Chautari Annual Conference - 2023 (Program Schedule)

09:20 a.m.
Opening Remarks:  MC

09:20 a.m.
Opening Remarks:  MC

Hall A

Hall B

09:30 a.m.
Panel 1: Mobility, Migration and Livelihood
Moderator: Jeevan Baniya, Social Science Baha

Paper I: Analysing the Issues of Bhagnay and Ghumnay among the Migrant Bhariyas of Nepal in Kalimpong Town, India
Ambika Rai, PhD Scholar, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Paper II: Labor Migration, Income, Skills in Tamang Old House Building: An Ethnographic Study of the ‘Sense of Loss’ in the Post-reconstruction Context, Sindhupalchowk, Nepal
Bhim Prasad Rai, PhD Student, Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper III: Dynamics of South-South Migration in the Himalayan Region: Exploring Temporariness and Agency of Nepalese Migrants Workers
Garima Bhandari, PhD Candidate, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

Floor Discussion

09:30 a.m.
Panel 2: Classroom Diversity, Pedagogy and Examination
Moderator: JB Biswokarma, Dignity Initiative/Martin Chautari

Paper I: Exploring Inclusive Classroom Practices: A Case from Nepal
Pramod Bhatta, Researcher, Martin Chautari and Tejendra Pherali, Professor of Education, Conflict and Peace, University College London, UK

Paper II: Climate Change, Offensive Politics and Community Life in Himalayan Region: A Pedagogical Intervention
Shipra R Upadhyay, Convener, Memory Culture Initiative, India

Paper III: उच्च शिक्षा: चिटिङ र परीक्षा प्रणाली
देविराम आचार्य, विद्यावारिधि शोधार्थी, काठमाडौँ विश्वविद्यालय, नेपाल

Floor Discussion

11:00 a.m. (Break)

11:15 a.m.
Panel 3: Street Businesses, Urban Poverty and Technology
Moderator: Sabin Ninglekhu, Heritage as Placemaking: The Politics of Solidarity and Erasure in South Asia, Social Science Baha

Paper I:  Street Businesses in Kathmandu: Crushed by the Pandemic, Evicted by the State
Sudhir Shrestha, Kathmandu University School of Management, Nepal

Paper II: Baseline Study of Socioeconomic Conditions of Urban Poor Communities in Kathmandu
Pratik Chhetri, Neha Malla, Bonita Sharma, Eva Gyawali, Ritendra Badu, Prapti Giri; Anjila Pandey; Niroj Bhandari; and Himanshu Rayamajhi

Paper III: An Indigenous Technology on the Verge of Extinction
Sachin Ghimire, Medical Anthropologist, Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Science, Nepal

Floor Discussion

11:15 a.m.
Panel 4: Literature, Cinema and Cultural Heritage
Moderator: Priyanka Chatterjee, University of North Bengal, India

Paper I: The Climate of Contemporary Nepali Novels 
Ujjwal Prasai, Martin Chautari

Paper II: In Search of Nepali Cinema: Examining Filmmaking Practice
Binod Chhetri, PhD Candidate, Department of Mass Communication, Sikkim University, India

Paper III: The Trend of Applying 3D Digital Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Nepal
Xu Mengru, MA Student in Archaeology, Lumbini Buddhist University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

12:45 p.m.–1.45 p.m. (Lunch)

1:45 p.m.
Panel 5: The Living Mountain: Intersubjective Readings
Moderator: Andrew Nelson, University of North Texas, USA

Convener of the Panel: Swatahsiddha Sarkar, Professor, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Panelists:
Paper I: Writing the Mountains: The Living Mountain Forty-five Years Apart
Priyanka Chatterjee, Centre for Distance and Online Education, University of North Bengal, India

Paper II: Mountaineering in Himalaya: Exploring the Dynamics of Anthropocene and the Interplay with Nature
Debaditya Dutta, Assistant Professor in Sociology, Mangalkote College, India

Paper III: The Living Mountain, Himalayan History and the Edge Effect
Somoshree De, PhD Candidate, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, India

Floor Discussion

3:15 p.m. (Break)

3:30 p.m.

