2018 Graduate Student
Symposium
Buddhist Political Engagements
and Imaginaries
October 5,
2018, Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, CA
The theme of the 2018 Graduate Student Symposium is Buddhist political
engagements and imaginaries. How has Buddhist thought,
cosmology, or ethics been used to engage, disengage, critique, or conform
to systems of political power? Far from being wholly disinterested in
secular affairs, Buddhists have over the millennia engaged the world in
various ways, from tantric rituals for the longevity of the emperor and
the protection of state to the Buddha’s ten duties for the king, from lay
precepts and advice for marriage to wholesale rejections of lay life and
retreat to the monastery. In this symposium, we hope to explore the
various discursive strategies Buddhists have used historically and
contemporarily to reimagine Buddhist worlds in the present moment, to critique
or support political systems, and develop practices and approaches to the
path in line or at odds with social norms.
Topics include but are not limited to: political
reimaginings of traditional Buddhist cosmologies, doctrines, or
practices; contemporary lay or monastic engaged Buddhist movements, their
successes and shortcomings; the intersection of gender, race, class,
nationalism or identity and Buddhist political thought; nationalist
movements and their Buddhist supporters and detractors. Papers from any
Buddhist tradition, region, or historical period will be considered.
Dr. Melissa Anne-Marie Curley, Assistant
Professor at The Ohio State University and author of Pure Land/Real
World: Modern Buddhism, Japanese Leftists, and the Utopian Imagination
(University of Hawai’i Press, 2017), will serve as the symposium keynote
speaker.
Graduate students at any stage of their program are
encouraged to submit paper proposals. Please send abstracts of no more
than 500 words to Thomas Calobrisi (tcalobrisi@ses.gtu.edu). Please include
your academic affiliation with your submission. The deadline for
submission is June 15, 2018. Applicants will be notified about their
submission by July 15, 2018.
For more information, visit the IBS website.
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