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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260203T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260203T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T160713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T160713Z
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SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Halle O'Neal - The Weight of Ephemeral Things: Paper\, Memory\, and Women Makers in Medieval Japan
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-halle-oneal-the-weight-of-ephemeral-things-paper-memory-and-women-makers-in-medieval-japan/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RASJapanseries_forTues.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260209T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260209T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T161030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T122143Z
UID:24378-1770661800-1770669000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Agus Suwignyo - Decolonizing Catholicism in Indonesia: Environmental Education as a Local Movement\, 1950–1990s
DESCRIPTION:This presentation will examine the environmental discourses and activism of the Indonesian Catholic community from the 1950s to 1990s. The community’s interest in environmental issues ranged from the impact of wild animal hunting and disasters such as floods and landslides\, to the threats that arose from industrialisation and the effects of deforestation\, industrial land use\, and household waste. Finally\, this presentation will propose that Indonesian Catholics’ involvement in environmental concerns was an emergent form of “Indonesianization\,” situated in the realities of Indonesia. \n  \nAgus Suwignyo is a Professor in the History of Education in the History Department\, Faculty of Cultural Sciences\, Gadjah Mada University\, Yogyakarta\, Indonesia. He received his doctorate degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2012\, and completed post-doctoral projects in Kyoto University (Japan\, 2014)\, Freiburg University (Germany\, 2014-15)\, the University of Agder (Norway\, 2016)\, and the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands\, 2019-22). His research interests include social and education history focusing on knowledge production\, decolonisation\, citizenship and state formation. His recent publications include “Higher Education as an Instrument of Decolonisation: The Community Service Programme in Indonesia 1950–1969\,” Asian Studies Review 48(3)\, 2024\, 447–466. \n  \nSimone Gigliotti is a Reader in Holocaust Studies at Royal Holloway\, University of London. While she publishes mainly in the field of Holocaust studies\, she maintains active interests in the history and geography of comparative genocide. She is especially interested in the survival and regeneration of indigenous communities amid industrialisation\, the environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change\, and resource plunder.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/agus-suwignyo-decolonizing-catholicism-in-indonesia-environmental-education-as-a-local-movement-1950-1990s/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20250903T164647Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250903T164647Z
UID:22199-1770908400-1770912000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Library Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/library-committee-11/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T173000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20250903T164717Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250903T164717Z
UID:22201-1770913800-1770917400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/council-meeting-16/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260212T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T161212Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T153122Z
UID:24077-1770921000-1770926400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Joy Hendry - Doing Field Research in Japan: A Long View
DESCRIPTION:Joy Hendry last year clocked up 50 years since she first travelled to Japan for a year’s field research in her subject of social anthropology. The methods and practice have changed a lot since that time\, but essentially the aims are the same\, namely to understand and explain Japanese ways of thinking and behaving in a variety of contexts. Joy’s talk will lay out these aims in more detail and explain their importance for anyone with an interest in Japan\, illustrating the explanations with examples of her own long-term research over the period in rural Kyushu and seaside Chiba prefecture\, and shorter observations elsewhere. She will also take a glance at the future of the subject\, now very popular in Japan\, both with international scholars and local ones. \n  \nJoy Hendry is professor emerita of Oxford Brookes University\, where she taught for 30 years.She has published 11 books and many articles\, founded the Europe Japan Research Centre and the Japan Anthropology Workshop\, and was awarded an Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Emperor in 2017. The 6th edition of her textbook Understanding Japanese Society has just come out\, co-authored with Emma Cook who teaches in Japan.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-joy-hendry-tbc-doing-field-research-in-japan-a-long-view/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Hendry.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260219T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260219T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T161331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T114650Z
UID:23050-1771524000-1771531200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Susan Whitfield - Pilgrimage from Nara to Norwich
DESCRIPTION:This event is hosted by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. For more information\, please visit this page: https://www.sainsbury-institute.org/events/pilgrimage-from-nara-to-norwich/ 
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-susan-whitfield-nara-on-the-silk-road/
LOCATION:SISJAC (Online)\, The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures\, Norwich\, NR1 4DH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260226T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260226T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T161455Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T155316Z
UID:24080-1772130600-1772136000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Paul Wordsworth - Pathways\, Pastoralism\, and Power: What next with understanding historical trade and travel in Central Asia?