Keynote Address
Historical Persistence and Social Change
Professor Avidit Acharya, Stanford University, USA

5:00 p.m. (End of Day 1)

Hall A

Hall B

09:30 a.m.
Panel 6: Researching Menstrual Health
Moderator: Dushala Adhikari, Independent Researcher

Paper I: Methodological Reflections on Doing Fieldwork on Menstruation as Menstruator in Western Nepal: Positionality, Ethical Dilemma, Hidden Struggle, and Emotional Toll of Researching Sensitive Issues
Rajya Laxmi Gurung, MPhil in Sociology, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper II: Beyond Mary Douglas: Waste Materialities and Menstrual Hygiene Management in Shankharapur Municipality, Nepal
Sierra Humbert, PhD Fellow, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Paper III: It Begins at Home: Perception and Practices of Menstrual Taboos among Adolescent Girls in Urban Setting of Lalitpur: A Mixed Method Study
Dikshya Karki, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal and Prof Madhusudan Subedi, School of Public Health, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal

Floor Discussion

09:30 a.m.
Panel 7: Media, Pandemic and Democracy
Moderator: Devraj Humagain, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Impact of Digital Divides on Media Education in Nepal during Covid-19 Pandemic: Educators’ Perspective
Lekhanath Pandey, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism, Tribhuvan University and Umesh Pokharel, PhD Student, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper II: The Impact of Media on Nepal's Transition to Democracy: A Critical Analysis
Ugyal Tshering Lama Yolmo, PhD Scholar, Department of Mass Communication, Sikkim University, India

Paper III: Securitization of Covid-19 by Nepalese Media: An Examination of The Kathmandu Post
Ashish Ghimire, MA in International Relations, South Asian University, India

Floor Discussion

11:00 a.m. (Break)

11:15 a.m.
Panel 8: Religion and Law
Moderator: Durga Karki, International IDEA

Paper I: Religion and Secularism in South Asia: Some Reflections on Nepal
Mohan Kumar Mishra, PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Banaras Hindu University, India

Paper II: Roman Catholic Government and Mission to Nepal in the Seventeenth Century: An Assessment
Enrico Beltramini, Notre Dame de Namur University, USA

Floor Discussion

11:15 a.m.
Panel 9: Gender, Discrimination and Disability
Moderator: Kailash Rai, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Discrimination Faced by Madheshi Women in Nepal
Ranju Kumari Yadav, PhD Scholar, Department of Gender Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper II: Gender and Disability in the Discourse of Social Inclusion
Neera Adhikari, PhD Candidate, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Paper III: Transfer of Parental Socio-economic Characteristics into the Married Couple in Rural Context of Nepal
Badri Aryal, Assistant Professor, Development Studies, Pokhara University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

12:45 p.m.–1.45 p.m. (Lunch)

1:45 p.m.
Panel 10: Institutions and Infrastructure
Moderator: Sudhir Shrestha, Kathmandu University School of Management, Nepal

Paper I: Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Agro-advisory Services for Small-holder Farmers
Hritika Rana, Post-Doc Fellow, Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University School of Arts, and Bristi Vaidya, Research Associate, Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University School of Arts; Nepal

Paper II: Institutional Change of Farmer-managed Irrigation Systems: Experience from Nepal
Jagadish Parajuli; Hallie Eakin; Netra Chhetri; and John M. Anderies; Arizona State University, USA

Paper III:  Affective Infrastructure: Exploring the Road as a Place-making Politics in Nepal
Shyam Kunwar, Martin Chautari

Floor Discussion

3:15 p.m. (Break)

03:30 p.m.
Panel 11: विद्यालय शिक्षाको इतिहास
Moderator: Pratyoush Onta, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Hundred Years of Nepali Varnamala and the Loss of Its Diversity
Deepak Aryal, Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya

