With support from the Global Humanities Initiative at the University of Cambridge, the Faculty of Divinity and Selwyn College invite scholars and students to a conference devoted to the theme of Buddhist identities across twenty-first century Asia.
Over two days, invited and selected speakers will address the evolving status of Asian Buddhist identities as they are constructed, negotiated and intersect with other commitments and affiliations in the globalized, technologized twenty-first century. Speakers will explore the character, changes and challenges of Buddhist identities in a range of contemporary Asian cultures, considering South, Southeast, Central and East Asian Buddhist contexts.

We welcome and encourage in-person attendance by all interested parties, but request that in-person attendees register by April 1st 2022.
The conference will also be broadcast via Zoom.
The conference has some funds available to support student attendance at the event; to request this, or to ask any other questions, email cubuddhistidentities@gmail.com.

One option for accommodation are the special rates being offered by Selwyn College, located next to the Faculty of Divinity, to attendees of the conference. To book one of these rooms, please visit here:
https://www.universityrooms.com/en-GB/eventcode?ec=CUBI22&vid=selwyncollegecambridge

To Register for Online or In Person Attendance Follow Link: https://forms.gle/Wx8f1sk9CX9K5Cyx6

9.00–9.15 – Welcome and Introduction (Chris V. Jones, University of Cambridge)
9.15–10.15 – Buddhist Identity and Religious Others: the case study of postcolonial Sri Lanka (Elizabeth Harris, University of Birmingham)
10.15–10.45 – A Buddhist People? Identities and Interreligious Violence in Southeast Asia (Rafal K. Stepien, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore – Presenting Remotely)
10.45–11.15 – Coffee break
11.15–11.45 – Sinhala Buddhist Identity in the 21st Century Ravana Movement (Justin Henry, Georgia College & State University)
11.45–12.15 – Constructing Buddhist Identity through a Devotional Ritual in Sri Lanka (Soorakkulame Pemaratana, University of Pennsylvania)
12.15–12.45 – Mutelu: Re-orienting Magic and Merit in Early Twenty-First Century Thailand (Napakadol Kittisenee, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
12.45–2.00 – Lunch break
2.00–2.30 – The Challenges of the Myanmar Spring to the Sangha-Laity Linkage (Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, University of Essen – Presenting Remotely)
2.30–3.00 – The ‘Layman Extraordinaire’: Exploring Theravāda Tai Zawti Identity Through the Zare (Olivia Porter, King’s College London)
3.00–3.30 – Cambodian Refugee Buddhists in Italy: Four Decades of Emplaced Identity-Making (Sophea Seng, California State University, Long Beach – Presenting Remotely)
3.30–4.00 – Coffee break
4.00–5.00 – “All dhammas are without self…” Buddhist identities in (an Arakanese) Context (John Clifford Holt, Bowdoin College)
5.00–5.30 – Discussion

9.00–9.15 – Welcome (Chris V. Jones, University of Cambridge)
9.15–10.15 – What is Dalit Buddhism? Exploring Discursive Practices on Society, Nationalism and Religion in Contemporary India (Johannes Beltz, Museum Rietberg, Zürich)
10.15–10.45 – Buddhist Modernities Converge: Ambedkar’s Legacy in India, Taiwan, and Japan (Jon Keune, Michigan State University – Presenting Remotely)
10.45–11.15 – Coffee break
11.15–11.45 – Caste and Contemporary Buddhism in Nepal (Cameron David Warner, Aarhus University)
11.45–12.15 – Group vs. Individual Identity in a Gelug Buddhist Monastic Community: A View from Inside (Dobdon Maksarov, SOAS London; Drepung Gomang Monastic University)
12.15–1.30 – Lunch break
1.30–2.30 – Where Buddhist identity goes (almost) without saying: religious specialists in Repkong (NE Tibet) (Nicolas Sihlé, Centre for Himalayan Studies, CNRS)
2.30–3.00 – National and International Dimensions of Chinese Buddhist Leadership: Ambiguities of ‘Sinicisation’ Processes in the Twenty-First Century (Carsten Krause, Hamburg University)
3.00–3.30 – Coffee break
3.30–4.00 – Entanglements in the Family: Negotiating Clerical and Familial Identities in Contemporary China (Gilbert Chen, Towson University – Presenting Remotely)
4.00–5.00 – When ‘Buddhists’ Convert to ‘Buddhism’: Conversion and Confessionalisation in Contemporary Chinese Communities (Adam Yuet Chau, University of Cambridge)
5.00–5.30 – Discussion