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NEXT TRC COLLOQUIUM

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Title:  Rethinking Social Theory as Paradigms of Social Transformation: Foucault and Indian Social Context

Speaker: Prasenjit Biswas, PhD

Session chair: Surajit C. Mukhopadhyay, PhD

Date and Time: March 21, 2026, 5:00 pm IST

Venue: Online

Access link: https://meet.google.com/krs-qmsv-ddt

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About the speaker: Prof. Prasenjit Biswas is currently a Professor of Philosophy at North-

Eastern Hill University, Shillong.  He specializes in Area Studies on Southeast and South Asia in

relation to Northeast India, Phenomenology and Continental Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind,

Social Theory, Postmodernism and Post-Structuralism, Global Justice, Political Philosophy and

Philosophy of Science. Previously, he taught at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and

Guwahati, among others. He has also been a visiting fellow and invited speaker in Philosophy

of Science, Consciousness, Phenomenology and Social Theory in various universities in UK, USA, Germany and in South and Southeast Asia. 

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About the topic: This lecture revolves around the following questions, 1. What are the technologies of self in the Indian Social context- is it a contemplative, renunciatory and relational making of the self or mere othering? 2. Is Indian Social Context best captured by social categories like caste, tribe, community or in terms of valuing values? 3. Does Indian Social Theory need late Focualtian Parrehesia? These three questions shall be addressed through Focualtian idea of 'inner worlds' or an irrepressible outside, with a possible answer that calculations of politics create molecular assemblages of actors.

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About the chair: Prof. Surajit C. Mukhopadhyay presently Professor & Dean, Royal School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Royal School of Behavioural & Allied Sciences and Director, Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Research at Royal Global University, Guwahati. A PhD from Leicester University, UK (Commonwealth Staff Scholar) and M.Phil. and Master’s from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), he has held senior academic and administrative positions in various institution.

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2. First TRC Colloquium concluded on July 5​, 2025

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Title: The Rise of Illiberalism and the Decline of the University

​Speaker: Prof. Surajit C. Mukhopadhyay

Session chair: Prof. Alak Kumar Buragohain

Venue: Online​

About the speaker:Prof. Surajit C. Mukhopadhyay presently Professor & Dean, Royal School of

Humanities & Social Sciences, Royal School of Behavioural & Allied Sciences and Director, Centre for

Inter-Disciplinary Research at Royal Global University, Guwahati. A PhD from Leicester University,

UK (Commonwealth Staff Scholar) and M.Phil. and Master’s from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU),

he has held senior academic and administrative positions in various institutions and has also been a

member of the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR).  

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About the topic: The global rise of illiberalism and conservative populism has impacted the university as an institution. Pedagogical practices, course curricula, and faculty hiring are all under revision in the light of the political shift. Furthermore, the concurrent rise of market forces and the dominance of metrics have transformed or threaten to transform the university as an institution of higher learning and knowledge production. The signs of a deadly decay and decline are on the horizon, and this lecture seeks to address these concerns.

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About the chair: : Prof. Alak Kumar Buragohain is presently vice-chancellor, Royal Global University, Guwahati. He obtained his PhD from the Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London and DIC in Plant Virology from Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine. He was the founder Head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at Tezpur University. Professor Buragohain is also the founder of the ONGC Sponsored Centre of Petroleum Biotechnology in the same University.

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