Sabita Manian, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, International Relations & Historymanian@lynchburg.edu
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Tulane University, Ph.D., Political Science (International/Comparative Politics), 1995Tulane University, MA., International Relations, 1989
St. Xavier’s College (Univ. of Calcutta), B.A. Political Science (Honors) with Economics and History (minor), 1986.
Teaching Experience
2001 onwards: Lynchburg College, Associate Professor, International Relations and History (Asian Studies)
2000- 2001: Randolph Macon Woman’s College, Visiting Professor, Asian/International Studies.1994-2000: Stephens College, Missouri, Assistant Professor (tenured), International Studies/Political Science
Courses taught (International Politics and History)
Spring 2004:
Comparative Foreign Policy; Politics of South Asia; National Model UN; Social Science Honors Seminar (From McWorld to Jihad)
Fall 2003:
Global Politics; International Relations Thesis Seminar
Spring 2003:
International Organizations and World Politics; Model United Nations; Modern Japan; World Civilizations
Fall 2002:
Global Politics; International Relations (Theory); World Civilizations (Pre-Modern period)
Spring 2002:
Comparative Foreign Policy; Quest for Justice, World Civilizations (Modern period)
Fall 2001:
Contemporary Political Problems, East Asian Politics, World Civilization
Teaching Interests
Contemporary History and Politics of Japan
This course is an introduction to the society and culture of Japan from the Shogunate to the contemporary period. The dynamics of interaction across classes and between women and men as they shaped the politics of Japan from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century is studied, not excluding Japan’s role in WWII and its subsequent era of democratisation.
East Asia
This course will examine the colonial and postcolonial politics of the Asian Pacific countries with a specific focus on three states: China, Japan and South/North Korea. The social and cultural context of this course will touch upon themes of religion, race, gender, and class issues. The course will be a combination of lectures and discussions of not only the assigned textbooks but also films and literature sources that will be used in class.
Contemporary Political Problems
The objective is to help the student learn not only to critically examine contemporary issues, but also to participate in civil-society as a responsible citizen. A comprehensive and comparative overview of major institutions and policies of modern nation-states will be presented along with analyses of the interaction between economics and politics. Such a venture inevitably involves the study of power in the domestic and international milieu through a study of current events.
Politics and History of Southern Asia
This course studies the colonial and postcolonial history and politics of Southern Asia through the lenses of race, religion, gender, and class. The focus will be primarily on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and examine not merely their domestic climate but also their bilateral and multilateral interactions.
National Model United Nations
The Model United Nations is unique in acclimatizing the student to the structure and process of the United Nations by allowing the student to simulate decision-making in the organization. The simulation involves preparation as a delegate representing a UN Member State through a thorough study of the history, politics, economics, and foreign relations of the said state. The simulation will be carried out in New York City along with 2,500 students from the US, Mexico, France, Germany, Egypt, and Japan to name a few.
Comparative Foreign Policy
How does diplomacy and statecraft take shape and in turn shape world events? This question is investigated through a study of the development, determinants, and direction of the foreign policies of key nation-states in the contemporary world, such as China, India, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United States. This course includes simulation exercises and is used to help prepare students for participation in model United Nations activities.
Asia: Religion, Gender, and Politics
The intertwining of religion, gender, and politics in Asia is an explosive mix leading to interesting consequences particularly with the modernization and urbanization of these societies. Through an understanding of the basics of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism the socio-cultural dynamics of countries such as India, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), and Japan will be explored.
The History of Civilization
How cultures develop over time and across the world will be the major focus of this course. The emphasis will not be on the memory of dates but an understanding of changing trends that transcend regional and cultural boundaries. The interchange and mutual influence of ideas and practices amongst various people will be examined through various interpretive lenses in attempting to comprehend how civilizations developed.
Research Interests
Security issues, right-wing extremist politics, international organizations, human rights and women’s rights
Historical and comparative approach to the states and nations of Asia (including both South and East Asia); Europe; and the Afro-Caribbean region
Current research project (book-length manuscript) is on issues of democracy, political economy, nuclear security, and human rights in India, Pakistan, and China.
Conference Papers, Workshops, and Public Lectures
“Israeli Party Politics: What is Shas for the Goose is not Sauce for the Gander,” article published in David Lesch, ed., History in Dispute: The Middle East Since 1945, St. James Press/Gale Group, 2003.
2004-2005:Critical Issues: Iraq, Turkey and Iran, Chair & Discussant of Panel at the Third World Studies Conference, Macon, GA, October 7-9, 2004
Dialogism and Transnational Politics: Revisiting Globalization, the State, and War, to be presented at the Seventh International Conference on Theory & Criticism, December 2004, Visakhapatnam, India
Between the Devil(s) and the Deep Blue Caribbean Sea: Sovereignty and the Caribbean, proposed for the International Studies Association meeting, Hawaii, March 1-6, 2005
2003-04
War in Iraq: Policies, Progress, and Problems, Iraq Forum, Lynchburg College, March 2004
Sex, Lies, and Duct-tape: Global Trafficking and Security Politics, paper presented at Georgia College & State University, GA, October 24, 2003.
Georgetown Shuffle: Ecotourism and Identity Politics in Guyana, paper presented at the Caribbean Studies Association, May 26-31, Belize City, Belize.
Japan Conference on Curricula Development, Philadelphia, PA, January 24-26, 2003.
Globalization and Asian (In)Security. Paper presented at the Association of Asian Studies (Southeast), Jekyll Island, GA, January 17-19, 2003.
2001-02:
Women in Indian Literature: The Epics, Ramayana and the Mahabarata. Lecture at Randolph Macon Woman’s College, November 20, 2002.
