Mandakranta Bose

M.A. (Calcutta et UBC), M.Litt., D. Phil. (Oxon)

Institute of Asian Research
University of British Columbia
1855 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z2   Canada


Telephone: 604-827-5720
F: 604-822-5207
E-mail: mbose@interchange.ubc.ca
 

 

Academic Honours

  •   Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, elected 1990.
  •   Fellow, Green College, University of British Columbia.
  •   Professor Emerita, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia.

Membership in Academic Bodies

  •   Former Director of the Centre for India and South Asia Research, UBC and Member of the present executive committee.
  •   Faculty Associate, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC.
  •   Faculty Associate, Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
  •   Member, Executive Committee of the Editorial Board, Pacific Affairs, Institute of Asian Research, UBC.
  •   Member, Advisory Board, "Asia-Pacific Auto/Biography Studies"Australian National University.
  •   Member, American Oriental Society.
  •   Faculty Associate, Women's Studies Research Centre, Calcutta University, India.

 Selected Publications

  •  Books
    •  The Ramayana Revisited. An edited volume containing 14 articles by contributors from Canada, USA, England, Europe, India and Thailand. Oxford University Press, New York, 2004. (Peer reviewed).
    •  The Ramayana Culture: Performance, Gender and Iconography. Revised 2nd edition of A Varied Optic: Contemporary Studies in the Ramayana. [Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, 2000.] Delhi: D. K. Printworld, 2003. (Solicited)
    •  Speaking of Dance: The Indian Critique. Delhi: D. K. Printworld, 2001. (Solicited)
    •  A Varied Optic: Contemporary Studies in the Ramayana. Edited by Mandakranta Bose. Vancouver: Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, 2000.
    •  Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval and Modern India. A collection of essays by contributors from India, England and North America. Edited by Mandakranta Bose. New York: Oxford University Press. 2000. (Peer reviewed)
    •  The World My Mother Gave Me: Asian Women's Perspectives and Perceptions in Literature. Essays on literary texts from China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India. Edited by Mandakranta Bose. Vancouver: Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, 1998.
    •  The Dance Vocabulary of Classical India. Second (revised) edition of Classical Indian Dancing: A Glossary, 1970. Delhi: Indian Books Centre, 1995.(Solicited)
    •  Movement and Mimesis: The Idea of Dance in the Sanskritic Tradition. Dordrecht, Holland: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.
    •  Nartananirnaya by Pundarika Vitthala, ed. Mandakranta Bose. Calcutta: General Printers, 1991.
    •  Supernatural Intervention in The Tempest and Sakuntala. Salzburg: Institut fr Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 1980.
    •  Classical Indian Dancing: A Glossary. Calcutta: General Printers, 1970.

     Forthcoming:

