Patten Lecture: Amitav Ghosh
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Reading From "Flood of Fire" (forthcoming)
Amitav Ghosh, who has earned international recognition as a novelist and writer, will present two Patten Lectures at Indiana University Bloomington. Born in Calcutta, India, and educated in India, the United Kingdom and Egypt, Ghosh creates work that cuts across cultural and political borders to explore individual experiences and aspirations during peace, war and times of disaster.
"Reading From 'Flood of Fire'" will tell the story of the mounting tensions between China and British India in the wake of a crackdown on opium imports in Beijing. Reading an excerpt from his forthcoming book “Flood of Fire,” Ghosh will expound on the narrative of an unlikely group of travelers who set sail to China, each with an agenda of wealth, love and reputation.
The William T. Patten Foundation
The William T. Patten Foundation provides funds to bring distinguished scholars or practitioners in the sciences, the humanities and the arts to the Bloomington campus for a week. The foundation has brought over 150 scholars of extraordinary national and international distinction since 1937, making it the oldest lecture series at Indiana University. Lecturers are chosen by a campus-wide faculty committee.
William T. Patten graduated in 1893 with a Bachelor of Arts in history from IU. He then moved to Indianapolis and led a successful career in real estate and politics. He created an endowment for the university in 1931, with the purpose of bringing renowned leaders to the Bloomington campus.