Working Group 1
European representations of India, past and present
Description
WG1 examines the development and dissemination of representations of India in Europe and its surrounding regions. Its members will collect and analyse European accounts and images of India in sources from many different, lesser-studied regions, written in more than 25 languages.
WG1 will also engage in comparative analysis of the research results from the different European regions.
Leaders
WG1 Leader, MC Member
Prof.
Róbert Gáfrik
Institute of World Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
robert.gafrik@savba.sk
Slovakia
Short Bio
I am a senior researcher and director at the Institute of World Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. I am the author of several academic books, numerous articles and edited volumes in Slovak, English and German. In 2017, together with Dušan Deák and Anna Rácová, I published a non-academic book called Farebná India (“Colourful India”). My most recent books are a monograph on the image of India in Slovak literature (Zobrazovanie Indie v slovenskej literatúre, 2018) and a translation of the principal Upanishads into Slovak (Upanišady, 2024).
WG1 Co-Leader, MC Member
Dr.
Ana Jelnikar
Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies, Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
ana.jelnikar@zrc-sazu.si
Slovenia
Short Bio
My research interests have revolved around the cultural and literary connections between India and Slovenia in the wider historical context of former Yugoslavia and East-Central Europe. My area of study encompasses (post)colonial Indian modernity, Bengali literature, Anglophone Indian writers, the history of nationalisms and universalisms in South Asia and Europe, intellectual history of ideas (e.g. hospitality), avant-garde artistic movements between the two world wars, missionary encounters with India, etc. My approach draws critically on cultural and postcolonial studies perspectives.
Working Group 2
Encounters between Europeans and Indians, past and present
Description
WG2 examines historical and contemporary encounters between Europeans and Indians and the impact of European representations on these intercultural interactions. Its members will analyse reports of encounters from different parts of Europe and India, focussing on specific places and sites of encounter.
WG2 aims for a comparative study of Europe-India encounters involving people from many different European regions, as they are reported in sources in various European and Indian languages.
Leaders
WG2 Leader, MC Member
Prof.
Marianna Ferrara
Sapienza University of Rome
marianna.ferrara@uniroma1.it
Italy
Short Bio
Marianna Ferrara obtained her PhD in History of Religions from Sapienza University of Rome and worked on the relationship between politics and ritual in Vedic text. Currently she is an Associate Professor and her research interests focus on South Asian religions, intellectual history of religions between India and Europe and religious contact in the early modern history. More recently, she is exploring the role of Indian religions in the Eranos Tagungen held at Ascona under the guidance of Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn and Carl Gustav Jung.
WG2 Co-Leader, MC Member, WG Member
Dr.
Jolita Zabarskaite
Sekretariat der Kultusministerkonferenz
jolita.zabarskaite@gmail.com
Germany
Short Bio
As a graduate in the field of area studies, Dr. Zabarskaitė is researching the history and politics of South and Southeast Asia. After conducting several longer field-research periods in India, Indonesia, and Singapore while studying in Germany and Indonesia, she received her doctorate from the University of Heidelberg. She speaks German, English, and Lithuanian and has a working knowledge of Indonesian in addition to Sanskrit and Hindi.
Working Group 3
Translations, annotations, and digital platform
Description
WG3 coordinates the translation and annotation of sources containing European representations of India in order to publish them on the ESIND digital platform. It aims to collect annotated translations of excerpts from texts on Indian culture, society, religion, and politics from more than 25 languages into English.
Along with striking visual images from historical European sources on India, these will be made available to the public and showcased in online exhibitions on the ESIND website.
Leaders
WG3 Leader
Dr.
Wim De Winter
KU Leuven
wim.dewinter@kuleuven.be
Belgium
Short Bio
Wim De Winter is currently employed as post-doctoral researcher at KU Leuven, where he focuses on early-modern intercultural interactions in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. He obtained his PhD at Ghent University in 2021 with a dissertation on the 18th-century Ostend Company's presence in Mughal India and Qing China. He teaches global history and historical anthropology with a focus on the Indian Ocean world and the conceptual implications of encounter in culture and religion.
WG3 Co-Leader, MC Member
Mgr.
Anna Vrkoslavová
Technical University of Liberec
vrkoslavovaanna@gmail.com
Czech Republic
Short Bio
Anna is a PhD candidate based at Technical University of Liberec. Her research interest consist of analysing Czech literature about Yoga. The main aim is to create a typology of specific representations and their underlying assumptions in Czech literature from 1850 to 1990.
Working Group 4
Scientific training and dissemination
Description
WG4 coordinates the training of young researchers and the creating of the ESIND network’s joint journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes and their Open Access publication.
It will also prepare the annual ESIND Training Schools and the ESIND Closing Conference.
Leaders
WG4 Leader, MC Member
Prof.
Anita Stasulane
Daugavpils University
anita.stasulane@du.lv
Latvia
Short Bio
Anita Stasulane, Professor of History of Religions, Director of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Daugavpils University (Latvia), graduated from the University of Latvia (1985) and the Pontifical Gregorian University (1998) in Rome (Italy). Her main field of research is cultural studies focusing on major paradigms of the new religious movements and youth culture. She has broad experience in executing international research projects.
Working Group 5
Non-academic dissemination and dialogue
Description
ESIND aims to disseminate its research results beyond the academic world and make European and Indian publics aware of the development of European representations of India, their impact on Europe-India encounters,and their constraints and alternatives.
WG5 coordinates the network’s activities for non-academic dissemination and dialogue such as the ESIND outreach sessions, public lectures and debates, multimedia modules, and op-eds and blogs.
Leaders
WG5 Leader, MC Member
Dr.
Zsuzsanna Varga
University of Glasgow
zsuzsanna.varga@glasgow.ac.uk
United Kingdom