Category Archives: Announcement

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Workshop on Medhātithi

On March 21 2026 the University of Toronto will host a workshop on “Medhātithi across Sanskrit jurisprudence and philosophy of action” (guest speaker: Alessandro Giudice).

Medhātithi (9th c.) is a key figure in Sanskrit jurisprudence, who applied reasoning methods from the Mīmāṃsā school of philosophy to the understanding of the most well-known and influential jurisprudential text, Manu’s Treatise on the Norm (Mānavadharmaśāstra). This one-day long workshop will see students of UofT engaging with his philosophy of action and of law and exploring several issues, from his discussion of why lying is compulsory if a person’s life is at risk to the purpose of fighting once all hopes of victory are gone and up to whether sex might ever be a duty.

The keynote address will be delivered by Alessandro Giudice, who is a postdoctoral researcher within the Cluster of Excellence “Cross-Cultural Philology” at the Institute for Indology and Tibetology, Munich University, and the author of a recent monograph on Medhātithi, available OA here: https://www.edizioniets.com/priv_file_libro/5546.pdf.

The title of the keynote will be: “Medhātithi, a Wide-Ranging Ninth-Century Scholar: From Law to Grammar, from Rhetoric to Philosophy.” (12pm, Toronto time)

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Forum on International Legal History & Philosophy (in India) (CfP)

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

Forum on International Legal History & Philosophy, 15 April 2026 (in-person)

Call for Papers and Engaged Listeners

About: This Call for ideas (in the form of detailed abstracts) invites scholars working in International Law, Constitutional Law, and Legal Philosophy, whether individually or through interdisciplinary approaches. The contours of the forum are outlined below in two overlapping and porous themes.

Aims: We intend to stimulate discourse on international legal history and theory employing regional and archival lens. We expect a rough sketch of your clearly formulated idea to make such stimulations. We aim to discuss the vitality of your research ideas for them to be transformed into future research (beyond this forum).
More details in the pdf, here.

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Third Kumārila conference (18–22 May 2026)

Kumārila is one of the rare thinkers who are truly irreplaceable. Sanskrit philosophy would not have been the same without his contributions to epistemology (e.g., his epistemology of absence, of linguistic communication, his theory of intrinsic justification…), philosophy of action, deontics, hermeneutics and ontology. Still, his work is partly untranslated and largely understudied. A group of scholars started meeting in 2024 with the shared purpose of studying Kumārila and making him accessible to scholars of philosophy. As a result of the first two Kumārila conferences, a reader on Kumārila will be published by OUP at the end of 2026. During this third conference scholars will translate, analyse and discuss new passages by Kumārila in 2- or 3-hours sessions. Younger scholars (including students) will also be invited to the conference and will deliver shorter talks.

Preliminary program

Monday May 18th
Chair: John Nemec
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11 Tempa Sherpa, Kumārila on vyāpti. From the definition of inference in the Śābarabhāṣya to Kumārila’s Anumānapariccheda (ŚV, anumāna)
11–11:15 Tea break
11:15-12:15pm Nirali Patel, Kumārila has his yogic cake and eats it: Kumārila on ātmatuṣṭi (TV 1.3.adh.7)
12.15–1.15 Zihao Wu, tbd
1:15–2:15 Lunch break
Chair: Ajay Rao
2:15–3:15pm Devansh Bharadvaj, Kumārila on the perception of the self (ŚV, ātmavāda)
3.15–3.30: Tea break
3.30–5.30 Hugo David, tbd

Tue May 19th
Chair: Manasicha Akepiyapornchai
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11 Tarinee Awasthi, tbd
11–11:15 Tea break
11:15-1:15pm Jonathan Peterson, tbd
1:15–2:15 Lunch break
Chair: Daniele Cuneo
2:15-4:15pm Andrew Ollett, tbd
4.15–4.30: Tea break
4.30–5.30: Sarju Patel, tbd

Wed May 20th
Chair: Vincent Lee
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 tbd
10–10:15 Tea break
10.15–12.15: Alessandro Graheli, Kumārila on Grammar in the vyākaraṇādhikaraṇa (TV 1.3.adh. 9)
12:15–1.15 Lunch break
Chair: Taisei Shida
1.15–3.15 tbd
3.15–3.30: Tea break
3.30–4.30: tbd
4.30-5.30: tbd

