3 summer 2011 - Prince Claus Fund

BiographiesRukmini Bhaya Nairis Professor of Linguistics and English at the Indian Institute of Technology, NewDelhi and an award-winning poet. Her last book of poems was The Ayodhya Cantos(Viking Penguin India, 1999) and her latest book on theory is Narrative Gravity:Conversation, Cognition, Culture (Oxford University Press, 2002).Carlos FuentesIs a writer. His oeuvre ranges from novels to essays on cultural, literary andpolitical themes; he has also written plays, film scripts and journalistic articles.Many of his novels have appeared in translations all over the world. In 1987 hereceived the Cervantes prize, the most distinguished literary award in theSpanish-speaking world.Rex Nettlefordwas a social and cultural historian, a political analyst and the Vice Chancellor ofthe University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica (appointed in 1998). He is also adancer and choreographer and founder of the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica.His numerous books include: ‘Mirror, Mirror: Identity, Race and Protest in Jamaica’;‘Caribbean Cultural Identity: the Case of Jamaice’, and ‘Dance Jamaica: SelfDefinition and Artistic Discovery’.Els van der Plaswas Director of the Prince Claus Fund from 1997-2010 before she became Directorof the Dutch Premsela Platform for Design and Fashion in 2011. She is an arthistorian, curator and art critic. She studied Art History and Musical Theory atthe University of Utrecht (1980-1986) and Esthetics at the University ofAmsterdam (1985-1986). She founded the Gate Foundation in Amsterdam (1987), anorganization which stimulates the intercultural exchange of contemporary art.She was Director of this Foundation for ten years. She published in differentinternational magazines, and organized various conferences and exhibitions allover the world.Talat Tekinis a Professor in Linguistics. He taught at different universities, including UCBerkeley, UCLA, the Haceteppe University in Ankara, the Bilkent University inAnkara, and the Yediteppe University of Istanbul. In 1997 he became Chairman ofthe Department of Turkish Language and Literature at this university. Hepublished in a broad range of journals and publications.Kwasi Wireduis Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Florida, U.S.A., since 1987.He studied philosophy at the University of Ghana (1952 - 1958) and at OxfordUniversity, U.K., where he wrote a thesis on ‘Knowledge, Truth and Reason’. Hestarted teaching philosophy at the University of North Staffordshire, U.K., (1960- 1961) but returned to the University of Ghana the following year where hetaught philosophy from 1961 to 1983 and served as Professor and Head of theDepartment for several years. He has published on African philosophy, thephilosophy of logic and general philosophy in Africa, Europe and the U.S.A. Hisbooks include ‘Philosophy and an African Culture’ (1981) and ‘Cultural Universalsand Particulars: An African Perspective’ (1996).Saima Zaiditeaches history of design and typography at the Department of Visual Studies,University of Karachi and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture,Karachi. She graduated from the National College of Arts, Lahore and has an MScin communication design from the Pratt Institute, New York.Prince Claus Fund Reader #1 · Summer 2011 · 96