Aug 25, 2021
HOW MINDFULNESS CAN IMPROVE OUR MENTAL HEALTH AMID THE COVID CRISIS
My forthcoming guest Diana Winston (University of California, Los Angeles), has been teaching, speaking, and consulting on mindfulness to build healthy and thriving communities for the past twenty years. COVID crisis has taken a heavy toll on our mental health as the world is simultaneously going through an economic and social recession. We will discuss how mindfulness can contribute to our mental health amid the pandemic on August 25. Please join us to ask Diana Winston your questions related to mindfulness and mental health.
Aug 22, 2021
CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR DAVID LIVINGSTONE SMITH: WHAT MAKES HUMANS THE MOST DANGEROUS SPECIES?
My upcoming guest Professor David Livingstone Smith, is one of the leading authorities studying what makes humans cruel. In the Times Literary Supplement, Professor Smith has been described as "a philosopher seeking not just to interpret the world but to change it." Professor Smith borrows from a range of disciplines like philosophy, evolutionary biology, history, anthropology, and psychology to give the readers an intimate understanding of WHAT MAKES US OUR WORST ENEMY! Professor Smith is one of the most remarkable philosophers of our time. His book "On Inhumanity" has been praised by Cornel West (a living legend and a prominent African American philosopher) as "a philosophically sophisticated and prophetically courageous treatment of dehumanization, especially in regard to race. Although Professor Smith writes extensively about how we humans can brutalize each other, his work has been a beacon of light for me when I could not make sense of the mindless cruelty I grew up watching all around me. I strongly believe that understanding human conditions is critical for being kind and compassionate global citizens in a hyper-connected world. Please join us and be part of this conversation on August 22 at 9 PM Bangladesh time.
Aug 20, 2021
USING SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR SOCIAL CHANGES IN BANGLADESH
My forthcoming guest Professor Sadeka Halim is one of the most prominent social scientists of Bangladesh. We will learn from Prof Halim how social science research can bring about progressive social changes in Bangladesh on August 20 at 9 PM Dhaka time. Professor Sadeka Halim has established herself as a pioneer with her remarkable contributions in multiple areas. Prof Halim is the first female dean of the faculty of the Social Sciences at Dhaka University and only the second female academic to hold the office of a dean in the history of Dhaka University. She also worked in the Information Commission as Bangladesh's first female information commissioner. We are extremely grateful to Prof Sadeka Halim for making time from her hectic schedule to participate in this important conversation.
Aug 18, 2021
MAINSTREAMING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY IN DESIGN
My upcoming guest Syeda Zainah Binte Habib is working to disrupt and decolonize aesthetics in Bangladesh. Fashion has been and continues to be one of the main drivers of promoting eurocentric beauty standards as the norm and the definition of beauty. Fashion brands have perpetuated the euro-centralization of beauty through the models they choose to send down the runways and the kind of fashions they have put on pedestals. Women around the world spend 8 billion dollars to whiten their skin. Millions of Bangladeshi women bear the brunt of colorism. The products may change their names from "FAIR" to "GLOW," but it asserts a racist beauty standard. Rickshaw-pullers in traditional Bangalee outfit, lungi, were barred from entering the Baridhara (one of the country's most posh neighborhoods where diplomats and affluent people live) in 2013. You will not be allowed to enter many establishments in Dhaka if you are wearing LUNGI to this day. Unfortunate but true: we support industries that teach us to hate our body shapes, the color of our skins, or the types of