Sacred Biography in Asian Perspectives and Beyond: An International Conference in Honour of Dr. Phyllis Granoff

From Jetavana to Jerusalem: Sacred Biography in Asian Perspectives and Beyond: An International Conference in Honour of Dr. Phyllis Granoff

Dates: November 7–9, 2021
Register: https://ubc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LRN1i0GdREabFPtJqfnY8g

Sacred biographies constitute a highly valuable source for the study of religious life. Having long been underappreciated by scholars in the field until the publication of Speaking of Monks (1992) by P. Granoff and K. Shinohara, today a substantial and growing body of literature explores the ways that accounts of the lives of religious achievers help us to understand practice and belief. As work by R. Monge, K. P. C. San Chirico, and R. J. Smith (Hagiography and Religious Truth; 2016), M. Rondolino (Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Hagiographical Strategies; 2017), and J. Keune (Comparative vs. Hagiology; 2019), among others indicates, a lively conversation is underway about the methods and theories that allow for cross-cultural study of these important materials. Exploring sacred biographies produced and circulated within and well beyond Asia, the “From Jetavana to Jerusalem” Conference aims to build on this path-breaking scholarship to further explore how transcultural and cross border approaches to the study of hagio-biography, in particular, strengthen our understandings of monastic figures, as well as the communities who celebrate their legacies.

Bringing together scholars with expertise in diverse contexts and methodological approaches to reorient our studies of records of monastic lives, we will pursue questions including, but not limited to: What do the telling and retelling of saintly lives achieve for individuals and communities? What forms do hagio-biographies take? Which factors inform their composition? How do records of religious achievers illuminate the study of ritual, music, art, and material culture? The international conference “From Jetavana to Jerusalem: Sacred Biography in Asian Perspectives and Beyond” will be held between November 7–9, 2021 in honour of Professor Phyllis Granoff, hosted by the Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with the assistance of Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at Yale and Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at UBC, with administrative support from Frogbear (www.frogbear.org). Local scholars in Jerusalem may participate in person.

This event is free and open to the public. The conference will follow a symposia format—panelists will first address comments from session discussants, then exchange feedback with fellow panelists, and if time allows, respond to questions from public attendees. Both English and Chinese are working languages for the conference.

Conference webpage: https://glorisunglobalnetwork.org/from-jetavana-to-jerusalem/
Conference schedule: https://glorisunglobalnetwork.org/from-jetavana-to-jerusalem-schedule/