Thu May 21st
Chair: Munena Moiz
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 Kiyotaka Yoshimizu, Nitya or Kāmya from the Mīmāṃsā Viewpoint (TV ad 2.4, adh. 1)
10-10.15: Tea break
10.15–12:15: Monika Nowakowska, upāṃśuyājādhikaraṇa (TV ad MS 2.2.9-12)
12.15-1.15pm Lunch break
Chair: Jesse Pruitt
1.15-3.15pm Larry McCrea, vacanavyakti from Grahaikatvādhikaraṇa (pp. 705-709 in the Anandashrama 1st ed.)
3.15–3.30: Tea break
3.30–5.30: Akane Saito, tbd

Fri May 22nd
Chair: Shashank Rao
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11: Kei Kataoka, arthaikatva (TV 2.1.46)
11-11.15: Tea break
11.15–12.15: Alessandro Ganassi, tbd
12.15-1.15: lunch together (RSVP)
Chair: Elisa Freschi
1.15-3.15pm: Alex Watson, tbd
3.15–3.30: Tea break
3.30–5.30: Meera Sridhar, Substitution of ritual substances: Annotated Translation and Analysis of Kumārila’s Ṭupṭīkā 6.3

Venue: University of Toronto, Mississauga campus

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Kumārila graduate students workshop at UofT

I started last year to organise small workshops at the end of each graduate class, for graduate students to present their work. This year’s topic is Kumārila (you probably guessed it). 

It will take place on Dec 3 morning and Dec 4 morning, 9-12 Toronto time.

The idea is a low-stake workshop where students get feedback so that they can improve their final papers (or embed ideas in future articles).

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On LLMs, publishing houses and our volunteer work for them

I will not be able to take part in any new project hosted by publishing houses that are ready to send my work to LLMs (I have a few ongoing and will conclude them). Allow me to explain why.

I am deeply concerned by the LLMs being a big risk for the environment, our students’ mental health and deskilling as well as their being based on intellectual theft. Thus, I will not volunteer my time and energy to help publishers that will then give my work to feed LLMs.

I asked various publishing houses about their politics with regard to LLMs and received (disappointing) answers on how “LLMs are the future”, “LLMs are inevitable” etc., all leading to the same conclusion, namely that I cannot opt out from my work being used to feed them. Such being the case, I am sorry to say that I prefer to pass.

I apologise for not being able to help the various editors who asked me to contribute or peer review for their volumes, but time is limited and I prefer to volunteer my time to help publishers who have higher standards. If a publisher wants to just focus only on profit, they should start paying their contributors, editors, peer reviewers… I know that my decision will not change anything (alternative peer-reviewers or contributors will be found etc.), but perhaps if enough people were to refuse working for free for publishers that comply to LLMs’ demands, then some change could be achieved.

UPDATE:
—Journals and publishing houses that have answered that LLMs are unavoidable etc.: CUP (author can opt out, but not in the case of open-access publications), OUP (basically, LLMs are the future, like google search is the present), Springer Nature (“peer review reports and unpublished manuscripts are not used for training LLMs, while accepted articles are”), Taylor and Francis (“In terms of licensing we do permit some trusted partners to use specific content for the purposes of training AI. We feel this is important as Publishers need to engage with these companies and control the use of content – for instance making sure it is used appropriately, within licence terms, with authors being fully attributed for their work, and to be paid for this use where contracts specify royalties. If we do not do this there is a real risk that these firms will simply access our content without permission and try to establish this as a form of fair use. In fact this has already happened with one major firm doing precisely this.”).
—Journals and publishing houses that have answered that they offer authors the option to opt out of LLMs, but cannot guarantee that it will be respected: Brill
—Journal and publishing houses that have answered that they don’t feed our work to LLMs: University of Hawai’i press (Philosophy East and West)

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Second Kumārila conference (2025)—updated program

