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Dharma Academy of North America (DANAM)
12th
Annual DANAM Conference 2014
AGENDA
21–23 November 2014 San Diego, California
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DHARMA SUSTAINS DIVERSITY
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12
th Annual DANAM Conference 2014
Sponsored by
Dharma Academy of North America (DANAM)
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21–23 November 2014
Location: Hilton Bayfront Hotel San Diego, California
Held in conjunction with the 2014 American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting
12th DANAM CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS: Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D.
Chairman, Taksha University President, DANAM
Rita D. Sherma, Ph.D. Vice President, DANAM
University of Southern California
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PURPOSE of the CONFERENCE
To provide a Dedicated Forum where scholars of Dharma Traditions (Hindu, Jain,
Buddhist, and other Guru-Shishya Dharma-s) can engage in the examination of, and
constructive approaches to, contemporary issues in Dharma Studies. While there are
multiple scholarly arenas for presentation of new textual, sociological, anthropological,
and historic approaches to the study of cultural and religious traditions that originated in
South Asia, there are few dedicated venues for discourse on, and the presentation of,
constructive theological and philosophical approaches to pedagogy, epistemology,
theology, or philosophy in these systems. It is hoped that this meeting can explore the
possibility that the academic study of these traditions is now mature enough to include
and move beyond the limitations of phenomenological methodologies in order to
engage the conceptual depth and intellectual applicability of these traditions in an
inclusive forum.
DANAM Summary
DANAM (Dharma Academy of North America) is an independent, non-political,
donation-based, non-profit organization of Virginia, with a focus on constructive
presentation of Dharma traditions in the North American context. Its mission and
objectives are described at its web site at www.danam-web.org, which lists the advisory
committee of reputable scholars under Board of Distinguished Visiting Scholars (BDVS)
drawn from various disciplines. DANAM is a sponsor of the peer-reviewed Journal of
Vaishnava Studies, and the peer-reviewed Contemporary Issues in Constructive
Dharma volumes. DANAM holds its Annual Meeting in conjunction with the yearly
conference of the American Academy of Religion.
Proceedings of DANAM Conference Sessions
The proceedings of the DANAM Conference sessions are available at Deepak
Heritage Books (DHB), www.deepakheritage.com, unless otherwise stated. They are
listed as follows: Contemporary Issues in Constructive Dharma Volume I (Eds. Rita D.
Sherma and Adarsh Deepak, 2003. Contemporary Issues in Constructive Dharma Volume II:
Epistemology and Hermeneutics (Eds. Rita D. Sherma and Adarsh Deepak, 2004). Asceticism
Identity and Pedagogy in Dharma Traditions (Eds. Graham M. Schweig, Jeffery D. Long,
Ramdas Lamb and Adarsh Deepak, 2006). Dying Death and Afterlife in Dharma Traditions and
Western Religions (Eds. Adarsh Deepak and Rita D. Sherma, 2006). Authority and Its
Challenges in Hindu Texts, Translations, and Transnational Communities (Ed. Deepak Sarma).
Yoga and Ecology: Dharma for the Earth (Ed. Christopher K. Chapple).
12TH DANAM CONFERENCE 2014
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AGENDA
12th Annual DANAM Conference 2014 (DANAM14)
San Diego, California
21 November (8:30 am) – 23 November 2014
LOCATION OF ACADEMIC SESSIONS
Friday: Hilton Bayfront Hotel, Aqua Room 314
Saturday: Hilton Bayfront Hotel, Indigo Ballroom D
Sunday: TBA
Friday, 21 Nov 2014
8:30 a.m. DANAM CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DESK opens. To receive the complimentary
Conference Package, including the Abstract Digest, please register ahead with contact information.
Participation at DANAM sessions at the AAR Annual Meetings is complimentary; there is
NO FEE involved. However, please register online. Your registration will help us utilize our
resources more efficiently to ensure conference sessions run smoothly. The first 108 registrants
will receive the Conference package. This information is strictly meant for planning purposes
and to facilitate communications.
