The College of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Institute will host a two-day symposium on Tantra and Buddhist ritual in medieval South Asia, on Feb. 21-22, in the Diffley Board Room of Bellarmine Hall.
Presenters from around the country will explore ritual developments in South Asia from roughly 600-1200 CE, discuss Buddhist and non-Buddhist tāntrikas in the medieval period, examine the way these ritual developments were carried beyond the Himalayas into Tibet proper, and outline their subsequent developments up to the modern period. Panelists will share their abstracts and participate in Q&A and group discussion.
This symposium is being held to celebrate and mark a transition in the study of Buddhism, Tantra, and Asian traditions more broadly at newsUniversity. The topic was inspired by the work of Professor Emeritus Ronald M. Davidson, PhD, in Indian Esoteric Buddhism and the Tibetan Renaissance. Dr. Davidson is scheduled to deliver the conference keynote address. The Humanities Institute, in collaboration with Samuel Grimes, PhD, assistant professor of Religious Studies, helped bring this event to fruition. Dr. Grimes will be a featured speaker, along with the following panelists:
- Kristina Anderson, The Art Institute of Chicago
- Keith Cantú, PhD, Harvard University
- Pronoy Chakraborty, University of California, Berkeley
- Jacob Dalton, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
- Sonali Dhingra, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
- David Germano, PhD, University of Virginia
- Shaman Hatley, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Boston
- John Nemec, PhD, University of Virginia
- Davey Tomlinson, PhD, Villanova University
Registration is open for and , 2025. The conference is open to the public.