DESCRIPTION:The publication of Moving in the Margins: Desert Travel and Power in Medieval Central Asia was intended as a case study to demonstrate some of the complexity inherent in the ways people navigated Central Asian landscapes in the past. Summarised simply\, such a detailed view of travel and movement highlights how erroneous a model of timeless trans-continental Silk Road trade really is\, and the degree to which historical Eurasian connections relied on highly dynamic and volatile small-scale networks. Critiques of Silk Roads/Routes are by now very common\, and recent efforts to communicate Central Asian history and archaeology across the long first millennium CE have taken a more nuanced and enlightened view\, the recent British Museum exhibition being an excellent case in point. The question remains\, however\, in terms of research\, how do we reconcile the popular (and lucrative) Silk Road narrative and the need to better understand real connections of past peoples in the region? Beyond individual case study regions and periods\, how can we move towards a more comprehensive appreciation of the link between economic\, political\, and cultural impact of trade at multiple scales? \nThis brief talk presents some of the issues which arose through the study of the archaeology of the Karakum Desert\, Turkmenistan\, in the preparation of Moving in the Margins. Reviewing the multiple strands of evidence covered in the volume: architecture\, material culture\, and landscapes\, it is possible to scope out alternative views of pathways and routes to those canonised through texts and tradition. In doing so I hope to set an agenda for future research into historical connectivity\, arguing for the importance of investigating the changing roles of connected communities through time. \nPaul Wordsworth \n  \nFree and open to all. No registration needed. Email mb@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link to join online.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/paul-wordsworth/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260304T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260304T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T162407Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T104448Z
UID:24082-1772649000-1772654400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Yuki Russell - Conservation Practices in Japan
DESCRIPTION:This event is hosted by The Courtauld Institute of Art. For details\, please see this page. \nThis event is part of the Japanese Studies series organised in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and The Courtauld Institute of Art.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-yuki-russell-conservation-practices-in-japan/
LOCATION:The Courtauld\, Vernon Square\, Penton Rise\, London\, WC1X 9EW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/japanese-prints7.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260319T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260319T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T162729Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260311T221915Z
UID:24084-1773945000-1773952200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Junzo Uchiyama - Surviving the Apocalypse: Catastrophe Archaeology in Ancient Japan
DESCRIPTION:This online event is hosted by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. To register for the event\, please visit this page. This event is part of the Japanese Studies series organised in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and The Courtauld Institute of Art. \n— \nAbout the Talk\nRecent disasters are often remembered as moments of sudden and total destruction—cities buried\, societies erased\, and lives swept away in an instant. Yet a longer view of human history reveals more complex stories\, in which survival\, adaptation\, and recovery play central roles. How have people lived with repeated disasters over long periods of time? Did catastrophes bring only ruin\, or did they also foster new forms of creativity\, culture\, and community? \nThis public lecture explores these questions through archaeology and history\, using the Japanese archipelago as a long-term case study. Drawing on ongoing collaborative research within the Nordic–Japan research programme CALDERA\, it examines how societies have responded to earthquakes\, volcanic eruptions\, and tsunamis across deep time. Marking the 15th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami\, the lecture focuses on three case studies: Mount Fuji and its long history of human engagement with volcanic risk; the Kikai-Akahoya super-eruption 7\,300 years ago\, which reshaped regional networks rather than causing total societal collapse; and the 2011 disaster\, which prompted both profound loss and remarkable efforts at community rebuilding. \nBy placing these cases in comparative perspective\, the lecture invites a broad audience to reflect on disasters not only as moments of tragedy\, but also as forces that can reshape social networks\, cultural practices\, and future possibilities. \n  \nAbout the Speaker\nJunzo Uchiyama was a former Handa Japanese Archaeology Fellow at SISJAC from 2018 to 2020. He is Affiliated Researcher