Right of Way: International Security and Global Trafficking of Women in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Guest Speaker at Sweet Briar College, November 14, 2002.
Open Forum on War with Iraq, Panel discussant, Lynchburg College, October 28, 2002.
Faculty Seminar on Japan (workshop & trip), trip to Japan, July-August, 2002.
Globalization and (In)Security in an Asian Triangle -- Fig Leaf or Missile Shield? Guest Speaker at Lewis University, Illinois, on March 22, 2002.
Rich and Poor Nations: Nuclear Security and Women’s Security, Guest Lecturer for the Senior Symposium (Lynchburg College) on April 1, 2002.
Asian Security Issues Speaker at the Foreign Policy Association-YWCA sponsored Community Discussion Forum in February 2002.
For All the Tea in China: China-Taiwan Political-Security Issues in the Circum-Caribbean. Paper presented at the Asian Studies Southeast Conference, in Chattanooga, TN, on January 2002
Panel Chair, “A Fresh Look at Past Rulers of India” at the Asian Studies Southeast Conference in Chattanooga, TN, in January 2002.
Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Developments in the 19th and 20th Centuries, By A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, 2000, Book review to be published in National Identities, March 2001.
Security Considerations of China and the U.S. in the Circum-Caribbean, paper presented at the Caribbean Studies Association meeting in St. Lucia, May 2000
Civil-Military Relations and Comparative Military Ideologies in the Third World: Burma, India,and Pakistan, paper presented at the Third World Studies meeting, Costa Rica, November 1999
US and World Regions in Conflict, faculty summer seminar at the University of Virginia, July 1999
NATO, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the WEU: Between Regional Security and Regional Integration, paper presented at the European Union Conference at the University of Missouri, April 1999
The Slag of Neo-Nationalist Identity and Religious Fundamentalism: State-Society Relations and Globalization in India," paper presented at the Midwest Political Science meetings, April 1998.
Chaired a panel on Politicization of Ethnic and Religious Identity, Midwest Political Science meetings, April 1998.
Organized a panel on National Identity in Europe and presented a paper titled, “Of ‘Elective Affinities’ and ‘Cyber’-rattling: Impact of Technology on Migration, Identity and Extremism,” European Studies Conference, October 1997.
Chair and Organizer of SWIPE (Society for Women in International Political Economy) roundtable, on Time Management and Tradeoffs for the International Studies Association meeting in March 1998.
Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union: Institutional Dynamics and Implications of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), presented at the Central Slavic Conference, October 1996.
Chair and Discussant, International Organizations in the Global Economy, at the International Studies Association (Midwest), October 19, 1996.
Conflict and Peacekeeping in an Evolving World, a Faculty Summer Seminar at the United States Institute of Peace, July 1996.
Of Swastikas, Bomber Jackets and Military Boots: Resurgence of Right-Wing Extremism--Sporadic Acts of Individual Violence or Systemic Problem? Presented at the Europe After the Iron Curtain conference, Westminster College, April 1996
Supranationalism, Nationalism and Regional Security: The EC and Alsace-Lorraine as a Model for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and Kashmir, paper presented at the Northeastern Political Science Conference, Nov 1995.
Security and Political Economy in the Frontline States: Angola and Mozambique, a student paper, directed for presentation at the Missouri Political Science Association, October 1995.
Global Migration and Refugees, Summer Conference, Center for International Studies, Yale University, July 1995.
Gender Perspectives on Military and Peace, at the Women and International Affairs Workshop, University of Missouri-Columbia and Stephens College, May 1995.
Energy Policy in Eastern Europe: The theory of epistemic community and the federal principle of subsidiarity, Southwestern Social Science Meeting, March 1994.
The European Commission and the Regulation of Food: An Epistemic Community in the Making, paper presented at the Louisiana Political Science Association, March 1993.
Ethnic Violence in Germany: A Revival of Neo-Nazism?" Public lecture, New Orleans, October 25, 1992; and European Integration: Problems and Prospects, a public talk sponsored by Die Frauen Gruppe, Siegmunds Hof, Berlin, Germany, May 1992.
Honors and Awards:
Mednick Fellowship for research work in Guyana, Summer 2002Lynchburg College Faculty Development grant for Japan Seminar and Travel, Summer 2002
Stephens College Sabbatical award for research and scholarship, 2000-2001.
Davis Summer Grant for the Caribbean Studies Association meeting, St. Lucia, May 2000·
Firestone Baars Grant, for the Third World Studies Meeting, Costa Rica, November 1999.
Davis Summer Grant for US & World Regions in Conflict Seminar, University of Virginia, May 1999.
Mortar Board Award for Faculty Scholarship, student nominated award, March 1999.
Who's Who Among College Teachers, student-nominated award, April 1998.
Jesse Ball duPont Scholar at the National Humanities Center, April '97.
Lilly Grant for Multicultural Awareness development, April '97.
United States Institute of Peace faculty seminar scholar, July '96.
Davis Summer Study Grant for professional development, June '96.
Lilly Diversity Grant for multicultural curricula development, May '96
Who's Who Among College Teachers, February '96.
SGA (Student Government Association) Award for teaching and advising, April '96.
Firestone Baars Grant for professional development, October '95.
Davis Summer Study Grant for Global Migration & Refugees Seminar, Yale, August '95.·
Martin Luther King Students Union Award (Stephens College) for continuing to support women of color through education and action, April '95.
Free University of Berlin Research Fellowship for dissertation research in Germany, Fall '91-'92.
Tulane Graduate School research fellowship, tuition scholarship, teaching assistantship, '87-'92
Personal interests (hobbies etc.)
Reading – fiction, western and non-western literature, poetry
Political discussions
Films – foreign films and old black and white films
Jogging
Walking
Traveling
Listening to Jazz music