    •  Sangitanarayana: A Critical Edition. Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. In press.(Solicited and peer reviewed)
  •  Articles
    •  Invited contribution: "Kohala: The Lost Dramaturge of Ancient India" in Kalakalpa, Vol.1, No. II, Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 2006, pp. 83-91. Solicited.
    •  Invited contribution: "Reading Dance: a Tale of Texts." PULSE: SOUTH ASIAN DANCE IN THE UK. Bedford, UK: Kadam Asian Dance and Music Ltd., 2005 (Spring), pp. 13-18. Solicited.
    •  Invited contribution: "Aharyabhinaya" PULSE: SOUTH ASIAN DANCE IN THE UK. Bedford, UK: Kadam Asian Dance and Music Ltd., 2005 (Summer), pp. 20-22. Solicited.
    •  Invited contribution: "In Sita's footsteps: Growing up Female in the Asian Diaspora." In the Journal of the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, Calcutta University. 2004, pp.37-44.
    •  Invited contribution: "Confrontation,Transgression and Submission: Ideals of Womanhood in the Manasamangala." In Playing For Reall: Hindu Role Models, Religion and Gender. Edited by Jacqueline Suthren Hirst and Lynn Thomas. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp.102-16.
    •  Invited contribution: "Uparupaka: A hybrid genre in the Sanskritic Tradition." In The International Journal of Hindu Studies (special issue on performance studies), Montreal, Canada. Guest editor, Bruce Sullivan,
      Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Arizona. Vol 4, issue 3, 2003, pp. 289-312.
    •  Invited contribution: "Beyond the Body: The Idea and Production of Saundarya in Classical Indian Dancing." In Saundarya: The Perception and Practice of Beauty in India (Proceedings of a conference organized by
      Carleton University & India International Centre, Delhi). Delhi: Samvad India Foundation, 2003.pp. 54-61.
    •  Invited contribution: "Wem gehort der klassische indische Tanz? Die Frage nach den Besitzverhaltnissen und die Auffuhrung auf der globalen Buhne," [German translation of a paper entitled: "The Ownership of Indian
      Classical Dancing and Its Performance on the Global Stage"] Singulaitaten-Allianzen. Interventionen 11. Zurich, Wien: Instituts fur Theorie der Gestaltung und Kunst (ith), Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst Zurich (HGKZ), 2002. pp.109-28.
    •  Invited contribution: "Dancing to the master's tune: Gender and Performance in the South Asian Tradition." The Journal of Women's Studies, VOL. 3, NO.1 and 2. Calcutta: University of Calcutta. India, 2002. pp. 1-15.
    •  "Beginnings: Legends of Origin in the Krittivasi Ramayana." In Devotional Literature in South Asia: Current Research 1997-2000, edited by Winand Calewart and Dieter Taillieu, Leuven & Delhi: Manohar Publishers,
      2002. pp.23-28.
    •  Invited contribution: "Traditional Life Writing/Life Story Forms: India." [on women's writing in India, 600 bce] to Encyclopedia of Life Writing, London: Fitzroy Publishers, 2001.
    •  "Confrontation, Transgression and Submission: Ideals of Womanhood in the Manasamangala." In The Banyan Tree, edited by Mariola Offredi. Venice, Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2000.
    •  Invited contribution: "The Lost Natyavidhi of the Jaina Tradition." In Approaches to Jaina Studies: Philosophy, Logic, Rituals and Symbols, eds., N. K. Wagle and Olle Qvarnstrom. Toronto: Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto. 1999.
    •  "Rabindranath and the Poetic Heritage of Bhakti." Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Early Literature in New Indo-Aryan Languages, University of Washington, Seattle. Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 1999.
    •  Invited contribution: "Sastra and Prayoga: The Use of Abhinayadarpana." Festschrift in honour of Dr. S.S. Janaki.. Madras: Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, 1998.
    •  Invited contribution: "Gender and Performance: Classical Indian Dancing." In the Routledge Reader in Gender and Performance, ed. L. Goodman and S. J. de Gay. 1998.
    •  Invited contribution: "Defining Dance: A New Approach in Sarngadeva." Proceedings of the Sarngadeva Festival, India (under the auspices of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi). 1998.
    •  "The Rhetoric of Seduction in Damodaragupta's Kuttanimata" (a comparative study of the Sanskrit work with Ovid's Ars Amatoria). Journal of the Institut fr Kultur und Geschichte Indiens und Tibets, Hamburg, 1997.
    •  Invited contribution: "Dance at the Crossroads: An Early Source of Kathak." In a felicitation volume in honour of Dr. Kalyan Dasgupta, Delhi. In press.
    •  Invited contribution: "Taslima Nasrin: Tales of Shame." Hecate (vol. 21, no. 2) 1995. Carleton University & India International Centre, Delhi). Delhi: Samvad India Foundation, 2003.pp. 54-61.
    •  Invited contribution: "The Gupta Dynasty." Chapter co-authored with Tirthankar Bose, in World Civilizations. Toronto: Gage Educational Publishing, 1993.
    • Invited contribution: "Categories of Dance: Bandha and Anibandha." In The Traditional Indian Theory and Practice of Music and Dance. Vol. 11 of the Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference, ed. Jonathan Katz. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992.
    •  Invited contribution to a section of Kala Kosa (Encyclopaedia of the Arts), published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, India, under the general editorship of Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan. Vols. I and II published in January 1989-92.
    •  "Nartananirnaya: A Landmark in the Literature of Dance." Berliner Indologische Studien, Berlin, vol. 6, 1991.
    •  Invited contribution: "Lasya: Dance or Drama?" In Sanskrit and Related Studies, ed. B. K. Matilal and P. Bilimoria. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1990..
    •  Invited contribution: "Identity through Rebellion: A Study of Women in Balzac, Dickens, and Saratchandra." In R.C. Prasad and A.K. Sharma, ed. Modern Studies and Other Essays in Honour of Dr. R. K. Sinha. New Delhi: Vikas, 1987.

       Forthcoming:

    •  Invited paper: "Miraculous Maternity: A Gender Paradox in the Ramayana" in Traditional South Asian Medicine, Institut Fuer Indoligie und Suedasien Wissenschaften, Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle Wittenberg, Germany, In press. Scheduled date of publication, 2007.
    •  Invited paper: "What happened to Sita's voice: Sita in three Bengali Ramayanas" In Sita, edited by Malashri Lal and Namita Gokhle. In press. Delhi, India. Scheduled date of publication, 2006.
    •  Invited paper: "Indian dance forms." In Outlines of Art: Peaks of Creativity, special issue of the Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, India. In press. Scheduled date of publication, 2006.
    •  "Uparupaka and the Evolution of the Performing Arts of India." In Proceedings of the Twelvth World Sanskrit Conference, Helsinki. In press. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Scheduled date of publication, 2006.

Recent Teaching

  •  Visiting Fellow: Gave a series of lectures on "Women and Religion" at the Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford University, UK. Trinity Term, 2006.
  •  Visiting Professor: Simon Fraser University. "Art and Religion," Fall Term, 2005.
  •  Visiting Professor: Simon Fraser University. "Women and Religion," Fall Term, 2004.

