Jain Studies Unit
The Jain Studies Unit welcomes suggestions for panel ideas to be included in the AAR 2025 Call for Papers. If you would like to add your idea to the CFP, or if you have any questions, please send a short provisional title of your topic to one (or both) of the Jain Studies co-chairs, Gregory Clines (gclines@trinity.edu) and/or Ana Bajzelj (abajzelj@ucr.edu). We especially welcome suggestions for panels to be co-sponsored with other units and for panels that address the 2025 Annual Meeting’s Presidential Theme: “Freedom.” Finally, the Jain Studies Unit encourages proposals to include voices that are diverse in terms of race, caste, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, age, socioeconomic status, geographic region, professional rank, and institutional affiliation.
Please note that the Jain Studies Unit only accepts proposals for complete panels, roundtables, book discussions, etc. and does not accept individual papers. This is true for both the online summer session and the in-person annual meeting.
The following are proposed panel titles with contact information as of December 13, 2024. If interested, please contact the listed person(s) directly. Additional panel proposals are welcomed. The Jain Studies unit exclusively uses the AAR PAPERS system for all submissions.
Online Summer Session:
- Jainism and Technology (Corinne Smith, 257635@soas.ac.uk)
- Jain Texts on Conduct (Alba Rodriguez, alba.rodriguezjuan@email.ucr.edu)
This Unit began in 2009 in recognition of the burgeoning state of the field and its relative neglect in the AAR. Originating in India in the first millennium BCE, Jainism — historically as dominant a South Asian religious tradition as Buddhism and Hinduism and, in the light of current demographics, a disproportionately powerful presence in the cultural and economic life of India — is a world religion now extending far beyond South Asia to East Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia. Given the increasing focus of scholarly attention on Jainism both in India and around the globe, this Unit provides a venue in North America for scholars of Jainism to meet regularly and exchange ideas.