The photograph shows Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, addressing the gathering.
The photograph shows Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, addressing the gathering.
Karachi, 15 October: Oxford University Press in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise de Karachi held a seminar to launch the book Sindh through History and Representations: French Contributions to Sindhi Studies edited by Michel Boivin. The book published by Oxford University Press aims to make available to English readers internationally research studies carried out by French scholars and advanced students. The topics cover the main periods of Sindh’s history, literature, architecture and anthropology and the authors seek to provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of Sindh’s legacy. The work provides a fresh perspective on Sindhi culture, and its interaction with the legacies of other provinces of South Asia.
Dr Michel Boivin graduated in Modern History, Arabic and Islamic Studies, and Persian Literature and Civilization. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for South Asian Studies and teaches modern history of South Asia at the University of Savoie (Chambéry). Dr Boivin has also published several books in French and numerous papers on the modern history of the Sindhi-speaking area (including Kutch). His main focus is the impact of British colonialism on the local society and knowledge as well as the impact of partition on Sindhi culture.
The seminar and launch ceremony, held at the Alliance Francaise de Karachi, was well-attended by academics, scholars, students, and media people. Dr Rémy Delage of National Centre of Scientific Research, Paris; Sohail Bawani of University of Karachi; Dr Fateh M. Burfat, Head of Department of Sociology, University of Karachi; Dr Michel Boivin; and Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, were the speakers at the launch. The speakers highlighted the cultural and historical legacy of Pakistan as well as the contribution the book will make in this area of study. In her address, Ameena Saiyid said that by publishing English translations of the results of French scholarship and research on Pakistan and distributing them in the UK, US, India and Pakistan, Oxford University Press hopes to promote and project French writers and their work throughout the world. She further added that through the dissemination of French excellence in research on Pakistan, we will strengthen and promote relations between Pakistan and French.