SHRI GOPAL RAJGARHIA INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM (SGRIP)
Workshops Coordinated
Gender, Kinship and the Post-human (February 20- March 1, 2025)
Key Takeaways:
As part of the Shri Gopal Rajgarhia International Program (SGRIP) at IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Dr. Barbara Schaff delivered two lectures on Posthumanism on February 23 and 24, 2025.
On February 23 , her lecture on "Posthuman Bodies" examined how posthumanism challenges traditional notions of human identity and embodiment. Drawing from thinkers like Katherine Hayles and Donna Haraway, she explored feminist critiques of disembodiment and gender norms. Through literary works such as Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro), Ex Machina (Alex Garland), and Machines Like Me (Ian McEwan), she highlighted how AI, cloning, and cyborgs complicate our understanding of agency, subjectivity, and the body in a technologically evolving world.
On February 24 , her lecture on "Posthuman Kinship" extended the conversation to non-human relationality. Referencing Donna Haraway’s Making Kin in the Chthulucene, she discussed multispecies kinship and ecological interdependence. Works like The Living Mountain (Amitav Ghosh), Elixir (Kapka Kassabova), and A Line Made by Walking (Sara Baume) were analyzed for their critiques of anthropocentrism and alternative storytelling.
Under SGRIP, Prof. Schaff’s lectures provided a critical framework to rethink embodiment, identity, and kinship in an age of rapid technological and ecological transformation
Globalectics: From Territorial Machines to “Assemblages” of Liquid Democracy (January 15-18, 2018)
Key Takeaways:
Nicholas Tampio, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, visited IIT Kharagpur in January 2018 under the Shri Gopal Rajgarhia International Program (SGRIP) . His expertise spans the history of political thought, contemporary political theory, and education policy, with a focus on thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Gilles Deleuze, and John Dewey.
During his visit, Tampio delivered a series of lectures contributing to Saswat Das’s course and discussions on globalectics. His lectures explored democracy in relation to national education standards, philosophy, and global perspectives. He also examined the democratic visions of key thinkers, including John Dewey, B.R. Ambedkar, and Hu Shih.
Beyond lectures, Tampio engaged in dialogues with visiting scholars on critical issues such as democracy and populism (Ajay Gudavarthy), democracy and international law (B. S. Chimni), and women and democracy (Chandrakala Padia). His discussions with Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha spanned various topics, including Indian politics.
Tampio’s visit fostered long-term academic collaboration. He invited Saswat Das to submit an article on Sri Aurobindo to Politics and Religion (Cambridge University Press) and to speak at Fordham University’s global justice seminar. His engagement under SGRIP exemplifies the program’s mission to enhance global academic exchange and intellectual dialogue.
