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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250523T140000
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SUMMARY:Symposium - Women and Goddesses in Jainism
DESCRIPTION:Photo credit: Samyak Modi \n  \nThroughout the history of Jainism\, one of the world’s oldest living religions\, Jain women have played a crucial role. Jain renouncers\, whose self-denying lifestyle is revered as the highest ideal\, are predominantly female\, while Jain laywomen tend to be significantly more religiously active than their male counterparts. In this symposium\, speakers will provide a range of perspectives on human and divine womanhood in Jain life and thought. Talks will cover the definition of gender in Jain philosophical texts\, Jain goddess-worship and changing gender roles in the contemporary Jain diaspora. \nRSVP here for this in-person event. \nRegister here for a Zoom link. \nDirections to event venue – Hershey Hall Salon\, Room 158 \nSYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE: \n2:00 – 2:05: Welcome and introduction\, Anahita Hoose (UCLA)\, symposium organizer & moderator \n2:05 – 2:45: Ana Bajželj (UC Riverside): Defining Gender in Śvetāmbara Texts \n2:45 – 3:30: Venu Mehta (Claremont School of Theology): Reconceptualizing “Goddess” in Jainism: Devotional Practices for the Jain Goddess Padmāvatī among the Śvetāmbar Mūrtipūjak Jains in Gujarat \n3:30 – 3:45: Break \n3:45 – 4:30: Shivani Bothra (Cal State Long Beach): Spiritual Equality or Social Boundaries: Redefining Gender Roles in Diasporic Jainism \n4:30 – 5:00: Concluding Discussion \n  \nSYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THEIR PAPERS: \n  \nAna Bajželj is Associate Professor and Shrimad Rajchandra Endowed Chair in Jain Studies in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of California\, Riverside. She was previously a research fellow at the University of Rajasthan and the Polonsky Academy (Van Leer Jerusalem Institute)\, and she taught at the University of Ljubljana and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on Jain philosophy\, particularly metaphysics\, ethics\, and philosophy of mind. She is the author of The Nature of Change in Jaina Philosophy (Ljubljana University Press\, 2016\, in Slovenian) and the co-author of Insistent Life: Principles for Bioethics in the Jain Tradition (UC Press\, 2021). She is currently working on a monograph study of the Tattvārthasūtra and its commentaries. \n“Defining Gender in Śvetāmbara Texts” \nThis presentation analyzes Jain canonical definitions of the term “man” (puruṣa) from a set of standpoints listed in the Sthānāṅga (Ṭhāṇaṃga). These include (1) name (nāman)\, representation (sthāpanā)\, and potentiality (dravya); (2) knowledge (jñāna)\, view (darśana)\, and conduct (caritra); (3) sexual orientation (veda)\, mark (cihna)\, and (verbal) expression (abhilāpa); and (4) superiority (uttamapuruṣa)\, mediocrity (madhyamapuruṣa)\, and inferiority (jaghanyapuruṣa)\, each with three further subcategories. The presentation explores the semantic range of the term indicated by these standpoints by examining similar passages in other Śvetāmbara texts and considers its significance within the broader context of the Jain discussions on gender. \n  \nDr. Venu Mehta is an Assistant Professor of Jainism and Comparative Spiritualities at the Claremont School of Theology. Her research primarily focuses on Jainism\, with a specialization in Jain regional-vernacular devotional literature\, narratives\, and practices. Her doctoral dissertation examines the devotion to the Jain goddess Padmāvatī among Śvetāmbar Mūrtipūjak Jains in Gujarat\, highlighting the interplay between regional devotional expressions and broader Jain theological frameworks. \nBeyond her work on Jain goddess traditions\, Dr. Mehta’s scholarship extends to the Jain concept of forgiveness and the intersections of aparigraha (non-possessiveness) with human dignity\, sustainability\, and Gandhian economic thought. Her recent research and publications also engage in Jain-Hindu comparative theologies and spiritualities\, particularly in relation to goddess traditions. \nIn addition to her expertise in Jain studies\, Dr. Mehta teaches courses on South Asian religious traditions\, comparative spiritualities\, and gender and women in spiritual practices. Her methodological approach integrates ethnographic research with textual analysis\, emphasizing the lived experiences\, devotional expressions\, and ritual practices of Jain communities. \n“Reconceptualizing “Goddess” in Jainism: Devotional Practices for the Jain Goddess Padmāvatī among the Śvetāmbar Mūrtipūjak Jains in Gujarat” \nThis presentation explores how Śvetāmbar Mūrtipūjak Jains in Gujarat reconceptualize the goddess Padmāvatī through their devotional practices\, positioning her as a central female form of divinity within Jain religious tradition. Though Jainism primarily emphasizes the worship of the Tīrthaṅkars\, Padmāvatī\, a śāsanadevatā (guardian deity) and yakṣī of Pārśvanāth\, has been accorded exceptional devotion. By examining vernacular literature\, narratives\, and regional practices from the late sixteenth century to contemporary times\, I argue that Jains in Gujarat have actively shaped a distinct space for goddess worship\, elevating Padmāvatī from an attendant deity to Śakti\, the Great Goddess\, and the Mother Goddess. This process of reimagining Padmāvatī