AIIS is grateful to colleagues who generously volunteer their time and energy to serve on its different committees. Many of these colleagues have devoted years—indeed decades—of their academic careers to this vital committee work. At this time, we would like to recognize two scholars—Anand Yang and Anthony Seeger—who are cycling off their committees after many years of service.
Anand Yang, professor in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, joined the Publications Committee in 2014, eventually becoming the co-chair, first with Susan Wadley (Syracuse University) and then with Sarah Lamb (Brandeis University). One of the publications committee chairs is responsible for the annual fall Dissertation to Book Workshop (currently Professor Lamb), while the other—Anand Yang for many years—oversees the award of the AIIS Book Prizes. Professor Yang also served as a mentor for the Dissertation to Book Workshop. Professor Yang says, “One of the great pleasures of engaging with the AIIS has been to assist with its mission of advancing research and scholarship in South Asian Studies at all levels of the profession. Over the years, a remarkable array of South Asianists representing different types of academic institutions and different disciplines and fields have generously contributed their time and expertise to the Publications Committee by reading and evaluating first book manuscripts submitted for the Humanities and Social Sciences prizes. Thanks to the Publications Committee, I had the good fortune year-after-year to preview the thriving state of the art of South Asian Studies in the U.S.”
Anand Yang at 2022 Dissertation to Book Workshop
Anthony Seeger, an emeritus professor of Ethnomusicology at UCLA, has been involved with the AIIS Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology (ARCE) almost since its founding more than forty years ago, and has done two tours of duty as the AIIS Ethnomusicology Committee chair. Few ethnomusicologists have done extensive field recordings and also directed an audiovisual research archive in the U.S. Even though his geographic research area is the Brazilian Amazon, he was invited to an audiovisual workshop in Pune in 1984 and was recruited to the AIIS Ethnomusicology Committee shortly thereafter. As Professor Seeger notes, “The original mission of ARCE, which continues to shape its current activities, was brilliant and compelling. What I enjoyed most during my two terms as chair were the conferences and workshops of many kinds organized by ARCE over the decades, some of which resulted in important publications. Also thrilling was seeing ARCE transformed from a visionary experiment to a world-recognized institution, evolving over the years.”
Taking over the reins of the Ethnomusicology Committee is Zoe Sherinian, professor in the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma. Professor Sherinian held an AIIS senior fellowship in 2013-2014. In addition to her scholarly publications, she has also directed and produced two documentary films and is a musician. She contributed to the soundtrack for the Ang Lee film The Life of Pi.
The new Publications Committee co-chair is Ulka Anjaria, professor in the Department of English and director of the Mandel Center for the Humanities at Brandeis University. Professor Anjaria, who participated in the AIIS summer Hindi Program in 2003, is the author of scholarly works including Understanding Bollywood: The Grammar of Hindi Cinema (Routledge, 2021). She also serves as the Brandeis delegate (institutional representative) for AIIS.
As AIIS thanks Anand and Tony for all their dedication and work for AIIS, we also welcome Ulka and Zoe.