CEU’s Center for Religious Studies has very successfully introduced the study of Abrahamic religions in Europe and the Middle East, to CEU. We think that it is time to broaden this coverage and introduce CEU students, as well as the wider audience, to the variegated religious landscape of Asia. CEU Professor Istvan Perczel (CRS Director 2023-2025) and Dr. Marion Rastelli of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have co-organized during the 2024-2025 academic year the lecture series Introduction to South Asian and Tibetan Religion and Philosophy. Held as a public lecture class (Ringvorlesung) on the Vienna campus of Central European University, this cycle of thirteen colloquia is part of CRS's close collaboration with Austrian academic partners. It was organized in collaboration with the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Cluster of Excellence "EurAsian Transformations: Resources of the Past and Challenges of Diversity," and the University of Vienna.
1. Introducing Classical Brahmanism: Some Formative Sources and Concerns, by Christopher Jones, University of Vienna. October 3, 2024.
2. Babasaheb Ambedkar and India's Struggle with Caste, by Uday Balakrishnan, Indian Institue of Science, Bangalore. October 17, 2024.
3. Indian Buddhism in Overview: Foundations and Developments in its First Thousand Years, by Christopher Jones, University of Vienna. November 7, 2024.
4. Non-Violence and Further Key Concepts of Jainism, by Himal Trikha, University of Vienna. November 21, 2024.
5. Gaṇeśa: A Window into Contemporary Hinduism through Sacred Texts, Practices, and Material Culture, by Borayin Larios, University of Vienna. December 12, 2024.
6. Reincarnation as a Form of Succession in Tibetan Societies, by Jim Rheingans, University of Vienna. January 16, 2025.
7. Matriarchal Islam: Sharia of the Indian Ocean Muslims, by Mahmood Kooria, University of Edinburgh. February 6, 2025.
8. A Brief Introduction to Vaiṣṇavism, by Marion Rastelli, Austrian Academy of Sciences. February 20, 2025.
9. Vedānta Philosophies, by Akane Saito, Austrian Academy of Sciences. March 6, 2025, link.
10. Are Jews also Indians?: Jewish Presence and Patterns of Belonging in South Asia, by
Carsten L. Wilke and Emy Merin Joy, Central European University. March 13, 2025.
11. Holy Fear and Love: Jesuit Affective Economy in South Asia (16th-17th centuries), by Ines G. Županov, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris. March 27, 2025.
12. Of Lay Practitioners, Ascetics, and Tāntrikas: Rituals and Society in Early Śaivism, by Nina Mirnig, Austrian Academy of Sciences. April 10, 2025.
13. Sufism, Plurality, and Politics in South Asia, by Ute Falasch, German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. April 24, 2025. link.