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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250508T111500
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SUMMARY:Progressive Activists and the Bible
DESCRIPTION:Some of America’s most effective reformers did not just refer to the Bible\, but fused their own struggles with its narratives\, seeing themselves as part of a cosmic divine battle within history. Claudia Setzer will have us consider how abolitionist Frederick Douglass\, Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer and others used multiple methods of biblical interpretation to make sense of their struggles and to reject despair. We will also consider contemporary activist groups that root themselves in the Bible and religious traditions. \nRegister here for the Zoom link.
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/progressive-activists-and-the-bible/
LOCATION:Online on Zoom
CATEGORIES:CSR
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250513T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250513T133000
DTSTAMP:20250509T174241Z
CREATED:20250212T204940Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250509T174241Z
UID:6746-1747139400-1747143000@religion.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Power and Alterity in Black Religious Thought
DESCRIPTION:Who is the human? What is legitimate religion? Who is left out of these discourses? Questions of power\, humanity\, and alterity animate religious discourse and responses to oppression. Leveraging the Rastafari movement and interrogating religious racism this talk will allow us to grapple with 20th century Black religious discourses and their continued relevance for thinking about how to protect religious freedom in the contemporary moment. \nRSVP here for in-person event. \nRegister here for Zoom link. \nShamara Wyllie Alhassan is Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of California – Los Angeles. Alhassan comes to UCLA from Arizona State University where she was Assistant Professor of Religious Studies in the School of Historical\, Philosophical and Religious Studies. As a transdisciplinary Africana Studies scholar of religion\, philosophy\, and gender theory\, Alhassan transnational ethnographic work focuses on Black women’s radical epistemologies in Africa and the Caribbean. She is interested in the healing communities Rastafari women form to combat anti-black gendered racism and religious discrimination. Her forthcoming book tentatively titled\, Re-Membering the Maternal Goddess: Rastafari Women’s Intellectual History and Activism in the Pan-African World is the winner of the National Women’s Association and University of Illinois Press First Book Prize. She is the co-editor of the book\, Black Women and Da Rona: Community\, Consciousness\, and Ethics of Care\, published with the Feminist Wire Series Books at the University of Arizona Press in 2023. Her published work also appears in Callaloo\, the National Political Science Review\, Religions\, The Black Scholar\, IDEAZ journal\, Political Theology Network\, the Immanent Frame\, and Caliban’s Readings. She is a Crossroads Arts Fellow with The Crossroads Project Black Religious\, Histories\, Communities and Cultures at Princeton University. Currently\, she serves as the Secretary of Rastafari Thought at the Caribbean Philosophical Association\, on the board of the Religion\, Medicines\, and Healing Unit at the American Academy of Religion\, and an organizer of the Collaborative for Research on Black Women and Girls.
URL:https://religion.ucla.edu/event/power-and-alterity-in-black-religious-thought/
LOCATION:Kaplan 365
CATEGORIES:CSR
ORGANIZER;CN="Center for the Study of Religion":MAILTO:csr@humnet.ucla.edu
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250523T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250523T170000
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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
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