Distinguished law professors to discuss gender law in India

SAINT AUGUSTINE –  Flagler College will host law professors Ved Kumari and Pushpa Kumar Lakshmanan on Nov. 19 and 20 as part of a Kenan Distinguished Professor speaker series. Both presentations will begin at 7 p.m. with Kumari’s in the Flagler Room of Ponce Hall and Lakshmanan’s in the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum. Kumari’s presentation is “Gender in Law in Contemporary India” while Lakshmanan’s lecture title is “Environmental Law and Sustainability: The Quest for Better Environmental Governance in India.” Both speaking engagements are free and open to the public.

Kumari’s talk will showcase her interests in challenging people’s hidden biases and stereotypical images, specifically the connections between law and gender diversity in India. Lakshmanan’s presentation will discuss environmental law and its connection to diversity and democracy in India including governance, development pressures and policies related to sustainable development.

This Kenan Distinguished speaker series was initiated by Kenan Distinguished Professor John D. Young. The associate professor of history invited the professors to campus because he saw a connection of their place-based interests to the current Flagler College initiative of connecting citizenship in a diverse democracy.

 

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“As India is the world’s largest democracy, their presentations about law and governance in that country fit well into the conversations we’re having about diversity, citizenship, and democracy at Flagler College,” said Young.A founding member of the Asian Criminological Society and former dean of the faculty of law at the University of Delhi, Professor Kumari has authored many publications on various aspects of juvenile justice and the intersection of gender.

Lakshmanan is a senior assistant professor of law at the University of Delhi. He focuses on legal and policy solutions for sustainable development, global climate change, biodiversity conservation and other areas relating to justice and global governance for climate change. He is considered an expert on the environment and on biosafety, both issues on which he provides advice to several Indian governmental bodies.

Flagler College’s Kenan Distinguished Professorships were announced in May 2018. The first cohort included four academics with endowed positions that recognize excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Dr. Michael Butler and Professor Patrick Moser were chosen as permanent recipients and Drs. Allison Roberts and John D. Young were selected as three-year awardees.

These events are free and open to the public, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Phil Pownall at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice.

Call (904) 826-8617 for more information.