Violence & Liberation: Jainism in South Asia

From early-Buddhism to the Civil Rights movement, Jainism has left an indelible mark on culture, politics, and religion across the globe. This course examines the history of Jainism, one of the oldest lived religions in the world. The aim is to develop a critical understanding of the practices, doctrines, and politics of Jainism in South Asia and its global diaspora. We will do this by emphasizing key thematic and historical trends, including gender, the environment, violence, non-human animals, power, and protest. We will pay special attention to the social and material contexts of religion by engaging primary and secondary sources, from inscriptions and courtly documents to literary and ethnographic writings.