Limits of History

A decorative frame lines the documentary title, "Limits of History." Faded in the background is a darkened map of world.

TRAILER

ABOUT

In Fall quarter (2019), a student refuses to do a reading for a college history class because she has already read about the topic in her temple/religious school. The teacher is confronted with the question, "What are the limits of academic history—of history as a discipline?"

Limits of History traces the walls built around the discipline of history from the outside, by non-academics; and from the inside, by historians themselves. It is in the spaces between these contrasting walls that academia must constantly reinvent itself to remain relevant.

The documentary explores academic reinvention, questioning if it can work. Returning 5 years later, the student decides if she will do the reading she once refused.

SCREENING

Upcoming Screenings:

To be announced.

Previous Screenings:

EVENT: Campus screening 
COUNTRY: USA
CITY: Bellingham 
DATE/TIME: 30th January/Thursday @ 4 PM
LOCATION: Western Washington Campus, Fraser Hall 201 
URL:

EVENT: UT Austin South Asia Institute
COUNTRY: USA
CITY: Austin 
DATE/TIME: 21st February/Friday @ 1 PM
LOCATION: Meyerson Room
URL: South Asia Institute (UT-Austin)

EVENT: Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives 
COUNTRY: Canada 
CITY: Victoria 
DATE/TIME: 24th February/Monday @ 3:30 PM
LOCATION: Clearihue (CLE) 325
URL: Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives Events Calendar

EVENT: Association for Asian Studies Film Expo, Day 3
COUNTRY: USA
CITY: Columbus 
DATE/TIME: 15th March/Saturday @12:20-1:15 PM
LOCATION: Room A226, Level 2, Conv. Center (Columbus Convention Center, 400 North Hight Street, Columbus, OH 43215)
URL: Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Film Expo

FILMMAKER

 

Woman leans on wooden ledge with head leaning against her head. Blurred river and trees in the background.

Producer, Director, and Screenwriter

Dharitri likes to say that she moved from the Bay of Bengal to the Bay of Bellingham. Born and raised in a multigenerational family in northern Kolkata, Bengal, she completed her undergraduate studies in New Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College. Dharitri came to the United States in 2005 and obtained her Master’s degree from Miami University, Ohio and her Doctoral degree from UT Austin, Texas. Her first teaching job took her to Sewanee: University of the South, TN. In 2019, Dharitri joined Western Washington University and is now an Associate Professor of South Asian and Indian Ocean world history. She is working on putting down roots in Bellingham with her engineer partner and her violist-reader-gymnast-goofy middle schooler. The family loves to travel, host, watch movies in theatres, and eat; but hates household work. Limits of History is Dharitri’s first documentary and is one of several public history projects she has worked on.
 

To learn more about Dharitri, please visit her faculty profile page and her Academia page.

Smiling man wearing glasses takes a selfie in front of a large round pink light.

Editor

Robert B. Clark is an award-winning video producer with over 35 years of experience. He has worked on productions for Nike, Disneyland, and Weyerhaeuser as well as Salem Arts Association, University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and Western Oregon University. He has taught media production and media literacy classes at Lane Community College, physical and cultural geography at the University of Oregon, and has been a guest lecturer at Oregon State University and Western Washington University. He is currently in his 19th year as Manager of ATUS Video Services at Western Washington University.

A woman sitting in an armchair faces a large video camera. A large light overhead and black curtains behind her.
Inside of a temple/religious school, two women with head coverings sit cross-legged and facing each other. Two video cameras with stands in front of them. Religious artifacts behind them.
Man with a head covering raises his right hand while sitting on a brown couch. A video camera on a stand faces him.
A library with bookshelves on each side of large windows overlooking green trees. A woman sits and reads at one of the tables in the center of the room.
Inside of a temple/religious school a woman wearing a head covering sits crossed legged on the floor across from a man in a head covering. Two video cameras on stands record both of them. Religious artifacts in the background.

CONTACT

Dr. Dharitri Bhattacharjee
Associate Professor
History Department
Western Washington University 
bhattad@wwu.edu