Dharma Academy of North America 2020 Call for Papers

Dear DANAM Participant:

Below please find the Dharma Academy of North America 2020 Call for Papers. Please consider submitting a proposal to the organizer/s as listed below. The DANAM meetings will convene before the American Academy of Religion annual conference (November 21-24) in Boston, beginning Friday, November 20. The submission deadline is March 15, 2020.

1. Dharma & Climate Catastrophe: Rita Sherma, organizer.
From the lowlands of India to the forests of Australia and beyond, floods and forest fears as well as drought and despair are reshaping the human project. How might the Dharma traditions respond? What direct actions are being undertaken? We invite proposals to explore Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh perspectives. Please submit ideas to rsherma@gtu.edu

2. “Religious” vs. “Spiritual” and the Concept of SBNR: Christopher Chapple, organizer.
Worldwide, disaffiliation with institutional religions has increased. However, most people continue to self-define as spiritual beings. What implications can be discerned for Dharma traditions? Might Yoga and meditation be seen as forms of non-tradition-specific spiritual practice? Proposals are invited that explore this moment historically and philosophically. Please submit ideas to cchapple@lmu.edu

3. Dharma, Women & Innovation: Veena Howard, organizer.
Women have not traditionally occupied positions of leadership in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, or Sikhism. In which ways changes being seen? How might women bring new insights into the practice of each tradition? Paper proposals are invited that provide specific instances of innovations bring made by women. Please submit ideas to vehoward@csufresno.edu

4. Concepts of God/Divinity Including Divine Grace vs. Self-effort: Ramdas Lamb, organizer.
One of the perennial theological questions asks what is the nature of that which is traditionally referred to as God/Divinity? Is It to be viewed as a transcendent deity? As an immanent presence? As a pantheistic/omnipresent reality? As a panentheistic or incarnational being? To what extent and through what means can women and men shape their relationship with the divine? To what extent do humans have any responsibility in initiating this relationship? Representative positions from Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism are invited for consideration. Please submit ideas to ramdas@hawaii.edu

5. Rabbi on the Ganges: A Jewish-Hindu Encounter. Organizer: Yudit Greenberg.
This book by Alan Brill (Lexington Books, 2020), offers understanding into points of contact between the two religions of Hinduism and Judaism based on the author’s experiences in India. This panel explores the implications of such an encounter from the viewpoint of the two traditions and inter-religious studies. For further information, contact ygreenberg@rollins.edu

6. DANAM Annual Book Launch

Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age, Christopher Patrick Miller, Michael Reading, and Jeffery D. Long. eds. Lexington Books, 2019.

—
Diana McQuestion
Dharma Academy of North America
757-897-3745