For Latest Updates of the Agenda, please continue to check the web site at:
www.danam-web.org/events.htm
12TH DANAM CONFERENCE 2014
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SESSION SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2014
Location: Hilton Bayfront Hotel, Aqua Room 314
9:00 – 9:05 a.m. Opening Remarks
9:05 – 11:00 am Session 1 (M21-100)
Session 1: Hindu Theology Convener: Kusumita P. Pedersen, St. Francis College Presider: Rita D. Sherma, University of Southern California
Anant Rambachan, St. Olaf College
"Methodological Approaches to Advaita Liberation Theology"
Nika Kuchuk, University of Toronto
"The Synthesis of All Things: Language and Poetry in the Thought of Sri Aurobindo"
Ramakrishnan Parameshwaran, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University
" Studying Rama’s Grief Resolution Using Bharata’s Rasa-Bhava And Modern
Neuropsychological Theories”
Jonathan B. Edelman, Mississippi State University
"Critique and Conservation in Gaudiya Vaisnava Theology"
Kiyokazu Okita, Kyoto University
"No Entry Unless Authorized: Hindu Theology and the Question of Qualification"
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Session 2 (M21-104)
Session 2: Polytheology: The Vision of Plural Divinities
Convener and Presider: Anne Vallely, University of Ottawa
Ramdas Lamb, University of Hawai’i
“Conceptualizing Divinity: One, None, or Many”
Jessica Ford, University of Ottawa
“Conceptualizing the Divine: How Hindu Deities are Presented in High School World Religions
Courses in Canada”
Kamini Gogri, University of Mumbai
“Devotions of Attachment and Detachment & the Myriad Divinities of Jainism”
12TH DANAM CONFERENCE 2014
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R. Jeremy Saul, University of Michigan
"When Hanuman Became a Jain: The Miraculous Story of Babosa"
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, University of San Diego
“Deities, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas: Nontheism in a Theocratic Universe”
Responder: Anne Vallely, University of Ottawa
2:00 – 4:00 pm Session 3 (M21-202)
Session 3: Academia and Activism: Dharmic Perspectives Convener: Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College Presider: Neela B. Saxena, Nassau Community College
Pravrajika Vrajaprana, Vedanta Society of Southern California
“Work and Non-Work: Service and Spirituality in the Ramakrishna Mission”
Philip Goldberg, Interfaith Minister
"Engaged Yoga: The New Social Activism in the American Yoga Community"
Nadya Pohran, University of Ottawa
“Jain Panjrapoles and Animal-Rights Activism"
Veena Howard, CSU, Fresno
"Philosophical Principles, Practical Applications: Gandhi’s Hybrid Approach to Bridge
Philosophy and Practice"
Al Collins, Independent Scholar
"Indian Psychology: Reframing Western Behavioral Science through Samkhyan Categories"
4:00 – 6:00 pm Session 4 (M21-300)
Session 4: Dharma Traditions’ Responses to Secularism and the Secular Age
Convener and Presider: Purushottama Bilimoria, UC-Berkeley/Sophia-Melbourne
Brian Black, Lancaster University, UK
“Sources of Indian secularism? Dialogues on Politics and Religion in the Hindu and Buddhist
traditions”
Nalini Bhushan, Smith College
“Secularing Perspectives on Suffering and Evil in Twentieth-Century Colonial India”
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Sushumna Kannan, San Diego State University
“Responding to Taylor’s Secularity via Two Indian Thinkers: Vivekananda and Gandhi”
Laurie Patton, Duke University
“How Secularity Might Work When All Religions are Hindu”
Joseph Prabhu, California State, Los Angeles
“A Critique of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age from Panikkar and Socially Engaged Buddhism”
SATURDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2014
Location: Hilton Bayfront Hotel, Indigo Ballroom D
9:00 am – 11:30 pm Session 5 (M22-106 )
Session 5: Relationships between Devotional Paths and Tantric Paths Convener and Presider: Phyllis Herman, California State University, Northridge
Karen Pechilis, Drew University
"A Tamil Poetess as Tantric Practitioner? (Karaikkal Ammaiyar)"
Loriliai Biernacki, University of Colorado, Boulder
"The Bhāvanā of the Body: Bhakti in Tantra in nondual Kashmiri Śaivism"
June McDaniel, College of Charleston
"Bhakti and Tantra in Balinese Hinduism"
Jeffrey Lidke, Berry College
"Anuttara Sakti Bhakti: Adoration of the Highest Power in the Non-Dual Tantra of