involves a synthesis of universal Jain values with regional devotional expressions\, contributing to the dynamics of democratization\, universalization\, and regionalization in Jain religious life. Lay Jains play a crucial role in this transformation\, engaging with Padmāvatī’s legacy through non-esoteric devotional practices and literature\, thus reaffirming her place within their religious framework. Ultimately\, this presentation highlights how Padmāvatī’s evolving identity reflects broader patterns of Jain devotionalism\, redefining the boundaries of feminine divinity within the Jain tradition in Gujarat. \n  \nShivani Bothra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at California State University\, Long Beach. Before this\, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University in Houston\, USA\, and taught as a lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of California\, Santa Barbara. She earned her doctorate from the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Her focus is South Asian traditions\, Jainism\, and Nonviolence. Shivani’s primary research areas are religious education and transnational Jainism\, emphasizing Contemporary Jains. \n“Spiritual Equality or Social Boundaries: Redefining Gender Roles in Diasporic Jainism” \nThis paper critically examines how gender roles in Jain diasporic communities are being redefined or reframed in ways distinct from traditional Indian contexts. How do education\, modern professions\, business ethics\, and transnational networks influence the agency and status of Jain laywomen? In what ways do diasporic Jain women navigate their identities\, negotiating between Indian religious traditions and evolving feminist discourses in their new sociocultural environments? Drawing on structured interviews with early Jain diaspora women\, this research aims to shed light on the evolving spiritual and social roles of Jain women in a transnational context\, assessing the extent to which diasporic Jainism fosters new models of gender participation and leadership. \nThis event is presented by the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion. It is co-sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women | Barbra Streisand Center.
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/symposium-women-and-goddesses-in-jainism/
LOCATION:Hershey Hall Salon\, 801 Hilgard Av\, Los Angeles\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:CSR
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251110T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251110T183000
DTSTAMP:20251022T233204Z
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UID:6943-1762794000-1762799400@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Islamic China: An Asian History - Book Talk
DESCRIPTION:For more than a millennium\, Islam has been a Chinese religion\, and native-born Chinese Muslims have played important roles in their homeland—as butchers\, merchants\, and farmers; diplomats\, scholar-officials\, and royal astronomers. Yet the Muslims of China have often been understood as inherently foreign\, incompatible with Chinese culture. In this reappraisal\, Rian Thum recaptures the ordinariness of Chinese Muslims. In doing so\, he suggests that these communities\, whose classification has so often been seen as problematic\, can teach us about the ways social categories are made and maintained in the first place. \nDr. Rian Thum is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Manchester. A contributor to the New York Times\, the Washington Post\, Foreign Affairs\, and The Nation\, he is the author of The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History\, winner of the Fairbank Prize for East Asian History from the American Historical Association and the Hsu Prize for East Asian Anthropology from the American Anthropological Association. \nSponsor(s): Program on Central Asia\, APC\, Asia Pacific Center\, Center for the Study of Religion\, Islamic Studies
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/islamic-china-an-asian-history-book-talk/
LOCATION:UCLA Public Affairs Bldg.\, Rm 2270\, 337 Charles E Young Dr E\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:CSR
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://religion.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/The-Great-Mosque-in-Xian-China_Chinese-style-minaret.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260115T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260115T160000
DTSTAMP:20260112T184254Z
CREATED:20241101T155359Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260112T184254Z
UID:6670-1768492800-1768492800@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:CANCELLED: And God Laughed: Humor in the Bible
DESCRIPTION:Due to unforeseen circumstances\, And God Laughed: Humor in the Bible with Joel Kaminsky has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and will re-list if the event is rescheduled. \nSince the Hebrew Bible is a sacred text for Jews and Christians many readers naturally assume it cannot contain any humor. This talk will explore several biblical narratives that employ humor to make serious theological points. Becoming aware of such biblical humor can enrich our understanding of these stories and of certain theological ideas the ancient biblical writers wished to emphasize. \nJoel Kaminsky is the Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies and a professor of Bible in the Religion Department at Smith College where he has taught since 1997. His research explores the intersection between narrative and theological currents in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic literature and seeks to illuminate the distinct ways that Jews and Christians over the past two millennia have interpreted the Hebrew Bible. \nJoel Kaminsky (Smith College)\nModerator: Carol Bakhos (UCLA) \nThe Bible and the Ancient World Seminar Series\nSponsored by The UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies \nCo-sponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/and-god-laughed-humor-in-the-bible/
