Harbour Cities as Intercultural Topos:
Mumbai and Hamburg in comparative media studies
                                                                               

The bilateral academic and research project for the doctoral and postgraduate students will be led by Prof. Dr. Vibha Surana (Department of German, University of Mumbai) and Prof. Dr. Ortrud Gutjahr, Institute of German Studies II, University of Hamburg. Having paved the way for multifarious sea voyages and migration, the media city of Hamburg, which has aroused attention particularly because of its intercultural films, is considered to be the gateway to the “new world”. Mumbai, the Gateway of India is the hub of Indian Cinema and has been considerably shaped in its cosmopolitan identity by its distinctive harbor. The research project aims to study the aesthetic treatment of harbor cities in the narratives of Bollywood and German films and their projection as a significant space for intercultural encounter. The cinematic semantics of these two harbour cities can be understood as a complex commentary on Indian and German history and culture. 

Project Heads: Prof. Dr. Vibha Surana Department of German, University of Mumbai and Prof. Dr. Ortrud Gutjahr, Institute of German Studies II, University of Hamburg.

A Project promoted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Department of German

University of Mumbai

 cordially invites you to a seminar
on

 Seascapes in Comparative Media Studies

21^st - 23^rd December, 2010

PROGRAMME

21^st December, 2010 at 2.00 p.m.

Venue: The ICSSR Conference Hall, J. P. Naik Bhavan, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Mumbai 98.

(MEDIUM: ENGLISH)

2.00 p.m. to 2.10 p.m.                                               Welcome
                                                                                Vibha Surana, Department of German, University of Mumbai
                                                                                & Ortrud Gutjahr, Institute of German Studies II, University of Hamburg
                               

2.10 p.m. onwards                                                     Research Presentations of the Department of German
                    Resource Person: Komal Nahta, Editor, Film Information
 

2.10 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.                                               Mumbai as a Harbour City – A Historical Overview
                   Anvaya Sardesai

2.30 p.m. to 2.50 p.m.                                               Mumbai Sea in Bollywood: Mirror to Indian Socio-economic History
                                                                                Sudha Ranganathan
                               

2.50 p.m. to 3.10 p.m.                                              Mumbai as Harbour City in Bollywood Films of the 21^st Century
                                                                               Deepti Surve, Girisha Sawant
 

3.10 p.m.                                                                Discussion

22^nd December, 2010, at 10.00 a.m.

Venue: The WRIC Conference Hall, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Mumbai 98.

(MEDIUM: GERMAN)

10.00 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.                                Interculturality
                                                        Ortrud Gutjahr -  Vibha Surana  -  Meher Bhoot
                                                                                 

10.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.                                Intercultural Topos Harbour City
                                                                    Ortrud Gutjahr
                                                                               

11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.                                  Film Screening & Discussion
                                                                   (Intercultural Films depicting the Hamburg harbour)
 

1.00 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.                                    LUNCH
 

2.30 p.m. to 2.50 p.m.                                    German Documentary Films on Mumbai
                                                                    Ankita Karode

2.50 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.                                    Mumbai Sea Songs in German
                                                                    Kiran Chivate, Girija Gondhalekar, Dhanshree Kavishwar, Urmila Patil

23rd December, 2010 at 10.00 a.m.

Venue: The ICSSR Conference Hall, J. P. Naik Bhavan, University of Mumbai,

Kalina Campus, Mumbai 98.

(MEDIUM: ENGLISH)

10.00 a.m. to 10.45 a.m.                        Welcome
                                                            Vibha Surana
                                                            Department of German, University of Mumbai
 

Inauguration
            Rajan Welukar
            Vice-Chancellor, University of Mumbai
 

10.45 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.                        Introductory Remarks: Harbour Cities as Intercultural Topos - Mumbai & Hamburg in Comparative Media Studies
Ortrud Gutjahr
 

                                                            Institute of German Studies II, University of Hamburg
                                                           

11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.                        Sea as an Aesthetic Metaphor in Indian Tradition
                                                            Natwar Joshi
                                                            Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Mumbai
 

11.30 a.m. to 12.30p.m.                          Screening of Film and Discussion
                                                            Saacha (The Loom): Produced by the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of   
                                                             Social Sciences

1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m.                            LUNCH BREAK
 

2.00 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.                           Film Montage: Seascapes in Bollywood
 

2.30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m.                          Seascapes in "3 Sakina Manzil" and "Jazz"
                                                          Ramu Ramanthan
                                                          Playwright

3.00 p.m.                                            Plenary Discussion:  Natwar Joshi, Ramu Ramanthan, Jabbar Patel, Ortrud Gutjahr, Vibha Surana,