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October 6 and 7, 2006
Research Consultation Buddhist Objects: Knowledge, Ritual and Art Arizona State University Schedule of Events A recent gift from the Guardian of the Flame Collection of Sinhala Buddhist texts to Arizona State University and of Sri Lankan Buddhist sculpture donated to Phoenix Art Museum provides the occasion for this research consultation on Buddhist literary and material culture. ASU hosts an international event on Buddhist manuscripts and art in South and Southeast Asia on October 6 and 7. Ten visiting scholars from Europe, Asia and the United States meet with faculty and students for an intensive two-day research consultation. The presentations explore how Buddhist material culture as well as literary and artistic traditions shaped religious and cultural practices in pre-modern Asia. Specifically, these researchers investigate the roles manuscripts and images play in the transmission of Buddhist texts and in fostering devotion among Buddhist communities. Collectively, the presentations offer cross-cultural and comparative insights into the transmission of Buddhist knowledge and the use of texts and images as ritual objects in the artistic and aesthetic traditions of Buddhist cultures. The research consultation was organized by Stephen Berkwitz, Claudia Brown, Juliane Schober and Robert Spindler, with assistance from Sherry Harlacher, Christopher Miller, Karrie Porter-Brace, and in collaboration with Janet Baker. The project was made possible by a seed grant from the Institute for Humanities Research, Arizona State University and received further support from the Department of Religious Studies, University Libraries, Center for Asian Research, School of Art, and Herberger College of Fine Arts. Additional funding has been provided by Phoenix Art Museum and US Department of Education, Title VI. |