A conversation with Professor the Baroness Haleh Afshar,
Dr. Robert Beckford and Shaunaka Rishi Das
University House, University of Leeds, Friday 24th June 2011 6pm to 7:30pm
Baroness Haleh Afshar is professor of Politics and Women's Studies at the University of York and serves as a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. She is also the Visiting Professor of Islamic Law at the Faculté Internationale de Droit Comparée at Strasbourg. She has served as the Chair for the British Association of Middle Eastern Studies, Chair of United Nation Association's International Services, Chair of the British Council's Gender and Development Task Force and with the Advisory Group of the Cabinet Offices Women's Unit. In 2008 she was appointed to serve as a Commissioner on Women's National Commission. She has written and edited books on questions relating to women and development as well as Islam and feminism and Iranian politics and women.
Dr. Robert Beckford is an educator, author and award-winning broadcaster. Robert was the first ever tutor in Black Theology at Queen's College, Birmingham and is currently a Visiting Fellow at Warwick University. He is one of the most prolific black documentary presenters in Britain and his credits include the story of Jamaican Independence, Blood and Fire, the six-part series for BBC Religion, Test of Time (for which he earned a BAFTA), and The Dark Ages and the Emergence of English Inclusivity (2009). Robert is the author of books in the field of religion, culture and politics, including studies of Rastafari and Pentecostalism and Gang Culture in Birmingham. His current research explores the role of documentary film as resistance to the bewitchment of black British Christianity by a-politicism and anti intellectualism
Shaunaka Rishi Das became the first Hindu Chaplain of Oxford University in 2009. He is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, an independent centre at Oxford University dedicated to preserving and understanding India’s cultural heritage through various educational and research programmes. He has played a pivotal role in establishing the centre’s publication of the Journal of Hindu Studies with Oxford University Press and the Hindu Studies book series. Shaunaka Rishi Das is also at the forefront of the participation of the OCHS in the environmental Bhumi Project which is supported by the United Nations and the Alliance of Religion and Conservation. He has a long record of appearances on the BBC and in inter-faith forums in the UK.
Entry is free but places are limited, if you would like to attend please contact: Lori Shelbourn or Shivani Rajkomar at empowermentandthesacred@gmail.com