The first Kumārila conference took place at the University of Toronto in 2024. You can read more about why we need to read and write more about this key Sanskrit philosopher here: https://elisafreschi.com/2025/02/28/kumarila-conference-2025/

The second Kumārila conference will take place again at University of Toronto, this time at the St George campus. You can read more about the event’s announcement here: https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/event/kumarila-conference-2/

This conference has the form of a workshop and its purpose is to make progress towards the publication of a “Kumārila Reader”. This will include translations of (large-enough) passages by Kumārila and introductions highlighting their context and philosophical relevance. Most participants have already presented their translations last year and this year they will be able to fine-tune them. Participants will have 1—2 hours time to discuss their draft translations.

If you have a 2-hours slot, we encourage you to quickly remind the other participants about the topic, then discuss selected passages within it. You may want to first present and then have a 30 minutes discussion, but you may also want to integrate the discussion within your presentation.
If you have a 1-hour slot, we encourage you to present your topic and/or discuss selected passages in 30–45 minutes, then have some time dedicated to Q and A.

Please read the updated program below:

Monday May 5th
Chair: Nilanjan Das
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11 John Nemec ŚV, Saṃbandhākṣepaparihāra 42cd-114ab
11–11:15 Tea break
11:15-12:15pm Alex Watson, ŚV ātmavāda
12.15–1.15 Long Yin Sin ŚV Pratyakṣapariccheda 171-185
1:15–2:15 Lunch break
2:15–3:15pm Alessandro Ganassi, ŚV on ākṛti
3.15–3.30: Tea break
Chair: Ajay Rao
3.30–5.30 Hugo David, ŚV vākyādhikaraṇa

Tue May 6th
Chair: Srilata Raman
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–11 Tarinee Awasthi, mantrādhikaraṇa (TV 1.2.4)
11–11:15 Tea break
Chair: Elisa Freschi
11:15-1:15pm Jonathan Peterson, virodhādhikaraṇa and śiṣṭākopādhikaraṇa (TV 1.3.3)
1:15–2:15 Lunch break
Chair: Nirali Patel
2:15-4:15pm Andrew Ollett, anuṣaṅgādhikaraṇa (TV 2.1.16)
4.15–4.30: Tea break
4.30–5.30: Sarju Patel, Tantravārttika 1.3.7

Wed May 7th
Chair: Vincent Lee
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 Kei Kataoka, bhāvārthādhikaraṇa (TV 2.1.1)
10–10:15 Tea break
10.15–12.15: Alessandro Graheli, vyākaraṇādhikaraṇa (TV 1.3.adh. 9)
12:15–1 Lunch break
Chair: Taisei Shida
1–3pm Malcolm Keating, tatsiddhipeṭikā (TV 1.4.23)
3–5: (Philosophy Department’s party, everyone is invited to join)

Thu May 8th
Chair: Munena Moiz
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10 Kiyotaka Yoshimizu, deities (ṬṬ 9.1.6–10 and 10.4.23)
10-10:15: Tea break
10:15–12:15: Monika Nowakowska, similarity (TV ad 1.4.adh. 4, sū 5)+ŚV upamāna
12:15-1:15pm Lunch break
Chair: Jesse Pruitt
1:15-3:15pm Larry McCrea, vājapeyādhikaraṇa (TV 1.4.adh.5)
3.15–3.30: Tea break
3.30–5.30: Akane Saito, viniyogādhikaraṇa (TV 3.1.2)

Fri May 9
Chair: Shashank Rao
8.30 onwards: Breakfast
9–10: Kei Kataoka (part 2)
10–11: Alex Watson (part 2)
11–12: Final thoughts and next steps towards publication
12:15: lunch together (RSVP)

Venue: JHB 100 (Mon-Wed); JHB 318 (Thu); JHB 418 (Fri)

All breakfasts and lunches will take place at the same location as the conference, apart from the final lunch (at the Clay Restaurant)

Let me know if you want to join!

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Workshop on “Vedānta and theology”—UPDATED 2

The following is the program for the “Vedānta and theology” workshop, UofT, December 5 and 6 2024. Careful readers will notice that we will move from Advaita Vedānta to Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta and from a literary approach to sacred texts to a theological-philosophical one.

