WHO:             Michael Meister, professor of South Asia Studies in the Department of Art History at the University of Pennsylvania

WHAT:           Penn Lightbulb Café lecture on “Conducting Research in Pakistan: Restoring Religious Monuments in Swat”

WHEN:           Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m.

WHERE:         Peppermill Café, 2nd Floor, Penn Museum, 3260 South St., Philadelphia (Kress Entrance on east side of the        Museum near Convention Avenue)

Dr. Meister’s research focuses on Buddhist and Hindu temple architecture, early Islam and the arts of the Indian sub-continent.  He has carried out excavations at Salt Range Hindu-Shahi temple sites in Pakistan in collaboration with the Pakistan Heritage Society, surveyed mountain temples in the Himalayas and done ethnographic cross-disciplinary research on pilgrimage temples in Rajasthan. 

Dr. Meister will discuss his work, which showcases India and Pakistan's rich cultural diversities. He and a network of European, American and South Asian scholars are restoring not only Buddhist and Hindu religious monuments but sacred and historical Islamic and Christian sites ias well.

The Penn Lightbulb Café is free and open to the public.  Seating is limited. RSVPs are encouraged and can be made by contacting Gina Bryan at 215-898-8721 or bryangm@upenn.edu.

The Penn Lightbulb Café lecture series illuminates the arts, humanities and social sciences. Professors and luminaries in the School of Arts and Sciences discuss their research and engage audience members in a question-and-answer session following each lecture.  Menu items, beer, wine and other beverages will be available for purchase.