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CSSS is organising a talk by John E. Cort

CSSS is organising a talk by John E. Cort

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CSSS is organising a talk by John E. Cort
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Centre for the Study of Social Systems

School of Social Sciences

 

CSSS Colloquium

 

John E. Cort

(Judy Gentili Chair, Denison University, USA)

 

Will be presenting a paper on

 

Jain Identity and the Public Sphere in Nineteenth-Century India

 

November 02, 2017 (Thursday), 3.00 pm

CSSS Committee Room (Room No: 13), SSS-II

 

 

Abstract: In this talk, I look at two nineteenth-century Jain disputes, to show how the processes of globalization and modernity (or, better, globalizations and modernities) combined to generate a new pan-Indian concept of being “Jain.” I argue that Jains responded to two overlapping processes of modernity, brought to India by British colonialism, in ways that resulted in new self-understandings of what it meant to be Jain, and therefore to be members of a religion called “Jainism.” One of these was the gradual expansion of the British legal system and the concepts of English law, which introduced new concepts of both the rights-bearing “individual” and of the communities to which such individuals belonged. The other was an intertwined set of new technologies of travel, communication and dissemination of information that linked hitherto widely dispersed and regionally heterogeneous groups of Jains into a single pan-Indian community.

 

Bio: John E. Cort is Professor of Asian and Comparative Religions at Denison University (Granville, Ohio, USA), where he also teaches in the International Studies Program, and holds the Judy Gentili Chair in International Studies. His research focuses on the Jains of western and north India, and is the author of Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India (2001) and Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History (2010), as well as editor of Open Boundaries: Jain Communities and Cultures in Indian History (1998).

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.