Place: room 318, JHB

December 5:

breakfast: 8.30–9

Morning session: Vedānta, theology and literature (chaired by Srilata Raman)

—Anusha Rao (PhD student, Religion) “Literary Chameleonism and Advaita in Early Modern South India” (9–10)
—Shashank Rao (PhD student, Religion) “The Heart Lotus in the Ragale of Akka Mahadevi: A Literary Vedanta” (10.05–11.05)
—Francis X. Clooney “Between Indology and Theology: Śrīvaiṣṇava Studies in Our Times” (11.10–12.10pm)

lunch break: 12.10–1pm

Afternoon session: Vedānta theology and soteriology (chaired by Elisa Freschi)

—Sarang Patel (PhD student, Religion) “The Role of Metaphor in Material Vitality and Śaṃkara’s Advaita Vedānta” (1–2pm)
—Nick Halme (PhD student, Philosophy, Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta) “On the Epistemology of prapatti (surrender) in Veṅkaṭanātha. With Some Help from Aristotle” (2.05–3.05)
—Nirali Patel (PhD student, Philosophy, Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta) “Hidden in plain sight” (3.10–4.10)

December 6

breakfast: 8.30–9

Morning session: Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta theology (chaired by Ajay Rao)

—Vivek Shah (PhD student, Religion, “Rāmānuja and others on the uninhibited apprehension of space” (9–10)
—Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad (via zoom), “On the methodological challenges of cross-cultural theology” (10:05–11:05 am)
Closing remarks (11.10–11.30)

The 60′ slots are conceived to be up to 30′ speaking time (if one wants to speak for only 20′, no worries, but the 30′ should give one enough time to unpack ideas, read texts together and suggest areas where one wants to receive feedback) and then discussion. The discussion is meant to be supportive and aimed at helping the speaker in the next steps of developing their arguments. In the unlikely event that we run out of things to say, we’ll just add a short coffee break.

ivory statue of the good shepherd from Goa (India), 17th c., displayed at the KHM Vienna.
See here for the zoom link: https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/event/global-philosophy-research-interest-group-talk-chakravarthi-ram-prasad-lancaster/

The workshop has been made possible by the financial support of the Department of Philosophy and the organisational support of the Department of Philosophy and the Department for the Study of Religion.
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The Philosophical Rasika Report: Listings of Ph.D. Programs in Indian Philosophy (2024 Edition; Part II: Europe)

This post is the European continuation of Andrew Nicholson’s one (see here).

Sanskrit philosophy is taught in at least two different places in Europe: (South) Asian (or Oriental or Indological) Studies and —less often— Philosophy departments. The dominant trend of US universities, where Sanskrit philosophy is taught predominantly in Religious Studies departments is only evident in the UK. Departments of Asian Studies, of Oriental Studies or of Indology, often have a philological focus (so that knowing Sanskrit or other relevant languages is strongly recommended, although not always compulsory), whereas studying Sanskrit Philosophy in a Philosophy department may imply having to avoid Sanskrit.

Further elements for non-European students and scholars:
1) university fees are by and large very low in Europe (between nothing and 1,500 E per year for full-time students) and in many countries funding is available, so that one gets paid for being a PhD student —very often being a PhD student is much easier than being a post-Doc!
2) the main point of a PhD course in Europe is the final output, i.e., your dissertation. You might have to attend classes (or not), but the main focus should remain the fact of becoming an independent researcher, and this is proved by your ability to write a book on your own.
3) in countries such as Germany, Austria, Poland, France…, you can only choose as your supervisor someone who has a Habilitation. Think about who has it before applying to an institution in the hope to be working with Prof. X or Dr. Y.
4) do not choose a certain department on the basis of your expectations to have a career in Sanskrit Philosophy. Write a PhD in Sanskrit Philosophy (only) because you are interested in it. There are little or no SLACs in Europe and in this sense you cannot really plan a career as a university teacher of Sanskrit Philosophy in Europe (you might have a few more chances as a researcher within larger projects, but this involves being willing and able to do research with others, or alone and to apply for fundings).

