CATS Library, Heidelberg University

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CATS Library, Heidelberg University

CATS-Bibliothek / CATS Library
Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies
Heidelberg University

The Library at the Centre of Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS) accommodates the collections of the Centre for East Asian Studies, the South Asian Institute, Anthropology, and the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies. Holding some 600,000 volumes and many other resources, CATS Library belongs to one of the largest Asian collections in Germany and Europe.

10/09/2026

You are cordially invited to the opening of the exhibition "Stencil Art at the That Luang Temple in Luang Prabang" on Friday, September 11, at 12:30 pm in the Foyer of the CATS Library, Heidelberg University.

The exhibition will show life size examples of window and door decorations as they have been used for centuries in the That Luang Temple in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in north-central Laos. During its recent renovation, these decorations have been wonderfully renewed by the DOK POK Stencil Preservation Team under the guidance of Tiao Nithakhong Somsanith, an artist who has learnt the traditional skills of this art from early age.

During the vernissage, the artist will be present online and give an introduction to this art form.

The exhibition will be on display from September 11 to October 26, 2026, at the CATS Library.

05/09/2026

SAI, in cooperation with Literaturforum Indien e.V., recently hosted an author reading and conversation with Prof. Saikat Majumdar from Ashoka University, India. The event featured a reading from his celebrated novel 'The Scent of God' (2019), which tells the story of love and friendship between two teenage boys in a boarding school run by an order of Hindu monks.

The reading was followed by a discussion of his novels, focusing on their treatment of gender, q***rness, eroticism and contrasting thought worlds. The conversation also explored ideas developed in Prof. Majumdar's non-fiction, including the significance of interdisciplinarity, cross-cultural reading and the role of the humanities in the age of artificial intelligence.

Prof. Saikat Majumdar is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University, and has taught at different universities in the US and Canada. He is the author of five novels, including 'Silverfish' (2007), 'The Firebird' (2015), 'The Scent of God' (2019), 'The Middle Finger' (2022), and 'The Remains of the Body' (2024). His novels explore a vast range of themes, including gender and sexuality, q***r identities, and the imprint of religiosity, memory, cultural heritage and academia on erotic selfhoods.

24/08/2026

On September 11 at 12:30 pm, a new exhibition will have its vernissage in the foyer of CATS Library: "Door and Window Decoration at the That Luang Temple in Luang Prabang: Traditional Lao Buddhist Stencil Art by Tiao Nithakhong Somsanith".
For this exhibition, the original patterns have been applied on mulberry paper and are being displayed in full size, giving an impression of this beautiful decoration of the recently restored That Luang Temple in Luang Prabang, Laos.

19/07/2026

CATS Library is home to numerous outstanding collections. These include not only printed materials—which are fascinating both for their content and as physical objects—but also photographs, posters, films, audio and music recordings, and historical artifacts from popular and elite cultures that vividly illustrate the diverse cultures of Asia. Many of these collections are available via our online platforms digiCATS or FID4SA—be sure to check them out!

Currently, only CATS Library’s East Asian collections are represented in heiCOLLECTIONS, but hopefully the equally fascinating collections from our South Asia Section will follow soon!

13/07/2026

What began with a flashmob on June 19th now finds its continuation:

We cordially invite you to the next performance in our series "CATS Library Evening Shorts", performed by Luigi Miotto on classical guitar in the courtyard of our library:

A Six-Stringed Chinese Garden: The Translation of Chinese Aesthetic Negativity in Stephen Goss’s The Chinese Garden (2007)

12/06/2026

Don't miss the opening of CATS Library's new exhibition "Pan-Asianist Solidarity: Visual Propaganda of Manchukuo, 1932-1945", by Dr. Martin Blahota...

25/04/2026

Upgrade for CATS Library: we got new relax areas and 18 new reading spaces to accomodate all of you (if this is possible anyway...)!
Ah, yes, and we equipped all reading spaces with power bars!

Adresse

Voßstraße 2, Geb. 4131
Heidelberg
69115

Telefon

+496221547674

Website

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/bibliothek/

Benachrichtigungen

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