Event

Please join us to celebrate the distinguished careers of Professors Suvir Kaul and Ania Loomba on the occasion of their dual retirement from the University of Pennsylvania. “Postcolonial Dreams” is a conference-fête that gathers new and life-long colleagues, students, comrades, family, and friends to bear witness to the enormous contributions Suvir and Ania have made and the infectious conviviality they bring with them everywhere—to their scholarship, their activism, and their communities across numerous cities, countries, and continents.

Over the course of 1.5 days, we will host three panels as well as a mystery screening of a recent documentary film. Guest speakers include David Alff, Laura Brown, Jonathan Burton, Vikrant Dadawala, Jean Howard, Jisha Menon, Sal Nicolazzo, Rovel Sequeira, and Emily Weissbourd. 

Welcome: April 4, 10:30am, ARCH 108

• Margo Crawford (University of Pennsylvania)
• Chi-ming Yang (University of Pennsylvania)

Panel 1

Early Modern Studies: April 4, 11:00am–1:00pm, ARCH 108

• Moderator: Melissa Sanchez (University of Pennsylvania)
• Speakers: Jean Howard (Columbia University), Jonathan Burton (Whitter College), Emily Weissbourd (Lehigh University)

Panel 2

18th-century Studies: April 4, 2:30pm–4:30pm, ARCH 108

• Moderator: Michael Gamer (University of Pennsylvania)
• Speakers: Laura Brown (Cornell University), David Alff (SUNY-Buffalo), Sal Nicolazzo (University of California, Davis)

Panel 3

Postcolonial & South Asia Studies: April 5, 10:00am–12:00pm, Houston Hall 218

• Moderator: Abdulhamit Arvas (University of Pennsylvania)
• Speakers: Jisha Menon (Stanford University), Vikrant Dadawala (York University), Rovel Sequeira (University of Michigan)

Film Screening + Discussion: April 4, 5:00pm–7:00pm, ARCH 108

• Bakirathi Mani (University of Pennsylvania)

Concluding Remarks: April 5, 12:00pm, Houston Hall 218

• Sara Kazmi (University of Pennsylvania) David L. Eng (University of Pennsylvania) 

Presented by: Department of English, Asian American Studies, Annenberg CARGC, Cinema and Media Studies, Comparative Literature, GSWS, South Asia Center, and South Asia Studies.

Artwork by Aamer Mumtaz, sketch of Ania and Suvir (2025); Sliman Mansour, “Olive Field” (2020)