Now, a disclaimer: the European landscape of research related to Sanskrit philosophy is variegated. I have surely forgotten many institutions (for instance, as far as I know, there is no one working on Sanskrit philosophy in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta…is this really the case?) and have not been exhaustive in the case of others. I rely on readers for emendations and supplements.

The elements which will be listed, beside the universities, are: AOS, whether funding is possible and whether it is possible to write one’s PhD thesis in English. In all cases, no information does not mean that it is impossible, it only means that I have no information about it.

I have omitted Russia from the list because I would not advise international students to move to Russia at this moment. For different reasons, I have omitted Ukraine.

AUSTRIA
University of Vienna (Institute of South Asian, Tibetology and Buddhist Studies): The Institute has a matchless paramparā of scholars in the history of Sanskrit philosophy. However, at the moment (I will update this post if a successor of Karin Preisendanz will be designated and if they work on Philosophy, but at the moment this looks very unlikely) there is NO supervisor for Sanskrit Philosophy at the University. You may want to contact the 1–2 people at the IKGA (Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia, Austrian Academy of Sciences) who have a habilitation (see point (3) above) and might want to supervise you (especially in Buddhist epistemology), but the classes you will have to attend at the university will not be taught by them. Only the university can bestow doctoral degrees.

University of Vienna (Institute of Philosophy) They have recently advertised a position in “Eastern philosophy”. It remains to be seen whether they will hire someone who is competent and willing to supervise theses in Sanskrit philosophy.

Limited funding possibilities: through the FWF, the Academy of Sciences or the University itself (in all cases you need the approval of a supervisor and they might need to apply for a project within which you will be able to finance your position)

BELGIUM (possibility to write a PhD thesis in English)
Ghent (dept. of languages and cultures of South and East Asia) (Jainism, Buddhism, Indian Philosophy); funding possibilities: FWO (regional) and BOF (university) (Eva De Clerq, Lucas den Boer, Agnieszka Rostalska)

Louvain, Université catholique de Louvain (Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve):
—(Faculty of Letters, Oriental Institute, with Christophe Vielle)
—(Faculty of Theology, Religious sciences). Please notice that the successor of Prof. Cornu, who will probably be a specialist of Buddhism, will only be designated in 2027. Meanwhile, theses are possible with Prof. Vielle and other profs.
Funding possibilities: FRS-FNRS (regional) and FSR (university)

CROATIA
Zagreb (Humanities) (Upaniṣads, Vedānta) (Ivan Andrijanić)

CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University of Prague (Institute of Asian Studies); (Institute of Philosophy & Religious Studies) (but note that in 2024–2025 Prof. Lubomir Ondracka will not be available and hence no one will supervise theses for students starting at that point)

FRANCE (possibility to write a PhD in English)
Paris, EPHE (4th section and especially 5th section, “Sciences Religieuses”) (Brahmanical systems, Buddhist philosophy (including Tibetan), Śaiva philosophy, philosophy of language (Sanskrit and, in case, Tibetan), Vyākaraṇa; funding available through a competitive scholarship contest (Vincent Eltschinger, Jan Houben)

Sorbonne Nouvelle (Department of Indian Studies) (Buddhist and Brahmanical philosophy, special focus on Śaiva philosophy); funding available through a competitive scholarship contest (Isabelle Ratié, Daniele Cuneo [now on leave])

NB: some directors of studies affiliated to the EFEO (Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient, mostly based in Paris and Pondicherry) (like Hugo David) or to the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) may also accept PhD students, although those institutions do not directly deliver diplomas.

