Thomas J. Watson Professor Ann Grodzins Gold, Professor Joanne Punzo Waghorne, and several Syracuse University colleagues (Carol Babiracki and Emera Bridger Wilson of the South Asia Center) to present at the Cornell University Interdisciplinary Conference: Urban South Asia Writ Small. Dr. Gold will be delievering the keynote address on Friday from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. Her address is titled: "Jahazpur Passages: Thinking through a Rajasthan Market Town"

The conference is organized by Carol Babiracki, Music History and Cultures, director of the South Asia Center, Syracuse University; Ann Grodzins Gold, department of religion and department of anthropology, Syracuse University; Dan Gold, Asian studies, Cornell University; and Neema Kudva, city and regional planning, Cornell University. The organizers describe the conference in the following manner:

"Urban South Asia Writ Small" draws together expertise from anthropology, architecture, economics, the fine arts, history, and religious studies in order to investigate the heart of South Asia's urban development. South Asian urban modernity has mostly been understood through the lifestyles and challenges of globally linked metros. What form is modernity taking in smaller cities and towns that straddle the global as well as the rural-urban divide differently from the metros? Preliminary studies indicate that poverty is deeper and more widespread in smaller towns and that rates of access to services and amenities are considerably lower. Yet, we know little of the dynamic processes that link city size to the prevalence of poverty and, perhaps, inequality.

This conference will examine a range of issues facing ordinary cities and towns in South Asia today. An edited publication will follow, and collaborative research projects explored and taken forward between conference conveners, speakers, and participants.