SAI - News

In the recent issue of the Journal of Glaciology <http://www.igsoc.org/journal/55/194/> Dr. Susanne Schmidt and Prof. Marcus Nüsser have published an article on changes of glaciers in the north-western Himalaya. The article is a significant contribution to the clima debate. In the last weeks the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and its chair Rajendra Pachauri have been criticized for predictions regarding the impact of climate change on glaciers. The IPCC had promoted the view of dramatic melting of glaciers that included severe miscalculation of the time frame of the scenario.

The two geographers from SAI have now delivered a study grounded on long-term measurements in the Nanga Parbat region and studied the fluctuation of a particular glacier over a period of 70 years. The study shows that in the given example there is no dramatical glacier retreat during the last decades to be observed. As such the study supports results of similar research operations that have been conducted in the neighboring Karakorum region. Regarding the size of the region and its different local conditions, single studies that prove the retreat of glaciers cannot be generalized for the entire Himalaya-range with a scope of 2500 km.

The South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University, Germany, will offer an introductory course in Pashto during the spring vacations 2010. In this course, students develop speaking, reading, listening and writing skills and acquire basic vocabulary as well as knowledge of the main grammatical structures and conversational etiquette of Pashto.

The instructors, Professor (Dr) Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah and Mr. Sheerin Dil Gardewal, have taught regular Pashto courses at the Quaid-i-Azam University (Islamabad), Kabul University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi). Both are native Pashto speakers and will introduce the students to various dialects of the Pashto language mainly spoken in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Classes are scheduled to take place from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 3.30 pm. Participants who take part in the full programme and pass the written tests will be awarded 7 ECTS or equivalent credits. Languages of instruction will be English and Pashto.

All participants are requested to acquire a basic knowledge of the Pashto script prior to the course. For this purpose, we recommend: Manfred Lorenz, Lehrbuch des Pashto (Leipzig, VEB Verlag Enzyclopädie, 1979) and the following websites:

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/Pashto.htm
http://www.khpalapashtu.com/homee.htm
http://www.khyber.org
http://www.pashto.se/Alfabet Pashto/Alef Ba.htm

Time:                          1 March – 26 March 2010
Venue:                       South Asia Institute, Heidelberg
Prerequisite:             Basic knowledge of the Pashto alphabet
Fee:                            250 Euro (incl. teaching materials)
Deadlines:                  Application 15 February 2010, Payment 20 February 2010
Accommodation:      Hostel/University Guest House (limited places) on request

Contact:
-Dr Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah, Allama Iqbal Professor, South Asia Institute, E-mail:
drswas@hotmail.com  and alishah@sai.uni-heidelberg.de 

-Dr. Christina Oesterheld, Department of Modern South Asian Languages and Literatures, South Asia Institute, E-Mail: oesterheld@uni-heidelberg.de

On Wednesday, February 3rd at 12h c.t. at the Alte Aula of Heidelberg University Prof. Monica Juneja, who holds the Chair for Global Art History, will give her inaugural lecture (in German) on "Das letzte Abendmahl in der roten Wüste - wandernde Bilder, asymetrischer Austausch?".
Prior to her arrival in Heidelberg Prof. Juneja was Visiting Professor at Emory University, Atlanta and has been Professor at the Department of History, University of Delhi. For further information see the the homepage of the Chair.

In the context of the recent celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Heidelberg Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities a number of emminent professors of Heidelberg University - among them Thomas Maissen, Jan Assmann or Stefan Maul - contributed to a radio feature by Deutschlandfunk (DLF) on the phenomenon of time in different cultures. In this feature Prof. Axel Michaels talked on the concept of time in India. The entire text as well as a MP3-audiofile can be found at the DLF-website.(in German only)

From winter term 2010 the SAI will have a new professor in Development Economics. Prof. Stefan Klonner has just accepted the offer to become successor of Prof. Clive Bell, who retired in 2008. Prof. Klonner has earned his doctorate at Heidelberg University in 2001 and was following his academic career at different position at Yale and Cornell Universities hereafter. In 2007 he became Professor of International and Development Economics at Goethe University, Frankfurt. The SAI faculty is proud and happy that this outstanding expert was convinced to return to Heidelberg.