American novelist and essayist, based in Brooklyn, Amitav Ghosh, spoke at Vanderbilt University in April on ‘Commodities, Conflict and Climate Change’ 

University's Asian Studies commemorated program’s 

50th anniversary

Amitav Ghosh

Acclaimed American author Amitav Ghosh examined how historical conflicts over resources in Asia have become a major driver of climate change in the Indian Ocean during an April 4 lecture hosted by Vanderbilt Asian Studies. The program hosted the talk as part of its 50th anniversary commemoration.

Ghosh addressed “Embattled Earth: Commodities, Conflict and Climate Change in the Indian Ocean”. He considered  whether university-based scholars have overlooked the crucial role played by empire and military supremacy in creating our current environmental crisis.

While on campus, Ghosh was Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos’ guest on The Zeppos Report podcast.

Ghosh is the author of the best-selling Ibis Trilogy and his recently published The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. His other books, which have been translated into more than 20 languages, includeThe Circle of Reason, the cli-fi novel The Hungry Tide, The Shadow Lines, Dancing in Cambodia and the sci-fi novel The Calcutta Chromosome.

Ghosh was born in Kolkata and grew up in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He received a doctorate from Oxford University and has taught at universities in India and the United States, including Delhi University, Columbia University and Harvard. He and his American wife raised two children, a man and a woman, who are adults now and working in the NYC financial industry.

“As a novelist and thinker, Ghosh has recently explored imperialism’s entangled histories with climate change, examining how the scale and urgency of climate change compels us to rethink the past’s relationship to the present,” said Ruth Rogaski, associate professor of history and interim director of Asian Studies. “He writes in a wide range of styles and genres, including fiction, nonfiction and journalism. We can think of no better way to celebrate our 50th anniversary than welcoming Amitav Ghosh, whose work puts Asia at the center of global history, culture and environmental challenges.”

Asian Studies explores the continent through the multiple lenses of literature, history, history of art, religious studies, political science, sociology, film and media studies, and offers language instruction in Chinese, Japanese, Hindi-Urdu, Tibetan and Korean (beginning fall 2018). The faculty’s expertise spans widely across Asian regions, encompassing Taiwan, Communist China, Japan, Korea, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

A reception and book signing followed  the lecture.  For more information, visit the Asian Studies website.