CeMIS Events

Book Discussion: “Shipping Lords and Coolie Stokers” by Ravi Ahuja (CeMIS)

A tragic shipping accident opens a window on racialized labour management in an age of imperialism.

When eighty-seven passengers and crew died in the shipwreck of the Royal Mail ship Egypt in 1922, the accident gave rise to a racist international press campaign against the employment of Indian seafarers, such as those who made up most of the ship’s crew. This was not unusual at a time when a fifth of the British mercantile marine’s workforce was recruited from the subcontinent. Ravi Ahuja explains the business logic behind a labour regime steeped in racist irrationalism and examines the scope for solidarity among a divided workforce in an age of imperialism – an issue that is no less relevant in our own time.

Discussants:
Peter Birke (Göttingen University)
Samita Sen (Cambridge University)
Rupa Viswanath (Göttingen University)
Klaus Weinhauer (Bielefeld University)

Date and Time: Thursday, 5 June 2025, 3pm
Venue: Alte Mensa, Wilhelmsplatz 3, Göttingen.

The event can also be attended digitally. To register, please write to labour_repository@cemis.uni-goettingen.de.

Find the pdf here.

Poetry Reading: 'The Worlds We Create'

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The poetry reading »The Worlds We Create« sets the focus on the voices of marginalised communities in India. CeMIS students (Centre for Modern Indian Studies), Senthalir Sivalingam, Paras Kumar, Bharati Chaudhari, and Andrea Strube from Deutsches Theater (DT) will recite works of poets in Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, English, and German languages. The event is a cooperation between the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), Literaturforum Indien e.V., and Literarisches Zentrum Göttingen e.V., funded by Brot für die Welt.

Date and Time: 24 June, 8 pm.
Venue: Literaturhaus Göttingen e.V., Nikolaistraße 22.

Find the pdf here.

Exhibition: “The Worlds We Create”