of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Lund University\, Sweden\, and Visiting Professor at Kanazawa University\, Japan. Together with colleagues in Nordic countries and Japan\, he launched a new research programme called “CALDERA” for “catastrophe archaeology” in 2021\, aiming to investigate long-term cultural responses to major natural disasters and to understand processes of survival\, adjustment and eventual recovery. In June 2024 he was awarded the Ben Cullen Prize for “outstanding contributions” to World Archaeology. In November 2024\, the project “Surviving the Apocalypse: multidimensional modelling of the impact of a prehistoric megadisaster on people’s lifeworlds\, technologies and demography” was approved and got funded by Swedish Research Council (VR)\, in which he is working as a co-project leader with Professor Peter D. Jordan at Lund University. \n— \nImage: Sanriku coast (Minamisanriku Town\, NE Honshu) taken two months after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami\, where the harbour was destroyed and parts of the land subsided below sea level as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Junzo Uchiyama.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-junzo-uchiyama-surviving-the-apocalypse-catastrophe-archaeology-in-ancient-japan/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260326T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260326T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T162903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T161741Z
UID:24653-1774549800-1774557000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Melanie Gibson - Frederick Leighton: A Victorian Traveller and Collector in the Middle East
DESCRIPTION:This talk is connected to Dr Melanie Gibson’s recent publication The Arab Hall – Frederick Leighton: Traveller and Collector (Gingko\, 2026). \n— \nAbout the Talk\nBefore becoming President of London’s Royal Academy in 1878\, the artist Frederick Leighton made trips to southern Spain\, Egypt\, Turkey and Syria. During this period\, he started putting together a collection of ceramics and carpets. After his death in 1896 his art collection was entirely dispersed\, and his reputation as an Islamophile rests solely on his construction of the ‘Arab Hall’\, the lavish tiled and domed room that he added to his studio home in Kensington. \nIn this talk Dr Melanie Gibson will discuss Leighton’s interest in Islamic architecture and design. Her research has shown that Leighton had a discerning eye and that some of his prize pieces are now held in museums worldwide. \n  \nAbout the Speaker\nDr Melanie Gibson writes and lectures on the ceramics of the Middle East. Having studied Arabic at Oxford University\, where her interest in the history of the ceramics of the Islamic world began\, she gained her doctorate at SOAS\, University of London. She is Editor of the Gingko Art Series\, and a Trustee of the Friends of Leighton House\, where she first became fascinated by the history behind the creation of The Arab Hall. \n— \nImage: Albumen print dated c.1895 showing some of Leighton’s collection on display in the Arab Hall. \n— \nFree and open to all. In person and online via Zoom. \nTo attend online\, email emd@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-melanie-gibson-frederic-leighton-a-victorian-traveller-and-collector-in-the-middle-east/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260331T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260331T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T163035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260320T170929Z
UID:24088-1774981800-1774987200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Kitazawa Hideta - Noh theatre masks: demonstration and discussion
DESCRIPTION:Renowned mask-carver Kitazawa Hideta will be joined by author and producer of English-language noh Jannette Cheong\, to explore the process of designing\, carving and working with noh masks. Kitazawa is unique in the noh world in making new masks for innovative and experimental noh pieces\, including English-language noh\, as well as producing classical noh and kyogen (nohgaku) masks. He will demonstrate the different stages of carving\, offering a rare opportunity to understand how iconic noh masks are made for both traditional and contemporary noh. \nThis event is part of the Japanese Studies series organised in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and The Courtauld Institute of Art. \nKITAZAWA HIDETA is a wood sculptor and noh mask maker based in Tokyo. He learned traditional wood carving of Buddhist and Shinto statuary from his father\, Kitazawa Ikkyo\, and later studied noh mask carving. He currently produces classical noh and kyogen masks and has been designated a master craftsman by the Tokyo Metropolitan government. Kitazawa has also created numerous shinsaku “new” masks for foreign language noh productions\, notably those of Theatre Nohgaku\, as well as for other noh influenced plays. \nAUTHOR\, JANNETTE CHEONG is a poet\, playwright\, designer and Theatre Nohgaku-affiliated artist. London born\, she has been involved with education and artistic collaborations internationally for almost 40 years. She is the author of the English