*Buddhist Meditation: Tradition and Transformation*
2013 Buddhist Studies
Graduate Conference at the University of Virginia
September 13-15,
2013
The Buddhist Studies Group at the University of Virginia is
pleased to
announce an interdisciplinary graduate student conference to be
hosted on
the UVa Grounds in Charlottesville, VA on September 13-15, 2013 on
the
theme of "Buddhist Meditation: Tradition and Transformation."
The
conference will include panels and paper presentations by graduate
students
from across North America and lectures by a number of the world’s
foremost
Buddhist Studies scholars (lineup TBA). This conference is designed
to be a
collaborative forum in which young scholars can test new approaches,
bridge
disciplines in creative ways, and expand the scope of sources that we
bring
to our studies.
*Call for Paper Proposals*
Along the
lines of this year’s theme, we are looking for paper proposals
from students
currently enrolled in M.A. or Ph.D. programs - not only in
Buddhist Studies,
but also in other disciplines, including sociology,
anthropology, and history
- that speak directly to the study of Buddhist
meditation. The papers
selected for presentation will be organized into
panels, each chaired by a
faculty respondent. Presentations will not exceed
twenty minutes.
We
strongly encourage proposals that stretch received boundaries and
challenge
the way we think about and study Buddhist Meditation in its many
forms and
contexts. We encourage papers that approach Buddhist meditation
from a
diverse range of methodological approaches - literary,
historic,
ethnographic, sociological, political, and educational/pedagogical,
to name
a few.
We are particularly interested in the following
topics:
- Problems in the *historical study* of Buddhist
meditation.
- Innovative *Interdisciplinary* investigations into
contemplative
practice in Buddhist societies (e.g.: historically-informed
ethnography)
- How *the body* has been conceptualized and represented
within specific
Buddhist contemplative systems
- The role of
*creativity and innovation* vis-à-vis lineage and
“tradition.”
-
*Therapeutic* and instrumental* (vs. soteriological) applications of
Buddhist meditation *in Buddhist societies*.
- Institutional and
pedagogical frameworks.
- The role of *the literary* in Buddhist meditation
traditions (e.g.:
biographical literature, meditation manuals,
philosophical literature, etc)
Paper Proposal Submission
Guidelines
Please submit an abstract of your paper of *not more than 500
words*,
along with your name, university and department affiliation, and a
brief
bio, to gradbuddhismconf2013@gmail.com
by *June 15, 2013.* You will be
notified by the end of June of the status of
your proposal, after which we
will publish a detailed schedule of the
conference.
University of Virginia may potentially be able to provide
funding to cover
the costs of lodging and meals for students presenting
papers. Travel
funds, however, should be obtained from the students' home
institutions or
other sources. We also warmly welcome and encourage
non-presenting students
to attend at their own cost. Regrettably, we cannot
provide letters of
invitation to international observers for visa purposes
because we are not
equipped to take legal responsibility for international
observers.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of
the
conference organizers:
Eric Fry-Miller: ef6ab@virginia.edu
Christopher Hiebert:
ch7wt@virginia.edu
Naomi Worth:
nw3ca@virginia.edu
---------------------------
H-Buddhism
(Buddhist Scholars Information Network)
Web Site: <http://www.h-net.org/~buddhism/>
Posting Guidelines:
<http://www.h-net.org/~buddhism/posting_guidelines.html>
