The American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), established in 1973, is a bi-national research and education organization with a mission to promote academic study of Pakistan in the US and to encourage scholarly exchange between the US and Pakistan.
Dr. Esha Niyogi De has published a new, single-authored monograph, Women's Transborder Cinema: Authorship, Stardom, and Filmic Labor in South Asia, available on University of Illinois Press' website.
Last month, a team of six staff from the Civic Initiative (a business group of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute) were in Islamabad. They held a three-day follow-up conference for alumni from recent cohorts of the Study of the U.S. Institutes Comparative Public Policymaking program that has been held annually by the Civic Initiative since 2010. The SUSI program is funded by the US Department of State Education and Cultural Affairs Office.
A new honors course titled "Psychology and AI: Where AI dances with Psychology" has been proposed by Dr. Sadaf Sajjad at Austin Community College. This groundbreaking course in psychological studies provides a foundational understanding of human behavior and mental processes, integrating the study of psychology and its influence on AI. Set to be taught for the first time starting in Spring 2025, this innovative course has been reviewed and accepted by the Honors Committee at Austin Community College.
Mehtabidah Ali's research paper was published in the International Journal of Heliyon. In the study, Ali utilized NASA Satellite Data to predict the behavior of surging glaciers in the HKH ranges of Northern Pakistan and analyzed the risks with glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
Rizwan Ali Shinwari has joined a postdoctoral position in a joint project by the University of Bradfor, UK and Riphah University, Pakistan. The two-year long project will focus on the protection of children in the Pakistani community and will particularly focus on the rising trend in child sexual abuse cases. The project aims to conduct evidence-based research to reach at the core of the social issue.
A three-day conference titled “Pathways to Development” was held in mid-December (19th-21st) at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Lahore, Pakistan. The conference featured participation from several US-based scholars whose travel was facilitated by Yale University (Dr. Sarah Khan) with support from AIPS. The conference saw more than 70 speakers across 22 panel sessions and was attended by over 350 students, faculty members, scholars, and government officials.
Dr. Dadi has curated and edited the Lahore Biennale 01 Reader, a compilation of scholarly essays that weaves together cultural politics and the art scene of the entire global South. The book draws upon a series of conferences from 2018. In March of that year, the American Institute of Pakistan Studies sponsored several scholars to travel to Lahore, Pakistan to host a series of workshops as part of the inaugural Lahore Biennale; a two-week, community-centered initiative that sought to foster Lahore’s rich art and culture scene. Dr.
The American Institute of Pakistan Studies sponsored “The Pakistan Conference: 75 Years of Independence,” hosted at Harvard University by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute on November 29th and 30th, 2022. This was the first time that a Harvard department has organized a conference specifically centered on the field of Pakistan studies. This two-day conference had an interdisciplinary focus across all fields relating to Pakistan, with 40 presenters from a global community of scholars.
Earlier this year, AIPS announced the launch of an online course: Introduction to Urdu language and Culture, which has now concluded its inaugural run. This is a 10-week asynchronous course, and students were asked to budget approximately 2 hours a week to work through the materials and resources provided in the Canvas course platform.
After 25 years with AIPS, Mr. Nadeem Akbar, AIPS-Pakistan Director, has retired. Nadeem has been integral to AIPS operations in Pakistan, and his contributions will be appreciated and remembered by many. AIPS thanks him for his many years of service.