Social Scientists in the Civic Space

Image : Cityscape 18th-19th century, India (Rajasthan) – (CC0 1.0)

At India International Center

30 Jan 6.30 p.m. Inaugural session at India International Centre, Multipurpose Hall, Kamladevi Complex, Gate No. 1

31st Jan and 1st Feb.: Seminar room 1st floor, Kamladevi Complex.

Based on the discussions inaugurated by Max Weber or Norbert Elias, the conference “Social Scientists in the Civic Space” will debate the impact of big contemporary issues such as migration, health, economic development, big data, demography, gender etc. on research in the social sciences. It will explore their epistemological and ethical implications and discuss the diverse modes of interventions of social scientists in public debates and civic spaces. The two-day conference will contribute to a dialogue between French and Indian scholars.

Please find the abstracts for the various talks and the biographies of the speakers.

Programme :

Thursday 30th January 2020

6.30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Introduction: Arundhati Virmani, Jean Boutier, E.H.E.S.S., Centre Norbert Elias, Marseille

Chair: Sucheta Mahajan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

Key note address:

• Gopal Guru, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ethical Reconfiguration of Social Scientist and Civic Space
• Alain Trannoy, Aix-Marseille School of Economics-EHESS : Are Economists Intellectual?

Friday 31st January 2020

9.30 a.m.– 12.30 a.m. : Social sciences and the civic space

Chair: Nicolas Gravel, Centre de Sciences Humaines, Delhi

• Nandini Sundar, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, Public sociology in India
• Paul André Rosental, Sciences-Po Paris, Population, the State, and the crisis of the Western Left: A long-term perspective

Chair: Bhagawan Josh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

• Peter Ronald de Souza, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, Ideas for Swaraj
• Julien Lévesque, Centre de Sciences Humaines, Delhi, Historical narratives as performative political claims : Insights from Muslim societies of South Asia 

2.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. : Intervening in the civic space : social scientists in context

Chair: Denys Leighton, Ambedkar University Delhi

• Manohar Kumar, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, Civility in the Civic Space; The case of disobedience
• Jean Boutier, E.H.E.S.S, Paris, Centre Norbert Elias, Marseille, French Historians in a World in Crisis 1925-1939

Chair: Partho Datta, Jawaharlal Nehru University

• Arundhati Virmani, E.H.E.S.S, Marseille, Centre Norbert Elias, Marseille, Between Two Societies: National History from afar
• Ekta Singh, Ambedkar University Delhi, Reclaiming Social Sciences in the context of ‘Big Data’

Saturday, 1st February 2020

9.30 a.m.– 12.30 p.m. : Responses to social challenges (I) 

Chair: Nayan Chanda, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana

• Madhura Swaminathan, Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru, Policies of Food Security in India: The debate on targeting vs. universal distribution
• Kalpana Kannabiran, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad, Laws, lives and disobedience: experiences in higher education in the continuing present

Chair: Sunil Kumar, Delhi University

• Anne Rasmussen, Centre Alexandre Koyré for History of Science, Paris, Geographers, health borders and public debate on migration (Europe, 1900-1950)
• Bruno Dorin, Centre de Sciences Humaines, Delhi, Cirad-Cired, Paris, India and Africa in the Global Agricultural System (1960-2050): Towards a New Sociotechnical Regime? 

2.30 p.m. – 6.00 p.m.: Responses to social challenges (II) 

Chair: Asad Zaidi, Three Essays, Delhi

• Ashwani Kumar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Experiencing the Last-Mile Welfare: Notes for Six Districts of India
• Michel Bozon, Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques, Paris, Anti-Gender Movements in Two National Contexts: France and Brazil in the Last Decade

Chair: Keki N. Daruwalla, Delhi

• Srishtee Sethi, Tata Institute for Social Studies, Mumbai, Partition Past. Reflections on Belonging, Identity and Shared Histories of Refugees
• Sarayu Natarajan & Aasim Khan, Aapti Institute, Bangalore, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, Social Science and changing cultures of forecasting: Reflections on the state and big data revolution in India

Conclusions : Neera Chandhoke, Delhi University