GERMANY (possibility to write a PhD in English, very low fees, special emphasis on Sanskrit texts, so that critical editions (also) of philosophical texts are possible also at other locations) (in all cases below, the universities have an “institute of Indology” or something similar)
Hamburg (Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Tantrism, Kaśmīrī Śaiva Philosophy, Mahāyāna, Tibetan Buddhism) (Harunaga Isaacson)

Heidelberg (Ritual studies, Śrīvaiṣṇavism) (Ute Hüsken)

Leipzig (Buddhist Philosophy (Jowita Kramer); Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Āyurveda, Upaniṣads, Epics (Philipp Maas, who however does not have a permanent position, hence check again if he is still affiliated before applying if you are checking this list after 2024))

Marburg (Śaiva and Kashmirī philosophy, Mokṣopāya, Buddhist Philosophy) (Jürgen Hanneder, Dimitrov Dragomir, Roland Steiner)

Munich (Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy) (Vincent Tournier)

HUNGARY
Budapest, Eötvös Loránd University (dept. of Indo-European Studies): Program in “Buddhist Philology”, led by Péter-Dániel Szántó (all classes in English and theses expected in English); school of philosophy with Ferenc Ruzsa (who has been working on Sāṅkhya, but also on Vasubandhu and much more). Funding possibilities: Stipendium Hungaricum.

ITALY (possibility to write a PhD thesis in English)
Cagliari University (faculty of Humanities) (Sanskrit philosophy, Vyākaraṇa, Dharmaśāstra, Mīmāṃsā, contemporary Sanskrit) (Tiziana Pontillo, Maria Piera Candotti, Lidia Sudyka and Elisa Freschi (affiliated), full funding for 3 years possible (applications usually open in the summer)

Naples University (Oriental Studies) (Sanskrit philosophy, especially Śaivism, Buddhism and Tantrism in general, Sanskrit philology) (Francesco Sferra, Serena Saccone), full funding for 3 years possible (applications usually open in the summer)

Rome, Sapienza University (Oriental Studies) (Mokṣopāya) (Bruno Lo Turco), full funding for 3 years possible (2–3 funded position per year, some of them are reserved for international students) (applications usually open in the summer)

Turin University (Asian and African Studies) (Indian religions and philosophy, especially Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism), (Gianni Pellegrini, A. Pellissero) full funding for 3 years possible (1 new funded position every second year) (one can write a PhD thesis in any language of the EU) (applications usually open in the summer)

Venice University (Asian Studies) (Indian religions and philosophy, especially Vedānta, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Dharmaśāstra, Sociology of Indian religions), (Federico Squarcini, Antonio Rigopoulos) full funding for 3 years possible (1 new funded position every year, but there are often not enough candidates). This PhD program is connected with the Heidelberg university. It might be worth noting that they also have an MA in Yoga studies. (applications usually open in the summer)

NETHERLANDS (possibility to write a PhD thesis in English, all classes are in English)
Amsterdam (Vrije Univerisiteit, Philosophy) (Comparative philosophy, contemporary Indian philosophy, Indian philosophy in vernacular languages) (Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach)
Amsterdam (Vrije Univerisiteit, Religion and Theology) (Avni Chag)

Leiden (Institute for Area Studies) (Buddhist Philosophy), no fees and full funding for 4 or 5 years possible (Jonathan Silk)

Leiden (Philosophy Department), Chinese, Indian and comparative philosophy. Possibility of funding through the NWO (deadline around February, further information here: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education/study-programmes/master/philosophy-120ec/philosophy-in-world-traditions) (Douglas L. Berger, Stephen Harris)

POLAND
Krakow (Jagiellonian University, faculty of Management and Social Communication (Indian Philosophy, especially Buddhism, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Advaita Vedānta, Comparative Philosophy, contemporary Indian philosophy) (Marzenna Jakubczak)

Krakow (Jagiellonian University, dept. of Oriental Studies) (Indian Philosophy, especially early Advaita Vedānta and Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, Vaiṣṇavism) (Lidia Sudyka, Halina Marlewicz, Cezary Galewicz)

Poznan (Languages and Literature) (Indian Philosophy, especially ethics) (Sven Sellmer)

Warsaw (dept. of South Asian Studies) (Indian Philosophy, especially Jainism, Mīmāṃsā) (Monika Nowakowska)

SWEDEN
Currently no option possible, but keep in touch with Anna-Pya Sjödin, who is teaching at Umeå and might be willing to accept students of Sanskrit philosophy again there.

