Third Annual Middle Bengali Retreat-cum-Workshop
August 1st-11th, 2018
This year we are holding the Middle Bengali Retreat-cum-Workshop at the Deer Park Institute in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, India (http://deerpark.in). The workshop will run from the 1st to the 11th of August, 2018. We will arrange for bus transportation from New Delhi to Deer Park and back.
The retreat aims to bring together scholars and advanced students of Middle Bengali in a relatively informal way. We will discuss texts on which a specialist is currently working. We hope that participants benefit from the session leaders’ expertise and that the session leaders benefit from the participants’ feedback. Those involved are normally academics and graduate students; however, undergraduates with a firm commitment are also encouraged to apply.
The format will be similar to our past retreats and will include outings and reading texts outdoors in the mountains and forests. Each day, three ninety-minute reading sessions will be conducted. The readings will cover a wide range of Middle Bengali texts and a variety of genres (narrative, lyric, didactic) and periods (from the Bengali Sultanate to late Mughal times). For those unfamiliar with the language, a general introduction on Middle Bengali grammar, prosody and literary genres will be provided. Dictionaries and linguistic resources will be accessible as well. Advanced fluency in modern Bengali is expected; some experience with Sanskrit and the pre-colonial Indic vernaculars will help, but is not expected. The list of session leaders and the detailed program will be out by the end of March 2018. We expect eight session leaders and twelve other participants.
Tentative Program
Arrival: morning, Wednesday, August, 1st
Reading sessions start: Thursday, August 2nd
Mid-program holiday outing: Monday, August 6th (weather permitting)
Last session: afternoon, Friday, August 10th
Departure: morning, Saturday, August 11th
Daily Schedule
08:00 – breakfast
09:00 – session 1
10:30 – tea/coffee/snacks
11:30 – session 2
13:30 – lunch
14:30 – session 3 (outdoors in the mountains, weather permitting)
19:30 – dinner
Logistics and Other Information
Accommodation, meals and most of the readings will be at the Deer Park Institute. The housing is simple, but clean and friendly. The participation fee includes room and board. People can also make their own arrangements in nearby hotels. The participation fee will be $400 USD per person for a single room with a private bathroom and $300 USD per person for a shared room with a shared bathroom. As noted above, we will provide transportation from New Delhi to Deer Park and back. These travels will be overnight trips on an air-conditioned private bus. We estimate this to cost somewhere between $100-150 USD per person. It is important for all participants to use our transportation and not make their own arrangements, as we plan on sharing the costs. Participants, however, need to make their own arrangements for staying in, getting to and getting out of New Delhi.
Please take a look at the Deer Park website and be sure to especially consult and follow their rules and regulations as the space is also a Buddhist monastery and the annual monastic rainy season retreat (Pāli vassa, Tibetan dathün) will be taking place at the same time. See below:
http://deerpark.in/assets/Documents/Deer-Park-Rules-Regulations-for-students-Final.pdf
All questions can be addressed to Ishan Chakrabarti: ishan.chakrabarti@gmail.com
Please, fill out and send the application form (click here to access the form) to the following address: middlebanglacamp@gmail.com
Deadline for applications: Tuesday, May 1st, 2018
Organizing Committee
Ishan Chakrabarti (University of Chicago)
Thibaut d’Hubert (University of Chicago)
Rebecca Manring (Indiana University, Bloomington)