noh Pagoda\, and her ballet-noh-opera collaborative piece\, Opposites-InVerse\, was performed for Matsui Akira’s tribute programme: Noh Time Like the Present\, London (2017). Her English noh Between the Stones (Europe\, 2020) was again toured by Oshima Noh Theatre/Theatre Nohgaku. \nAUTHOR\, RICHARD EMMERT is professor emeritus at Musashino University\, Tokyo\, where he taught classical noh and Japanese and Asian traditional performing arts. Born in Ohio (USA)\, he is a certified Kita school noh instructor and led noh performance workshops worldwide. Founder of Theatre Nohgaku\, he has composed noh music for numerous English noh productions. He is the co-author of a series of seven noh performance guides and author of the six-volume The Guide to Noh of the National Noh Theatre. \nDr MARGARET COLDIRON is a theatre director\, performer\, teacher and a specialist in Asian performance and masks. She is the author of Trance and Transformation of the Masked Actor in Japanese Noh and Balinese Dance Drama (Mellen Press 2004) and has published widely on masks\, Asian and intercultural performance and actor training.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-kitazawa-hideta-no-theatre-masks-demonstration-and-discussion/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260414T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260414T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T163111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T114848Z
UID:24693-1776191400-1776198600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Susan Bean - Hidden in Plain Sight: Clay Sculpture in South Asia
DESCRIPTION:This talk is connected to Susan Bean’s recent publication Clay Works—Earthen Sculpture in South Asia (Bloomsbury Publishing\, 2026). The event is hosted in collaboration with the Indian Art Circle lecture series\, SOAS. \n  \nAbout the Talk\nThis presentation introduces Clay Works—Earthen Sculpture in South Asia\, recently released by Bloomsbury Publications\, London. Air-dried clay (a.k.a. terracruda)\, along with stone\, metal\, wood\, and fired clay\, stands among South Asia’s oldest and most widely used mediums for sculpture. Typically finished in vivid color\, the medium has been largely overlooked in studies of the region’s arts\, often misidentified as stucco or terracotta\, and sidelined as too fragile and exuberantly colored to be ‘art.’ The presentation brings together some of the most prominent practices across the region to consider why painted air-dried clay has been so valued as medium for figural sculpture\, and what its sidelining reveals about the study of art and visual culture. \n  \nAbout the Speaker\nSusan S. Bean is an Independent Scholar and Former Senior Curator of South Asian Art at Peabody Essex Museum. She is Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Center for Art & Archaeology\, American Institute of Indian Studies\, India and USA. \n  \nFree and open to all. In person and online via Zoom. \nTo attend online\, email emd@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/susan-bean-hidden-in-plain-sight-clay-sculpture-in-south-asia/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260423T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260423T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T163534Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T112352Z
UID:24086-1776969000-1776974400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(Japan Series) Peter Kornicki - Hidden knowledge: why Edo-period Japan was not a print society
DESCRIPTION:This event is part of the Japanese Studies series organised in collaboration with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and The Courtauld Institute of Art. \nAbout the Talk\nAlthough the Edo period has often been branded the age of print culture\, in fact manuscript production increased in the Edo period and huge numbers of literary\, historical\, philosophical and scientific works circulated only in the form of manuscript books. What is more many of these works survive today in hundreds of copies\, while many printed editions paradoxically survive in far fewer copies. However\, manuscript culture in the Edo period has largely been ignored in both Japanese and Western scholarship. In this paper I shall explore some of the reasons for the decision not to print but to circulate in the form of manuscript. For example\, one of Ogyū Sorai’s best-known writings is his Political Discussions (Seidan)\, which he completed in 1727: it was printed for the first time in 1859\, but in a limited private edition. Until that time\, for over 100 years it circulated solely in the form of manuscript copies and today more than 100 of these manuscript copies are extant. What is more\, within two years of Sorai’s completion of this work\, a village headman in Kurashiki already owned a manuscript copy. From this example\, we can see that even works that were not printed in the Edo period nevertheless managed to achieve a wide circulation and have an impact. What were the motives for the avoidance of print in this and other cases? There is\, of course\, no single explanation\, but in this paper I will explicate some of those motives and demonstrate that focusing on print culture inevitably