LOCATION:Royce Hall 306
CATEGORIES:CSR,NELC
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260121T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260121T173000
DTSTAMP:20260115T195931Z
CREATED:20251120T195150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260115T195931Z
UID:6961-1769011200-1769016600@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:A Tattered Leaf Covers the Torn: Class Dynamics of Buddhist Charity in Vietnam
DESCRIPTION:Professor Sara Ann Swenson (Dartmouth College) presents new research on how global trends in humanitarianism are enacted at the local level through the everyday ethics and informal practices of low-income and middle-class Buddhist volunteers in Vietnam. \nStudies of humanitarianism tend to focus on the large-scale. They analyze disaster relief\, international diplomacy\, development politics\, and privatized welfare. These studies highlight trends and policies that suggest generosity is becoming homogenized into “industrialized philanthropy.” Yet when global trends actualize in local communities\, diverse ethics and interpretations of care reemerge. Differences flourish and conflicts arise over how to best care for others.  \nSara Ann Swenson’s research examines the point at which national trends toward philanthropy are enacted on the ground by focusing on the role of low-income and middle-class Buddhist volunteers in Vietnam. Informal giving and “random acts of kindness” are difficult to quantify\, meaning they are often overlooked among large-scale studies of humanitarianism. Yet these everyday ethics of care are also a major way that citizens—particularly low-income earners and middle-class workers—transform ethics of care into civic engagement and moral citizenship. Moreover\, as volunteers draw on Buddhist teachings and practices to explain care in Vietnam\, their religious ethics permeate secular and public institutions such as hospitals\, universities\, and social service programs. Close qualitative research shows how—even as processes of giving are increasingly globalized—the motivations\, experiences\, and relationships that arise from giving can vary greatly by context\, depending on intersectional dynamics between donors and recipients. Researchers must always attend to questions of who is giving to whom and why for a comprehensive understanding of how social service needs are being met amid high-speed development and privatization in late socialist countries like Vietnam. \nRegister here. \nSara Ann Swenson is an Assistant Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College. She researches contemporary Buddhism in Vietnam. She holds a PhD and MPhil in Religion from Syracuse University\, an MA in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology\, and a BA in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her book Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. \nSponsor(s): Center for Buddhist Studies\, Center for the Study of Religion\, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/a-tattered-leaf-covers-the-torn-class-dynamics-of-buddhist-charity-in-vietnam/
LOCATION:Royce 243
CATEGORIES:CSR
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260205T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260205T170000
DTSTAMP:20260122T231222Z
CREATED:20251202T005806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260122T231222Z
UID:6970-1770307200-1770310800@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Between Discordant Shores: Dante’s Francis\, the Book of Islam and the Orient
DESCRIPTION:(Image: Coppo di Marcovaldo\, St. Francis before the Sultan\,” Sultan Malek al-Kāmil and his philosophers\, Bardi Altarpiece\, c. 1260s\, Basilica di Santa Croce\, Florence.) \nMarking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’s death in 2026\, this talk draws on Morosini’s recent study Dante\, Moses and the Book of Islam (2024) to explore Dante’s Francis and their shared conception of the Book of Islam and of the Orient. At its center is the Book’s role within the Commedia and in Dante’s representation of Francis\, offering a new perspective on the Orient as a geographic space of dialogue rather than dehumanizing alterity. \nThis perspective\, as emerged in Dante\, Moses and the Book of Islam\, calls for a reevaluation of Dante’s “discordant shores” of Paradiso IX\, 85. In Dante’s vision\, the Book becomes a bridge between cultures and faiths\, a medium of transmission and encounter that links distant shores within a Mediterranean network of knowledge. \nRSVP here to attend in person. \nPrior to joining UCLA’s Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies in July 2024\, Professor Morosini was Professor of Italian at the Università L’Orientale di Napoli since 2022 and the 2024 Chair of Italian Culture at UC Berkeley.
