Progressive Shii Intellectuals and Modern Indian History

2010 Spring Lecture Series

Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:30 AM EDT
Mason Hall, D3-A and B

In this talk, Dr. Hyder shares his research of translating the autobiography of Josh Malihabadi from Urdu into English. Josh Malihabadi, a progressive Shii poet in the early twentieth-century, wrote his autography using poetic tropes and devices common in the Ghazal tradition. This tradition, originally rooted in Arabic and carrying a long history with the Persian language, was an art reserved for the elites. However, Dr. Hyder reveals Josh as a progressive who used his poetic fame to become the patron of a progressive movement in early twentieth-century India, which carried cultural as well as political ramifications. 

Syed Akbar Hyder is Associate Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He also chairs the Islamic Studies program and directs the Urdu language Program at Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in 2000. His scholarly works include Reliving Karbala: Martyrdom in South Asian Memory published by Oxford University Press in 2006 and numerous articles exploring South Asian aesthetics, especially Sufi musical traditions and Urdu poetry. He has co-authored with Professor Ali Asani, Let's Study Urdu, a widely used introductory textbook in North America and Europe. He is presently writing a biography of Josh Malihabadi, a leading South Asian poet and political activist.  Dr. Hyder is currently a curriculum designer for Muslim Histories and Cultures Program that seeks to train social studies teachers in American secondary and high schools.

Sponsored by Ali Vural Ak Center for Islamic Studies.