Foreign students, teachers visit Tribune

Foreign students, teachers visit Tribune
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 11
These students from across the globe seem enthralled with the region’s history, religion, culture and language and many of them want to come and spend time exploring the country’s ethos. This was revealed by the participants of a six-week summer program on Punjab studies conducted by Prof Gurinder Singh Mann, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, who visited the Tribune today. They also interacted with the Editor-in-Chief, Mr H.K. Dua.

Since its inception in 1997, the six-week summer program held in the region and conducted by Professor Mann, Director, Centre of Sikh and Punjab Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, has attracted more than 125 students from 50 universities across nine countries.

This year too three faculty members from different universities around the world, 10 doctorate students and seven undergraduate students have joined to study Punjabi language, culture, history, religion and the geography of the region. They are Prof Shinder Thandi, heads Economics Department University of Coventry, who will also conduct workshops on economy and migration and diaspora with the participants. Prof Sadhu Binning teaches Asian studies at the University of British Columbia while John Williams teaches American Government and Law at Principia College.

Kulwinder Singh Gill has just completed his Ph.D in physics. David Fowler has just finished his undergraduate course from University of Washington and is keen on pursuing graduation with Professor Mann. David “stumbled upon the Indian program at his earlier university and this had him hooked. “The deeper you go into a subject the more you find it unifying with the other cultures of the world,” believes David about the Indian culture, history and religion. For Professor John Williams, “The program has depth and breadth and has opened up areas that I never thought I would be interested in.”