leads to a major distortion in our understanding of cultural production in the Edo period. \nAbout the Author\nPeter Kornicki is Emeritus Professor of Japanese at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the British Academy. His most recent publications are Languages\, scripts\, and Chinese texts in East Asia (2018)\, Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain’s War with Japan (2021)\, Printing technologies and book production in 17th-century Japan (2025) and Soto kara mita Edo jidai no shoseki bunka: shahon\, hanpon\, zaigai shoseki (2025). \n  \nFree and open to all. In person and online via Zoom. \nTo attend online\, email emd@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/japan-series-peter-kornicki-hidden-knowledge-why-edo-period-japan-was-not-a-print-society/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_0012-768x605-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260430T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260430T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T163713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T130532Z
UID:24090-1777573800-1777579200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Yashaswini Chandra - Domesticating the Margins: Bibis in the Mofussil
DESCRIPTION:About the Talk\nThis talk is based on case studies from an ongoing project\, A Multiracial History of Women’s Spaces of Colonial India. The research seeks to articulate the embodied experiences of diverse Indian and European women across the lines of caste and class to present an alternative history of colonialism. In the talk\, I focus on interracial relationships between British men and their Indian bibis or companions/concubines in parts of the mofussil as examples of the gendered nature of colonial enterprises to unpack the overlaps between these projects to domesticate the margins and the intimate lives of their agents. At the same time\, the talk discusses the means for uncovering the histories of such subaltern women by utilising a range of sources\, from reading archives against the grain to drawing on material culture – including the materiality of the landscapes and sites they occupied. \n\nAbout the Speaker\nYashaswini Chandra is Lecturer in South Asian Art History at the University of Edinburgh. She specialises in South Asian art and material culture\, working across premodern and colonial periods. My research includes the arts and cultures of the Himalayas\, Rajasthan\, Mughal India and colonial India\, combined with animal studies and women’s history. There are threads that connect her diverse interests. The foremost is a concern with locating art at the centre of interdisciplinary research and pedagogy. The second is an interest in marginalised places and groups of South Asia\, and approaching centres from the peripheries. She aims to establish a link between the past that survives in archives\, museums and historiography\, that which is reformulated in popular imagination\, and the past that exists as lived history in contemporary India. \nHer first book is The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback. It was published in South Asia by Pan Macmillan India under the Picador India imprint\, 2021 (paperback\, 2023) and in the UK by Holland House Books\, 2022\, also coming out as an e-book (Pan Macmillan India\, 2021) and an audiobook (Audible\, 2023). She is currently working on her next book\, based on her ongoing project\, a multiracial history of women’s spaces of colonial India. \nPrior to joining the University of Edinburgh\, she was based in India\, where she was an affiliated fellow of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies\, New Delhi\, guest faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University\, New Delhi\, as well as visiting faculty at Ashoka University\, Sonipat. She also spent many years working for Sahapedia\, an open online resource on the arts\, cultures and histories of India. On behalf of Sahapedia\, she managed the multi-volume documentation of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) in New Delhi and other institutional collaborations. In connection with the work on the Rashtrapati Bhavan\, she co-edited two volumes\, Right of the Line: The President’s Bodyguard on the household cavalry of the Indian head of state\, and Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan tracing its transformation from a colonial stately home as the Viceroy’s House to its postcolonial afterlives. \n  \n*Note: This event will not be recorded or broadcast over Zoom
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-yashashwini-chandra-domesticating-the-margins-bibis-in-the-mofussil/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T164002Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260312T101717Z
UID:24561-1778178600-1778185800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:RAS Collections Evening 2026