SWITZERLAND (possibility to write a PhD thesis in English)
Zürich (Hinduism, contemporary Hinduism, Ethics) (Angelika Malinar, who however will be retiring in 2025, so check who is going to replace her!) (possibility to apply for a six-month grant to write your PhD proposal before starting your PhD)

UK (higher fees, up to 9,000 pounds per year for British students and much more (perhaps 25k pounds) for foreign students —which now means also EU citizens) (some possibilities of fundings through the University, the Colleges and private institutions). In most cases, no Sanskrit is required nor taught (exceptions: Cambridge, Oxford, Lancaster)
Cambridge (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies) (Sanskrit Philology, Vyākaraṇa, Śaivādvaita) (Vincenzo Vergiani, Jonathan Duquette)

Cambridge (Divinity) (Vedānta, contemporary Indian Philosophy) (Ankur Barua)

Cardiff (Religious and Theological Studies) (Buddhist studies and philosophy) (James Hegarthy)

Durham (Philosophy) (Environmental Ethics in Buddhism, Graeco-Roman and Indian Philosophy) (Simon James, Nathan Gilbert)

Edinburgh (Paul Schweizer)

Lancaster (Religious Studies; Philosophy) (Indian Philosophy, especially Vedānta, Early Buddhist Philosophy, Upaniṣads) (Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Brian Black)

Leeds (Theology and Religious Studies) (Sāṅkhya, Pātañjala Yoga) (Mikel Burley)

Liverpool (Philosophy) (Vedānta, contemporary Indian philosophy) (C.J. Bartley)

London, King’s College (Philosophy) (logic, epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language in India, Greek and modern Western philosophy) NO SANSKRIT (Will Rasmussen)
London, King’s College (Theology) (Yoga) (Karen O’Brien-Kop)

Manchester University (Arts, Languages, and Cultures) (Indian philosophy, especially Vedānta) (Gary Donnelly)

Oxford (Oriental Studies) (Indian philosophy, especially Vyākaraṇa and Mīmāṃsā, Sanskrit philology, Yoga, Buddhist Philosophy) (Diwakar Acharya, Bogdan Diaconescu, Jim Mallinson, Ulrike Rösler)

Oxford (Theology and Religion) (Hindu philosophy, metaphysics) (Jessica Frazier, Jan Westerhoff)

Oxford (Philosophy) (Buddhist philosophy) (Monima Chadha)

Oxford (one might also want to get in touch with the Oxford Center of Buddhist Studies and the Oxford Center of Hindu studies for external tuition)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am really obliged to the following people for their help: Robert Leach, Philipp Maas, Monika Nowakoskwa, Nirali Patel.

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Kumārila conference

The first Kumārila Conference will be held at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, from May 27th to June 1st, 2024. Venue: Maanjiwe nendamowinan building, Room 3230, UTM.

The conference will bring together experts who will lead two-hour reading sessions on key passages of Kumārila’s texts and provide participants with the necessary tools to understand the hidden gems of Kumārila’s philosophy. More in detail, these sessions will include the reading and commenting on selected passages on a given topic (e.g., adhikāra in Ṭupṭīkā 6.1) and a talk on the topic itself (e.g., mapping the intersection of adhikāra and sāmarthya) and then a discussion session. Besides, there will be opportunities for scholars and advanced students to present their research related to Kumārila in shorter sessions (60′ and 30′).

The conference will be coordinated by Elisa Freschi and Nilanjan Das and will see the participation of other experts in Sanskrit philosophy and philology. Confirmed participants (so far) include Dan Arnold, Tarinee Awasthi, Purushottama Bilimoria, Hugo David, Alessandro Graheli, Ham Hyoung Seok, Kei Kataoka, Malcolm Keating, Lawrence McCrea, Sudipta Munsi, John Nemec, Monika Nowakowska, Andrew Ollett, Parimal Patil, Akane Saito, Wintor Scott, Taisei Shida, Elliot Stern, Angela Vettikkal, Alex Watson and Kiyotaka Yoshimizu.

This will be an in-person only event, since we believe in the power of collective intelligence and collaboration and these are hardly replicable when some participants speak per Zoom and others are in the room. Please consider that we are happy to assist you with invitation letters etc. if you need them for visa purposes, just let us know!