Recent Lectures and Conference Papers

  •  2006 Invited lectures:
    •  "Theory and Practice of the Sanskrit texts on histrionics." JawaharlalNeheru University, Delhi, 20 September 2006.
    •  "Private dilemma and Public ceremony: The performance of authority in the Ramayana." University of Delhi, 19 September 2006.
    •  "Sita's voice in the Ramayanas," conference on the "Sanskrit Studies in the Modern World" University of Manchester, UK. 25 May 2006.
    •  "Sangitanarayana and the problem of authorship." Department of Sanskrit, University of Madras, 24 February 2006.
    •  "Bharata's concept of dance." Department of Philosophy, University of Madras, 21 February 2006.
    •  "What happened to Sita's voice: Tales from three Bengali Ramayanas." Department of Women's Studies, University of Baroda, 30 January 2006.
    •  "Integrating Heritage, Religion and Tradition--Understanding South Asia." Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Calcutta, 21 January 2006.
  •  2005:
    •  "Rabindranath's Dance and Indian Modernity." University of Toronto, 11-13 November 2005. Invited paper, selected for publication.
    •  "Tradition and its Discontents: Gender and Modernity in Classical Dance of India." The 33rd South Asia conference in Madison-Wisconsin, 6-9 October 2005.
    •  "An Art of One's Own: Heritage, Gender, and Classical Indian Dance." Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations, UBC, 9 March 2005.
    •  "The Ramayana: The Source-text and Its Cultural Translations." University of Calcutta, 26 February 2005.
    •  "Kutiyattam: Sanskrit drama in the performance tradition of Kerala." Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi (Music Academy), India, 6-7 February 2005.
    •  "Uparupaka, or minor drama: A Hybrid Genre in the Sanskritic Tradition." Aligarh Muslim University, India, 31 January 2005.
  •  2004:
    •  Invited Lecture on two recent Indian films: Devdas and Chokher Bali "Politics and Gender in Rituparno Ghosh's Chokher Bali." University of Washington, Seattle, 2-3 April 2004.
    •  Invited lecture: "Passage to Power: The Paradox of Submission in Indian Legends of Women." Department of Religion at Manchester University, England, 28 April 2004.
    •  Invited lecture: "Gender and Refashioning of Classical Indian Dancing in the South Asian Diaspora," in a lecture series on "New Directions in South Asian Dance: Postcolonial Identity Construction." University of Surrey at Roehampton, 4 May 2004.
  •  2003:
    •  Invited Lectures, Seminars and Interviews during research trip to India, September-December.

       INTERVIEWS: CALCUTTA

    •  "The Idea of Goddess in the Hindu Tradition and its influence on women." Doordarshan TV (National Television of India), 14 December 2003.
    •  "Hindu Fundamentalism and the Indian diaspora." Doordarshan TV (National Television of India), 13 December 2003.

       LECTURES: CALCUTTA, DELHI AND SHIMLA

    •  "Re-Inventing the Ramayana in Twentieth Century Bengali Literature." The Asiatic Society, Calcutta. 5 December 2003.
    •  "Bharata's concept of Dramaturgy." Department of Sanskrit, Calcutta University, Calcutta. 30 November 2003.
    •  "Images of Goddess and Contemporary Indian Women." Department of Women's Studies, Calcutta University, Calcutta. 27 November 2003.
    •  "Classical thoughts on Drama and their relevance in understanding the ancient culture." Department of Sanskrit, Jadavpur University, Calcutta. 26 November 2003.
    •  "Re-Inventing the Ramayana in Twentieth Century Bengali Literature." India International Centre, New Delhi. 23 October 2003.

       SEMINARS: CALCUTTA, DELHI AND SHIMLA

    •  "Challenges in preparing a critical edition of a 17th century Sanskrit text on dance and music, Sangitanarayana." Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. 22 October 2003.
    • "Self-Questioning in the Ramayana." Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla: (Visiting Professor). 15 October 2003.
    • "In Sita's footsteps: Growing up Female in the Asian Diaspora." Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, Calcutta University, Calcutta. 30 September 2003.

       OTHER LECTURES

    •  Presented a paper, "Uparupaka and the Evolution of the Performing Arts of India," at the World Sanskrit Conference, Helsinki, 14-18 July 2003.
    •  Chaired a session, "Studying Ramayana Performances," and presented a paper, "Gender and Performance in the Canadian Diaspora," at the Canadian Asian Studies Association, Conference of the Learned Societies of Canada, Halifax, 1-3 June 2003.
    •  Delivered an invited lecture, "Integrating Religion, Tradition and Modernity: Understanding South Asia," at Seattle Community College, 23 May 2003.
  •  2002:
    •  Invited paper on the "The idiom and the idea of the body in Visnudharmottara Purana" at the Vedanta (Sanskrit) Conference at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 12 September 2002.
    •  "Re-inventing the Ramayana in Bengali Literature," South Asia Colloquium of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Washington. 9 March, 2002.
    •  "The Ownership of Indian Classical Dancing and Its Performance on the Global Stage," invited lecture in the Interdisciplinary Studies series, Green College, UBC, 6 March, 2002.