Dr. Sayan Bhattacharya Delivers Lecture on Photography in Academic Research at University College London, UK

September 15, 2016

Dr. Sayan Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor from School of Ecology and Environment Studies at Nalanda University delivered an invited lecture during the international conference on Photography in Academic Research (September 8-9, 2016). The conference was held at University College London, United Kingdom and jointly organised by UCL Institute of Archaeology, The Royal Anthropological Institute and University of London, Birkbeck.

Dr. Sayan Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor from School of Ecology and Environment Studies at Nalanda University delivered an invited lecture during the international conference on Photography in Academic Research (September 8-9, 2016). The conference was held at University College London, United Kingdom and jointly organised by UCL Institute of Archaeology, The Royal Anthropological Institute and University of London, Birkbeck.

Seventy speakers from 32 counties participated, delivered lectures and shared ideas in 20 panels and round tables. The speakers were from leading institutes like University of Oxford, King’s College, University of Heidelberg, National University of Singapore, University of Cambridge, University of Lisbon, University of South Wales, University of California etc. 

The aim of the conference was to provide a space of exchange, stimulating dialogue between social researchers and practitioners who engage with photography creatively and critically. It served as a platform for photography; encouraging its uses, analyses and practices in social research, expanding the possibilities of photographic practice beyond its current observational and illustrative uses within academia. The conference was for scholars and practitioners working in a varied range of cultures, contexts, and academic areas come together to share their perspectives on the use and representation of photography.

Dr. Bhattacharya delivered his lecture on the physical geography of the Eastern Himalayas. His lecture summarized the research works he has done in the last six years in different hamlets of the mountains, incorporating several perspectives of forest ecology, biodiversity, water management and emerging environmental issues of the Eastern Himalayas. The conference ended up with extensive discussions among the speakers and with the possibilities of potential collaborations between the academicians and the artists.