DESCRIPTION:The Society’s annual Collections Evening for 2026 will feature three talks exploring its manuscript and art collections from Malaysia\, India\, and Japan\, complemented with a post-talk object viewing session. The event programme is as follows: \n  \nTalk 1: Dr Farouk Yahya – The Maxwell Collection and Local Private Libraries in the Malay Peninsula during the 19th Century\nThe collection of Malay manuscripts and printed books of Sir William Maxwell (1846-1897)\, now held at the Society\, is remarkable in terms of the quantity and variety of the material\, many of which were acquired from local sources. This brief talk will explore some of the private libraries in the Malay peninsula that formed the basis of Maxwell’s collection\, providing a valuable insight into the acquisition and circulation of books in the region during the nineteenth century. \n  \nTalk 2: Niyu Lin – Listening to the Creek Beneath: The Palimpsest of the Faulds Album\nThis presentation will explore the Society’s Faulds Album (RAS 079)\, an Edo-period concertina album that appears to contain fragments of Buddhist imagery. It focuses on the often-overlooked underlying layers of painting and calligraphy beneath the Buddhist drawings attributed to the Kanda Sōtei atelier\, revealing the album as a palimpsest that records a shift from individual\, literati practice to collective\, institutional workshop production. \n  \nTalk 3: Professor Almut Hintze\, Professor Peter Cornwell\, and Dr Myriadne Wang – Title TBC\nThis presentation will address different aspects of a major project which saw the digitisation and online display of 55 notebooks from the Society’s Edward William West archive. These largely comprise copies of Zoroastrian texts made in north-west India in the later nineteenth century. They were photographed by postdoctoral students working as part of the Multimedia Yasna project (MUYA) and later made available online via an online collections platform. \n  \nFree and open to all. In person and online via Zoom. \nTo attend online\, email emd@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/ras-collections-evening-2026/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/featured-image-1200x500_079-e1772382776323.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T164236Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260312T143322Z
UID:24092-1778610600-1778617800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Theodore Mould - In Search of Phillipo: An Armenian Merchant Between Two Empires
DESCRIPTION:This is a joint event co-hosted with the Levantine Heritage Foundation. \n— \nAbout the Lecture\nPhilip John Nigohrus\, known as Phillipo\, was an Armenian merchant from the Ottoman Empire whose contributions to Anglo-Ottoman exchange in the eighteenth century have only recently been rediscovered. Long misidentified as an anonymous groom in George Stubbs’s portrait of the Duke of Ancaster’s Eastern horse\, Phillipo was in fact a successful merchant whose trade extended across the Ottoman Empire and Europe. \nPhillipo was born in Arapgir\, in modern-day Türkiye\, in a region known as the Armenian Highlands. His early life included service as a horse soldier in the Persian army\, before he established himself in Aleppo\, a city that stood at the centre of Levantine trade. \nIn 1767 Phillipo travelled to London\, where he demonstrated Turkish leather dyeing techniques before the Society of Arts\, earning the Society’s Gold Medal. Phillipo also imported Eastern horses into England\, which he sold to the great horse breeders of the day. Aleppo was then a vital hub for this trade and Phillipo’s trade via the Levant Company placed him at its centre. On one of his journeys to London\, Phillipo also had his portrait painted by Richard Cosway\, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the summer of 1771. \nPhillipo’s presence was part of wider Armenian activity in London\, which included figures such as the adventurer Joseph Emin\, a friend of Edmund Burke\, and the merchant Johannes Padre Rafael\, who brought a case against East India Company officials in the London courts. Through their connections with the Levant and India\, these individuals formed part of a diasporic network that connected the intellectual and commercial life of Enlightenment Britain to the wider world. \n  \nAbout the Speaker\nTheodore Mould read History at the University of Edinburgh and Art History at the Courtauld Institute. His work has been published in The Burlington Magazine and Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He has worked at Artclear\, a technology company digitising the transaction of physical works of art and Anthony Mould Ltd\, a London art dealership specialising in British art. He is currently training to become a barrister.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/theodore-mould-in-search-of-phillipo-an-armenian-merchant-between-two-empires/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/6th-Levantine-Heritage-FoundationRoyal-Asiatic-Society-lecture.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T165110Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T112833Z
UID:24095-1778783400-1778788800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:(AGM + Japan Series Closing Lecture) Prof Simon Kaner - Towards 150 years of Japanese archaeology and its broader Asian connections