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/between-discordant-shores-dantes-francis-of-assisi-the-book-of-islam-and-the-orient/
LOCATION:Kaufman Hall Room 101
CATEGORIES:CSR
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260409T153000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260409T163000
DTSTAMP:20260330T213137Z
CREATED:20260330T213137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T213137Z
UID:7043-1775748600-1775752200@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution
DESCRIPTION:Muslim charities and community organizations have assumed a significant role in refugee support since the Syrian catastrophe: in Jordan and Canada\, as elsewhere\, they deliver food aid\, house orphans\, and organize remedial education. But Islam is more than just a resource for humanitarian projects. The Dread Heights details how the Islamic tradition guides refugees\, relief workers\, and religious scholars in a world of brutal sieges and mass displacement. Even as refugees become objects of humanitarian concern suspended between national orders\, this ethnography brings another suspension into view: a form of life whose gestures are illuminated by the Quranic figure of the Heights. In the shadow of war\, beyond humanitarian order\, Islam offers an orientation to the devastation of the present. \nBasit Kareem Iqbal is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Associate Member in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University. An anthropologist and longtime academic editor\, his research explores the difficulty of the present within and across distinct traditions and forms of life. He is author of The Dread Heights: Tribulation and Refuge after the Syrian Revolution (2025) and editor of collaborative journal issues on tribulation (2022)\, the destruction of loss (2023)\, the incapacitations of tradition (2026)\, and the unmooring of the present (2027). His current projects include translating a book on the representation of violence and writing a series of essays on evil in creation. \nREGISTER HERE \nSponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies\, Center for Middle East Development\, Center for Study of International Migration\, Islamic Studies\, and the Center for the Study of Religion
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/the-dread-heights-tribulation-and-refuge-after-the-syrian-revolution/
LOCATION:Bunche Hall 10383
CATEGORIES:CSR
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T173000
DTSTAMP:20260812T183937Z
CREATED:20260812T183937Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260812T183937Z
UID:7197-1792080000-1792085400@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Study of Religion Welcome Reception
DESCRIPTION:Lift a glass to the new academic year and meet friends old and new! \nWelcome remarks by Dean Stern and Professor Bakhos at 4:30p. \nRSVP required by October 11. See you there!
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/study-of-religion-welcome-reception/
LOCATION:Royce Hall 306
CATEGORIES:CSR
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://religion.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/autumn-leaves_2.resized.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T171500
DTSTAMP:20260814T170818Z
CREATED:20260812T184127Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T170818Z
UID:7157-1793030400-1793034900@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:The Paradox of Pointless Suffering
DESCRIPTION:Why do we suffer? Why do people die young? Is there any point to our excessive pain\, physical or emotional? This talk explores the ways that we have tried to minimize or eliminate suffering\, and examines people’s attempts to find ways to live with pointless suffering. Ultimately\, to be fully human—and to have healthy culture—means to acknowledge a mysterious paradox: we must simultaneously accept suffering and oppose it. \nRSVP to attend in person \nRegister for Zoom link \nScott Samuelson studied philosophy at Grinnell College (BA\, 1995\, valedictorian) and Emory University (PhD\, 2001).  He is currently a Professor of Practice in the Departments of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Iowa State University. In 2014\, he was named Distinguished Humanities Educator by the Community College Humanities Association.  Inspired by his students\, he wrote his first book The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone (University of Chicago Press\, 2014)\, which has been well received not just by prominent reviewers but by numerous non-philosophers who found their philosophical voice with its help.  The book has been translated into Chinese and Portuguese.  Samuelson has published articles in the Wall Street Journal\, the Huffington Post\, the Chronicle of Higher Education\, The Philosopher’s Magazine\, and Christian Century.  His article “Why I Teach Plato to Plumbers” in The Atlantic has been widely circulated.  He’s been interviewed on NPR and given various public lectures and talks\, including a TEDx talk “How Philosophy Can Save Your Life.” \nScott Samuelson was the recipient of the 2015 Hiett Prize in the Humanities. \nCo-sponsored by the UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies.
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/the-paradox-of-pointless-suffering/
LOCATION:Royce Hall 306
CATEGORIES:CSR
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://religion.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Scott-Samuelson-header.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
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