Abhinavagupta"
Respondent : Sthaneshwar Timalsina, San Diego State University
11:00 – 1:00 am Session 6 (M22-107)
Session 6: Theologies of Oneness Convener and Presider: Graham Schweig, Christopher Newport University
Anantanand Rambachan, Saint Olaf College
“Not-Two is Not One: An Advaita Theology of Oneness”
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Rita Sherma, University of Southern California
“The Many Flavors of the One Taste of Reality in Trika-Kaula Tantra”
Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College
“Oneness in the Theology of the Vedanta Society”
Gopal K. Gupta, The College of Idaho
“The Uniting Power of Yoga and the Illusory Veil of Maya”
Respondent: Christopher K. Chapple, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
SUNDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2014
Location: TBA
Time TBA Session 7 (Mxx-xxx)
Session 7. Dharma and Halacha
Convener: Ithamar Theodor, University of Haifa Presider: Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Rollins College
Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Rollins College
“The Languages of Love and Desire in the Gitagovinda and the Song of Songs”
Ithamar Theodor, University of Haifa
“Dharma and Halacha – Links between Hindu and Jewish Ethics”
Aaron Gross, University of San Diego
Humane Subjects and Eating Animals:
“Receiving Law and Taking Vows in Contemporary Jewish and Jain Dietary Practice”
Shoshana Razel Gordon Guedalia, Harvard University
“Lethal Wives and Impure Widows”
DANAM 2014 Adjourns
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Contacts For Further Information
For Conference Administration & Logistics:
Diana McQuestion, Conference Manager: d.mcquestion@taksha.org Tel: 757-897-3745
For Conference Program:
Dr. Adarsh Deepak, President, DANAM: a.deepak@taksha.org Tel: 757-272-3066 cell
CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION
STEERING COMMITTEE
Ramdas Lamb, Chair, University of Hawai'i, Manoa
Purushottama Bilimoria, UC Berkeley & Melbourne, IJDS/Sophia
Anne Vallely, University of Ottawa
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, University of San Diego
Kusumita P. Pedersen, Past Chair, St. Francis College
Christopher Key Chapple, DANAM Advisory Board Representative, Loyola
Marymount University
Jeffery D. Long, DANAM Advisory Board Representative, Elizabethtown College
Rita D. Sherma, Director of Programs, DANAM, University of Southern California
Phyllis K. Herman, California State University, Northridge
DANAM ACADEMIC ADVISORY BOARD
The Academic Advisory Board of DANAM includes Professors Rita D. Sherma, Ph.D.,
Chair, (DANAM Vice President, University of Southern California); Christopher K.
Chapple, Ph.D. (Loyola Marymount University, CA); Rita M. Gross, Ph.D. (University of
Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI); Jeffery D. Long, Ph.D. (Elizabethtown College, PA); Kusumita
P. Pedersen, Ph.D. (St. Francis College, NYC); Anantanand Rambachan, Ph.D. (St. Olaf
College, MN); Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad (Lancaster University, UK), T. S. Rukmani,
Ph.D. (Concordia University, Canada); Graham M. Schweig, Ph.D. (Christopher Newport
University, VA); Arvind Sharma, Ph.D. (McGill University, Canada); Vesna Wallace, Ph.D.
(University of California, Santa Barbara, CA); Ian Whicher (University of Manitoba,
Canada).
DANAM VICE-PRESIDENT and DIRECTOR of ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Rita D. Sherma, Ph.D.
Chair, DANAM Board of Distinguished Visiting Scholars (BDVS) University of Southern California
12TH DANAM CONFERENCE 2014
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CONFERENCE COORDINATION COMMITTEE
Diana McQuestion, Conference Manager
Pat Deepak Jyoti Gandhi
Anjalee Sinha Meera Rao
Ravi Deepak
DANAM PRESIDENT
Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D. Chairman, Taksha University;
Publisher of Journal for Vaishnava Studies (JVS), and academic volumes in Dharma Studies.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
General Co-Chairs: Dr. Rajinder Gandhi, Chairman, DANAM
Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D., President, DANAM, & Chairman, Taksha University
TRAVEL INFORMATION
The following information website can be viewed for the convenience of the attendees of DANAM14 Conference and/or 2014 AAR Annual Meeting.
From AAR web site:
http://www.aarweb.org/node/245