Dwyer, a professor of Indian cultures and cinema at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, will speak on “Bollywood and the World,” Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium, Demystifying India. Free and open to the public, the program will be held in the Chafee Social Science Center, Room 271.
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 at uri.edu/hc.
Dwyer’s main research interest is in Hindi cinema where she has researched and published on film magazines and popular fiction, consumerism and the new middle classes, love and eroticism and visual culture (sets, locations and costumes). Her newest research focuses on religion and secularism.
“I’m a student of Indian culture and Hindi film lies at the heart of this,” Dwyer told The Hindu, India’s national newspaper. “Studying Hindi film made a number of connections for me between other aspects of Indian culture such as religion, literature and emotion.”
She has written a book about one of the great figures of the Hindi film industry, Yash Chopra, with whom she has worked for several years.
Her other books include One Hundred Bollywood Films, Filming the Gods: Religion and Hindi Cinema and What do Hindus Believe? Her latest book is Bollywood’s India: Hindi cinema as a guide to modern India.
For further details about the colloquium, including an updated schedule and information on parking, go to 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.