Category Archives: opportunities and projects

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One God, one Śāstra — A panel for the WSC 2015

One God, one śāstra: philosophical developments towards and within Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta between Nāthamuni and Veṅkaṭanātha

In the case of the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta school, one has the advantage of having some basic historical elements to judge about the development of the theological and philosophical thought of the school. We have, in fact, at least some historical data about the time, place and personality of key figures such as Yāmuna, Rāmānuja and Veṅkaṭanātha and a good amount of works from them has survived and can be accessed. Some attempts have been made (e.g., by Oberhammer, Neevel, Mesquita) to offer a general interpretation of this early development, but many problems have remained open, and not only because of the lack of materials (regarding, e.g., Śrīvatsaṅka Miśra, Nāthamuni, important parts of Yāmuna’s work, etc.).
This panels aims at joining scholars working on the early Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, and making them discuss the development of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta from its forerunners to a full-fledged philosophical and theological phenomenon. Possible leit-motivs in the analysis of this development can be topics such as (the list does not aim to be exhaustive):

  • the increasing importance of the topic of aikaśāstrya, possibly paralleling the emphasis on the existence of just one God
  • the adaptation of other schools to one’s theistic approach (from Nyāya and Yoga in the case of Nāthamuni to Uttara Mīmāṃsā in the case of Rāmānuja, to Pūrva Mīmāṃsā and again Nyāya for Veṅkaṭanātha)

Organisers: Elisa Freschi, Marcus Schmücker

Participants at July the 1st 2014: Francis X. Clooney, Elisa Freschi, Robert Leach, Halina Marlewicz, Erin McCann, Lawrence McCrea, Srilata Raman, Marion Rastelli, Marcus Schmücker

If you are interested in participating, or in knowing further details, please drop a comment here or send a line at my email address (my name dot my surname at gmail dot com).

The 16th World Sanskrit Conference will take place from the 28th of June to the 2nd of July in Bangkok. Further infos can be found here.

Kiyotaka Yoshimizu on Kumārila, Buddhism and the sources of dharma

On September the 1st, Kiyotaka Yoshimizu will read a paper at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, IKGA (Apostelgasse 23, 1030):

Kumārila’s Criticism of Buddhism as a Religious Movement in his Views on the Sources of dharma

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My collective projects for 2015

Even if we are friends or pen friends or acquaintances, I will not be able to reach you with all my next Call for Papers. Please do not feel offended. I hold a blog exactly in order to reach out to the small community of people working philosophically on South Asian texts.

Textual Reuse for Classicists

RETHINKING TEXT REUSE AS DIGITAL CLASSICISTS

DH 2014, Lausanne, 10 July 2014, 09:00-10:30

Amphimax, room 410

Text reuse – the meaningful reiteration of text, usually beyond the simple repetition of common language – is a broad concept that can naturally be understood at different levels and studied in a large variety of contexts. This panel will gather researchers from different projects focussing on text reuse in the field of Digital Classics with the aim of discussing the possible approaches to and understandings of the notion. It will also bring together current efforts and lay the ground for further research.

Conveners:

Aurélien Berra (Université Paris-Ouest & EHESS)

Matteo Romanello (German Archaeological Institute & King’s College London)

Alexandra Trachsel (University of Hamburg)

Invited participants:

Monica Berti (University of Leipzig)

Chris Forstall (University at Buffalo, SUNY)

Annette Geßner (University of Leipzig)

Charlotte Tupman (King’s College London)

For more information and the panel’s programme, please visit this site.

Space, language, culture and politics in South Asia: Common Patterns and Local Distinctions – The 5th Coffee Break Conference

Ever thought that the nicest part of a conference are the coffee breaks, whereas the rest is usually boring and/or just a way of showing off? Then you are ready to participate in a Coffee Break Conference. The 5th one will take place in Rome from tomorrow to Saturday. Further details here.

You think it is a great idea, but you do not have the time to join us in Rome? Consider participating to the 6th Coffee Break Conference (Venice 2015). Further details are available here.

Further details on the Coffee Break Project can be read here (and in the posts linked from it)

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Visiting Assistant Professor in Buddhist Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

The Department of Religion at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure-track position in Buddhist Studies during the 2014-2015 academic year. The position will be in a one-year, non-renewable contract.

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Sanskrit (2ys) Position at Leiden University

Leiden University invites applications for a fulltime University Lectureship in Sanskrit and Ancient Cultures of South Asia. Research specialization is open. Teaching will include Sanskrit courses and courses on premodern cultures and literatures of South Asia.

This is a temporary replacement position, and appointment will be fixed-term from August 2014 through August 2016.