Abstract:
In this wide-ranging lecture, Amitav Ghosh explores the dynamic interplay between history and literature as intertwined modes of understanding our interconnected world. Drawing on his work across continents and centuries, he reflects on how storytelling recovers silenced pasts, illuminates patterns of migration and trade, and reveals the deep entanglements linking Asia, Africa, and Europe. He considers the Indian Ocean and South China Sea not as distant peripheries but as vibrant corridors of exchange that have long shaped modernity. Turning to China’s Greater Bay Area, he examines how this region embodies both historical continuities and new global aspirations, offering a living laboratory for thinking about urbanization, ecology, and cultural hybridity. Addressed to students and faculty, the talk invites listeners to see literature as a vital companion to historical inquiry—one that expands empathy, sharpens critical awareness, and reimagines global connections in an era of profound planetary change.

Biography:

Amitav Ghosh is one of the leading authors writing in English today and is highly acclaimed for his many novels, essays and works of non-fiction. His interests are wide ranging but his focus in recent years has been particularly on colonialism and also on climate change. Ghosh studied at Delhi University and has a doctorate from Oxford University in Social Anthropology. Amitav Ghosh has won many significant awards, including the Jnanpith Award in 2018, regarded as India’s highest literary honour. Most recently he was awarded The Wise Owl Literary Award in February 2026 for his 2025 book Wild Fictions: Essays.