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/agm-japan-series-closing-lecture-prof-simon-kaner-towards-150-years-of-japanese-archaeology-and-its-broader-asian-connections/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/japanese-prints2.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260521T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260521T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T165240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T091632Z
UID:24816-1779388200-1779393600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Jonathan Orr - Imperial Rule in India: Paternal Governance and Conquest under the Lawrences and Montgomery
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text css=””] \nImperial Rule in India: Paternal Governance and Conquest under the Lawrences and Montgomery Book Launch\nAbout the Book\nThis book explores the remarkable careers of George\, Henry and John Lawrence and Robert Montgomery (Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein’s grandfather) who served in the East India Company during the first half of the nineteenth century. From modest backgrounds in the north of Ireland\, all four men would assume leading roles in the colonial administration of India. After initial training in England and in Calcutta\, they served their apprenticeships in the Delhi Territory and in the North-Western Provinces (modern day Uttar Pradesh) as military officers (George and Henry) and Collectors (of revenue) and District Magistrates (John and Robert). Henry would later make the move from military to civilian employment when he became a land revenue surveyor. As this book reveals\, these years were incredibly important in the formation of their administrative style. Ruling large swathes of northern India in paternal fashion\, John and Robert became highly knowledgeable on local agrarian affairs. Likewise\, Henry’s role as a revenue surveyor gave him a worm’s eye view of village life that was far removed from the cloistered environment of the military cantonment. Such experiences would cultivate an ethos of respecting local culture and institutions while exercising a high standard of public service and personal devotion to duty. The book assesses the Lawrences and Montgomery’s efforts in the challenging fields of land revenue surveying and assessment\, as well as their campaigns against female infanticide\, thuggee and other forms of criminality. Beyond India\, the part played by George and Henry in the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War is followed in detail\, while the latter’s time as British Resident at the Court of Nepal explores his passion for writing on important Anglo-Indian topics. This study will argue that the knowledge and skills developed by this talented quartet of Irishmen provided the crucial foundations for their later careers in the Punjab and beyond. \nAbout the Author\nJonathan Orr was educated at Foyle College\, Londonderry\, and Trinity College Dublin where he read modern history. Over the years\, he has travelled extensively in both India and Pakistan. After a career in data analytics\, working in both the UK and in India\, he moved into property development. More recently\, he has been able to devote time to his passion for Anglo-Indian history. His aim\, based on an in-depth examination of archival sources\, is to provide an accessible but absorbing reassessment of the Lawrences and Montgomery’s Indian careers for both the specialist and the general reader. He lives in south-east London with his wife Shruti and son Jude. \n  \nFree and open to all. In person and online via Zoom. \nTo attend online\, email emd@royalasiaticsociety.org for a link.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/imperial-rule-in-india-paternal-governance-and-conquest-under-the-lawrences-and-montgomery/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260602T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260602T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T165740Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T142914Z
UID:24099-1780425000-1780432200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Daniel Lowe - Title TBA
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/daniel-lowe-title-tba/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/event-placeholder.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260609T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260609T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T170025Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T170025Z
UID:24101-1781029800-1781035200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Garima Jaju - Title TBA
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-garima-jaju-title-tba/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/014.001-5.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260611T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260611T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T153751
CREATED:20251111T170237Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T170237Z
UID:24103-1781202600-1781208000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Megnaa Mehtta - Title TBA
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-megnaa-mehtta-title-tba/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lectures & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/a2-Collection.jpg
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