On the Symbiotic Relationship between Institutions and Values: With Special Reference to Corruption

Abstract

Individuals are constrained to act within the framework of the societal institutions. The totality of actions by individuals in the society determines the outcomes at the social level. The nature of these outcomes determines which social values will be realized and which ones will not be realized. As individual values and preferences are not completely autonomous, in general being influenced by the dominant social values, the choice of institutional structure has profound implications for both individual and social values. The phenomenon of corruption ruptures the relationship between institutions and values in several different ways. An analysis of this process has the potential of enhancing one's understanding of how corruption of certain kinds can pose grave threats to the society.

Speaker:

Prof. Satish K. Jain

Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, SSS, JNU

Venue:  SSS I Committee Room, JNU

               Date and Time: 24^th April 2014 (Thursday), 4:30 pm

"Folk Performance” from an Ethnocentric to an Aesthetico-political Understanding

Abstract

On part of the mutual learning program, this paper would like to familiarize audience with some of the key debates around “folk performance” in India. Most often, such performance is viewed from an ethnocentric perspective which not only denies its political dimensions but also obfuscates its artistic and aesthetic factors. Indeed, folk performances have both an artistic and a political dimension and both go together in its creative process. The aesthetico-political framework attempts to reconcile both these elements together in its understanding of folk performance and its broader connection with culture and society. Thinking through language, landscape, rhythm, body and movement, this paper would like to discuss the aesthetic and the politics of Indian folk performance and its ongoing appropriation in corporate cultural industries and marginalization in academic discourses. The paper suggests that Indian folk performance is not a homogenous category, and therefore, the hierarchies within the folk society also need to be recognized.

                                 Speaker: Dr. Brahma Prakash

School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU

Venue:  Committee Room, Central Library, JNU

Date and Time: 17^th April 2014 (Thursday), 4:30 pm