app-guided discovery tours through Heidelberg and reveals how aspects of South Asian culture, religion, politics and everyday life interconnect with the city’s history and present day. The themed tours – ranging from festivals and rituals to eating cultures to gender roles or photography – open up new perspectives on Heidelberg and likewise on South Asia as a research and experiential space. After the conference the paths can still be explored until 15 February 2026. The public opening on October 2 starts at 4 p.m.
ECSAS is convened on behalf of the European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS), a specialist association that links up researchers Europe-wide and beyond. The most recent conference took place in Turin two years ago; Heidelberg University hosted this event in 1970, 1984 and 2000.
Note for newsrooms:
The European Conference on South Asian Studies 2025 is taking place in the New University building at Universitätsplatz. Media representatives are warmly invited to attend and report on the European Conference on South Asian Studies 2025. Registration is required by emailing gieselmann@sai.uni-heidelberg.de.
Contact:
Communications and Marketing
Press Office
Phone +49 6221 54-2311
presse@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de
https://ecsas2025.com/
https://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/en
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten
fachunabhängig
überregional
Buntes aus der Wissenschaft, Wissenschaftliche Tagungen
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
