Dr. Anne Vallely
Centre of Jaina Studies Newsletter: SOAS - University of London
For a second year in a row, the DANAM (Dharma Association of North America) conference, held in conjunction with the American Academy of Religion meetings in Chicago, hosted a Jainism panel. Organized by Anne Vallely (University of Ottawa) and chaired by Stephen Quinlan of the same university, the panel, with the theme of "The Intersection of Religion & Culture in the Lived Tradition of Jainism" explored contemporary debates within Jainism as reflective of the vitality of the lived tradition. The panel, which was very well received, included presentations by Kyle Green (University of Ottawa) "Mahavira's Unveiling: Inaccessibility" and Schwartz' God's Phallus in Digambara Jain Iconography"; Smita Kothari (University of Toronto) "Revival and Reform of Jaina Yoga The Preksha Dhyana Movement"; Ellen Gough (Yale) "Jain Understandings of the Power of the Word: Interpretations of the Ṛṣi Maṇḍala Yantra"; Tom Pokinko (McGill University) "Contemporary Views on Jaina Values and Conduct Among Indian Lay Jainas from Jaipur and Delhi"; Andrea Jain (Rice University) "Health, Well-Being, and the Ascetic Ideal: Terapanthi Jainism in the Context of Late Capitalism"; and Victoria Gibb (University of Ottawa) "'The Coldest of all Religions': Late British Colonial Interpretations of Jaina Dharma." The Jainism panel has now officially become an established feature of the DANAM meetings.
Anne Vallely is assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests fall within the Anthropology of Religion, and focus on the Jain religious and cultural tradition in India, as well as on the traditional Jain community outside India.