Oct. 13 as part of URI Honors Colloquium

KINGSTON, R.I. – October 5, 2009 – Aseema Sinha, associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will speak at the University of Rhode Island’s Honors Colloquium, Demystifying India, Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Sinha’s talk, “India as an Emerging Power: A Revolution of Rising Expectations,” will be presented at the Chafee Social Science Center, 10 Chafee Road, Kingston. All programs in the semester-long series are free and open to the public. The lectures are streamed live online at uri.edu/hc. As a public health precaution, the University asks those with influenza-like symptoms on the day of the event not to attend, but rather watch online.

In a preview to her talk, Sinha said: “India is a rising global power with both economic and military power, as well as soft power resources. India’s accelerating growth rates, a greater focus on export sectors of the economy, and a reorientation toward service and knowledge industries has launched India’s rising global profile.

“Its democratic experience is seen to be a carrier of soft power and prestige. The United States and India have come closer after decades of hostility and disengagement as the world views India through new eyes. What are the sources and consequences of this emergent change within India and at the global level?”

She poses the central question — can India sustain the revolution of rising expectations?

She will address and place in perspective the emerging dilemmas within India: “the combination of growth with rising inequalities, the pursuit of a unique model of transition that combines a second democratic revolution and inclusive growth with a market economy, and the challenges of India’s new found status at the global level for some of India’s domestic contradictions.”

At Wisconsin, she teaches in the areas of comparative political economy, comparative social movements, globalization and South Asia.

Her first book, The Regional Roots of Developmental Politics in India: A Divided Leviathan, earned the Joseph Elder award for the Best Book in the Indian Social Sciences. She is in the process of completing a second book, When David Meets Goliath: How Global Trade Rules Shape Domestic Politics in India.

She was a fellow at the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame in 2001, and at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. in 2004-2005.

Born and raised in India, she earned degrees from Lady Sri Ram College and Jawaharlal Nehru University and her doctorate at Cornell University.

For further details about the colloquium, including an updated schedule and information on parking, go to www.uri.edu/hc or contact the URI Honors Center at 401-874-2381 or debg@uri.edu.

Major colloquium sponsors are: The Honors Program, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, College of Business Administration, College of Arts & Sciences, College of Engineering, Division of University Advancement, The Anthony J. Risica Lecture Series on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and The Village Inn – Narragansett.

Additional sponsors include: College of Human Science and Services, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, Office of the Vice President for Administration, Office of the Vice Provost for Information Technology Services, University College, URI Diversity Week-Multicultural Center, URI Women’s Studies Program, The Mark and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment, Kabob N Curry – Providence, and Professor G.S. Verma and Mrs. R. Verma.