Paper II: पूर्वी नेपालको शैक्षिक विस्तारमा महानन्द सापकोटा र नेपाली भाषा प्रचारक संघ (वि.सं. १९९३–२०१२)   
देवेन्द्र उप्रेती, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper III: सन् १९५० अघि र पछि : दाप्चाका तामाङ जातिको शिक्षामा पहुँच
सन्जिला मोक्तान, मार्टिन चौतारी

Paper IV: गुरुङको औपचारिक शिक्षामा पहुँच : मणिसिंह गुरुङ र गोर्खा पाठशाला, शिलाङको कथा (सन् १९१५–१९५०)
रुख गुरुङ, मार्टिन चौतारी

Floor Discussion

5:30 p.m. (End of Day 2)

Hall A

Hall B

09:30 a.m.
Panel 12: Ritual, Ethnicity and Identity Politics
Moderator: Janak Rai, Tribhuvan University

Paper I: Cultural Values of Rifu among the Gurung (Tamumai): An Anthropological Study
Shanti Gurung, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Nepal

Paper II: Shaping a Sacred Place: The Changing Ritual-scape of Satya Nārāyaṇa (Harigaon, Kathmandu)
Jiajing (Iris) Mo, PhD Candidate, Department of Archaeology, Durham University

Paper III: Constructing Ethnicity and Identity of Bantawa Rai in Eastern Nepal

Raju Kumar Rai, PhD Student, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Floor Discussion

09:30 a.m.
Panel 13: Conflict, Suffering and Peacebuilding
Moderator: Seira Tamang, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Natural Resource Governance Conflicts in Federal Nepal: Prospects for Peacebuilding
Shradha Khadka, Prakash Bhattarai, Susmita Puri, Anish Khatri, and Dibesh Sayami; Centre for Social Change, Nepal

Paper II: Politics and Peacebuilding: Mapping the Sixteen Years since the Comprehensive Peace Accord in Nepal
Rajendra Sharma, Research Associate, Social Science Baha, Nepal

Paper III: Assessment of Psychological Harm Suffered during the Maoist Insurgency and the Judicial Approach Towards it in Nepal
Bishal Bajgain, and Swosti Bastola; Kathmandu University School of Law, Nepal

Floor Discussion

11:15 a.m.
Panel 14: Gender, Ageing and Re-imagination of Nepali Diaspora
Moderator: Darshan Karki, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Paper I: Plastic Smiles, Cheerful Looks and Bolne Bāni: Training Future Air Hostesses in Nepal’s Private Cabin Crew Training Schools
Anne Kukuczka, PhD Student, Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Paper II: Eng-Ageing: Emerging Social Institutions and Caring Communities for the Old in Nepal 
Sarah Speck and Samira S. Hüsler, Institute for Ageing Research, University of Applied Sciences Eastern Switzerland (OST)

Paper III: A Guthi and Chautari for Suburban Texas? The Translation and Re-imagining of Nepali Political Concepts in the Diaspora
Andrew Nelson, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Anthropology, University of North Texas, USA

Floor Discussion

11:15 a.m.
Panel 15: Youth, Masculinity and Dialogue
Moderator: Ujjwal Prasai, Martin Chautari

Paper I: Art-based Dialogue as a Tool to Promote Social Cohesion and Trust Building among Youth
Kalpana Rana Magar; Kaleli Nyaichyai; Pawan Roy; Shradha Khadka; and Prakash Bhattarai; Centre for Social Change, Nepal

Paper II: चिया गफ: The Pedagogical Potential of Chiya Gaph in Kathmandu’s Youth Sector
Phoenix Kenney, PhD Candidate, Education and Youth Development, University of Cambridge, UK

Paper III: Who Will be a Gurkha? Locating Military Aspirations and Masculinity of Nepali Youths
Sanjay Sharma, Independent Scholar

Floor Discussion

12:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Feedback

1:00 p.m. – onwards (Lunch)

Note: Each paper presenter will summarize his/her paper within 15 minutes. A designated moderator will share his/her comments on all papers in the panel in 10 minutes, and remaining time will be available for floor discussion.