2nd Annual Indian Epigraphy Workshop – U of T, Mississauga, August 2019

We are happy to announce the Workshop on Gupta Epigraphy at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Please find the description attached below and circulate widely, especially to graduate students

The 2nd Annual Indian Epigraphy Workshop for scholars and students of ancient South Asia will take place in Mississauga, Canada, on August 5th, 2019 through August 9th, 2019. The workshop is offered through a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania – South Asian Studies Department and the Centre of South Asian Civilizations and Department of Historical Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga. The University of Toronto Mississauga is hosting this year’s workshop. We issue a warm invitation to students and scholars of religion, history, art history, and literature in South Asia, who have studied Sanskrit for a few years and are studying or familiar with classical and medieval India.

Participants attending this week-long workshop will learn the basics of Gupta epigraphy, paleography, inscriptional language, and history. The Gupta Age has been seen as the “Golden Age” of Indian civilization. Apart from the literary and scientific literature ascribed to this time, the Guptas and affiliated polities produced a rich material archive of monumental architecture, sculpture, and inscriptions. The Gupta reign left a wide-ranging body of inscriptions, in which kings, nobles, and religious elites commemorated their pious donations and political victories. This workshop will allow attendees access to a rich archive of epigraphic material by giving a basic familiarity with the corpus and the tools to use inscriptional sources in further research. Further, we will analyze inscriptions in the context of the built landscapes in which they were encountered and viewed. We take the inscriptions as material and textual sources functioning within the larger context of sites and polities

Elizabeth Cecil from the Florida State University, an expert in Gupta epigraphy, religion, art and culture, will lead the workshop along with Daud Ali from the University of Pennsylvania, Luther Obrock from the University of Toronto and Jason Neelis from Wilfrid Laurier University. Each day will consist of three sessions: A morning reading session, an afternoon lecture or discussion, and an afternoon reading session. During the reading sessions participants will be expected to read the inscriptions in the original scripts with the help of experts. They will learn to use editions, estampages, and photographs to make sense of material remains. Each day will also have a lecture and discussion meant to familiarize the participant with the debates spurring the field.

There are no fees associated with attending the workshop itself, and room and board will be provided gratis to a limited number of initial participants. It is recommended that participants apply to their home institutions for financial aid before asking for travel accommodation assistance.

For registration details and additional information or inquiries please contact:

Luther Obrock luther.obrock@utoronto.ca
Daud Ali daudali@sas.upenn.edu