BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.1//EN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Eastern Standard Time BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:Eastern Standard Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250301T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:Eastern Daylight Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:The Moynihan Institute’s South Asia Center presents Chaise LaDo usa from Hamilton College and Christina Davis from Western Illinois Univer sity.The National Democratic Alliance government of India advocates for ed ucation in the mother tongue in its National Education Policy 2020. The po licy discusses English\, which has become aspirational in India for people of all class and regional backgrounds\, only in the context of its offeri ng as a subject of study and the need for bilingual textbooks. Based on a forthcoming co-authored book\, this talk draws on participant observation and interviews at three higher education institutions—Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar\, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University— to offer the first consideration of how students wrestle with ideologies o f mother tongue and English. The talk examines education policy and a camp us cultural event to trace ideological constructions of mother tongue and English. Student reflections show that their constructions of mother tongu e are far more complex\, varied\, and critical than what is possible in na tional or performative contexts. They also demonstrate the struggle studen ts engaged in to make sense of the crucial place of English in their acade mic and social lives. Students’ digital practices show that they embody cr eative capacities with respect to languages they identify as mother tongue s and English.Chaise LaDousa \;is the Sidney Wertimer Professor for Ex cellence in Advising and Mentoring and professor of anthropology at Hamilt on College. His interests include language and education in the United Sta tes and India. He is the author of \;Hindi Is Our Ground\, English Is Our Sky: Education\, Language\, and Social Class in Contemporary India&nbs p\;(Berghahn Books\, 2014) and the co-author (with Christina P. Davis) of& nbsp\;Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Language in Indian Higher Education \;(Cambridge University Press\, forthcoming). He is also th e co-editor (with Christina P. Davis) of \;Language\, Education\, and Identity: Medium in South Asia \;(Routledge\, 2022). He also recently published “The Agency of ‘Doing Something’: Ethnographic Research on Subje ct Positions at Predominantly White Institutions” (Journal for the Anthrop ology of North America\, 2024).Christina P. Davis is professor of anthropo logy in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Western Illinois U niversity. Her research focuses on multilingual education\, language polic y\, and digital media practices among youth in India and Sri Lanka. She is the author of The Struggle for a Multilingual Future: Youth and Education in Sri Lanka (Oxford University Press\, 2020) and the co-author (with Cha ise LaDousa) of Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Language in Ind ian Higher Education (Cambridge University Press\, forthcoming). She is al so the co-editor (with Chaise LaDousa) of Language\, Education\, and Ident ity: Medium in South Asia (Routledge\, 2022). Her recent articles include “The Language Politics of Aragalaya: A Trilingual Protest Movement in Post war Sri Lanka” (Anthropological Quarterly\, 2025) and “Memes\, Emojis\, an d Text: The Semiotics of Differentiation in Sri Lankan Tamil Social Media Groups” (Journal of Linguistic Anthropology\, 2021). DTEND:20260324T180000Z DTSTAMP:20260510T141708Z DTSTART:20260324T163000Z LOCATION: SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Book Talk | SAC | Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Langua ge in Indian Higher Education UID:RFCALITEM639140050280063039 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The Moynihan Institute’s South Asia Center presents Chaise LaDousa from Hamilton College and Christina Davis from Wes tern Illinois University.

The National Democratic Alliance gove rnment of India advocates for education in the mother tongue in its Nation al Education Policy 2020. The policy discusses English\, which has become aspirational in India for people of all class and regional backgrounds\, o nly in the context of its offering as a subject of study and the need for bilingual textbooks. Based on a forthcoming co-authored book\, this talk d raws on participant observation and interviews at three higher education i nstitutions—Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar\, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University—to offer the first consideration of how st udents wrestle with ideologies of mother tongue and English.

The talk examines education policy and a campus cultural event to tr ace ideological constructions of mother tongue and English. Student reflec tions show that their constructions of mother tongue are far more complex\ , varied\, and critical than what is possible in national or performative contexts. They also demonstrate the struggle students engaged in to make s ense of the crucial place of English in their academic and social lives. S tudents’ digital practices show that they embody creative capacities with respect to languages they identify as mother tongues and English.

Chaise LaDousa \;is the Sidney Wertimer Professo r for Excellence in Advising and Mentoring and professor of anthropology a t Hamilton College. His interests include language and education in the Un ited States and India. He is the author of \;Hindi Is Our Ground\, English Is Our Sky: Education\, Language\, and Social Class in Contempora ry India \;(Berghahn Books\, 2014) and the co-author (with Christ ina P. Davis) of \;Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Lang uage in Indian Higher Education \;(Cambridge University Press\, f orthcoming). He is also the co-editor (with Christina P. Davis) of \;< em>Language\, Education\, and Identity: Medium in South Asia \;(R outledge\, 2022). He also recently published “The Agency of ‘Doing Somethi ng’: Ethnographic Research on Subject Positions at Predominantly White Ins titutions” (Journal for the Anthropology of North America\, 2024) .

Christina P. Davis is professor of anthropology i n the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Western Illinois Univers ity. Her research focuses on multilingual education\, language policy\, an d digital media practices among youth in India and Sri Lanka. She is the a uthor of The Struggle for a Multilingual Future: Youth and Education i n Sri Lanka (Oxford University Press\, 2020) and the co-author (with Chaise LaDousa) of Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Language in Indian Higher Education (Cambridge University Press\, forthcoming ). She is also the co-editor (with Chaise LaDousa) of Language\, Educa tion\, and Identity: Medium in South Asia (Routledge\, 2022). Her rec ent articles include “The Language Politics of Aragalaya: A Trilingual Pro test Movement in Postwar Sri Lanka” (Anthropological Quarterly\, 2025) and “Memes\, Emojis\, and Text: The Semiotics of Differentiation in Sri Lankan Tamil Social Media Groups” (Journal of Linguistic Anthropology\ , 2021).

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