The Department of Religious Studies welcomed Dr. Steven M. Vose, an assistant professor in the Department of History and holder of the Bhagwan Suparshvanatha Professorship in Jain Studies at the University of Colorado-Denver, for a discussion on “Just as When Hindus Ruled: The Sultans of Delhi in Jain History and Memory.”
The talk, which is part of the Bhagwan Padma Prabhu Endowment, was held on March 6 at the USF Marshall Student Center and highlighted two persistent and problematic ways of writing the history of India: one, that Jains disengaged from political life with the advent of “Muslim rule” in India, and two, that Muslim rulers were hostile to Indian religious communities and destructive of Indian culture.
Vose is a leading expert on premodern Jain literature in north India with a forthcoming book due out next month on “Reimagining Jainism in Islamic India.”
Audience members from the Tampa Bay Jain community joined the conversation during the Q & A session. (Photo by Corey Lepak)
In addition to providing an overview of the Jain religion, Dr. Vose also provided background on Muslim rule in India during the Delhi Sultanate. (Photo by Corey Lepak).
“We invited Dr. Vose to give the inaugural lecture of the Bhagwan Padma Prabhu Endowment at USF in recognition of the convergence between Jain philosophy and the foundational principles of the academic study of religion, which together agree on the necessity of objective dialogue concerning even the most difficult and contentious of issues, in the shared belief that such discussions are the best way to promote understanding and social harmony,” Dr. Justin Henry, Bhagwan Padma Prabhu Endowed assistant professor, said.
“Jainism is not just a religion, it is also a way of seeing the world,” said Dr. Eric M. Eisenberg, Senior Vice President for University-Community Partnerships, in his opening remarks. “We are all complex and multifaceted beings, and we cannot be reduced to a single label or a category. When I think about the philosophy of Jainism and the religion, as a student of communication and in particular as a student of dialog theory, I feel a very close connection to this worldview, a perspective that is desperately needed in our modern world.”
“The subtitle of my book is ‘Jain Intellectual Culture in the Delhi Sultanate.’ What I’m particularly interested in this book is how do Jain monks—leaders of the Jain community—help to foster and shepherd the Jain community through a period of massive political upheaval and transition?” Vose explained.
Watch the full discussion below and view more event photos.
Learn more about the Department of Religious Studies and future events.