Director's Page

Tara Sethia is Professor of History, founder and Director of Ahimsa Center at California State Polytechnic University , Pomona. Under the auspices of the Center, she has helped establish on campus the degree program for a Minor in Nonviolence Studies.

She received her Ph.D . in History from University of California , Los Angeles and M. A. in History from Rajasthan University ( India). She is recipient of several grants, awards and honors, including Gold and Silver Medals from the University of Rajasthan, India. She was the principal investigator and director of Program on India and China for K-12 Educators, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1995-98.

Following her appointment at Cal Poly Pomona in 1991, she created a series of courses on India and South Asia, a course on Women in Asia, and recently developed a course on Nonviolence in the Modern World. In addition, she has offered a course on Gandhi, and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in World history. She directs summer institutes for K-12 educators on Nonviolence, and is faculty advisor to the newly founded Ahimsa Student Club .

Her recent publications and writings include an edited book ,Ahimsa , Anekanta and Jainism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass , 2004); and articles on Vardhamana Mahavira , Mohandas K. Gandhi , Nonviolence and Social Change for the Berkshire Enclyopedia of World History (2005). She has also published articles and reviews in journals and books within her field and has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences on a variety of topics , including peace and nonviolence. Currently , she is working on a book, Gandhi: His World and Ours.

She has organized on her campus several International conferences: Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life (January 2002) , and Creating a Culture of Ahimsa: Visions and Strategies (May 2004) , and Ahimsa and the Quality of Life ( April 2006).

She has served on the executive board of the World History Association, and is a member of the SAT II World History Committee appointed by the Educational Testing Service and the College Board. She has also served as a consultant to the California Department of Education, the British Broadcasting Service, and has been invited as reviewer for History Textbooks by several publishers and served on the review panels of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Her involvement in the establishment of Ahimsa Center on campus and its educational activities have received coverage in the Los Angeles Times (24 April 2004) and other newspapers and magazines. She was also interviewed twice in April-May 2004 on KPFK radio station. Earlier she was instrumental in creating new curriculum in South Asian History including two courses on India and a course on Women in Asia.

For more information or to request a C.V., please send an email to: tsethia@csupomona.edu.