By
Mia Sullivan
London
Dr Helen Kanitkar was for many years a Lektor in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS. Students and staff from that period will recall the warmth and pastoral care she extended to generations of students. No knock on her door ever came at an inconvenient moment. When Dr Kanitkar passed away in 2001, her husband Hemant funded the refurbishment of the departmental library, which has been Helen's particular love. Additionally, he donated 800 of her books to what was reopened as the Helen Kanitkar Library and Research Centre (HKL) - Anthropology's Departmental Library at the School of Oriental and African Studied (SOAS), University of London. When Hemant also sadly passed away, he left a legacy which established studentships for research into the religions that had fascinated them.
Copies of popular anthropological texts used on BA and MA courses, as well as videos and other resources have provided vital resources for generations of SOAS Anthropology students. Particularly valuable to current students are the outstanding examples of BA Independent Study Projects, MA dissertations, MPhil upgrade documents and PhD theses from which inspiration and guidance can be taken.
The HKL is also a study place for anthropologist, somewhere for writing and research, as well as for informal meetings and the exchange of ideas between BA, MA and research students.
In the words of one SOAS student, 'the HKL has been fundamental to any and all success in my degree programme'.
Your donations will enable the Anthropology Department to continue to appoint a Student Librarian who is responsible for coordinating volunteers, cataloguing books and dissertations, and fulfilling Helen Kanitkar's ambitions of bringing students together in a place where diversity and difference are celebrated. The position has also provided valuable work experience for SOAS students and we hope to be able to continue to offer this opportunity.
More information about the HKL and the Kanitkar's kind donations: http://bit.ly/1V7fd1c
Leave a legacy: http://bit.ly/1NIYY4H
Select this reward if you just want to donate to the project without receiving a reward.
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Thank you for your donation, we really appreciate your help keeping this vital study space open.
13 claimed
Estimated delivery: 1 January 2016
Thank you for your donation, we really appreciate your help keeping this vital study space open. We welcome you to visit the library so you can see the good cause that you're money is contributing to. Please contact the student librarian Mia Barrow-Sullivan 612854@soas.ac.uk to arrange a convenient time.
2 claimed
Estimated delivery: 1 January 2016
Thank you for your donation, we really appreciate your help keeping this vital study space open. We welcome you to visit the library so you can see the good cause that you're money is contributing to. Please contact the student librarian Mia Barrow-Sullivan 612854@soas.ac.uk to arrange a convenient time. Provided we reach our target, and the library remains open and functional, we intend to hold a party to thank all our volunteers and donators - TBC!
1 claimed
Estimated delivery: 1 January 2016