Beginning with the early medieval period, this paper traces the development of Hinduism in devotional (bhakti) and tantric traditions. The paper examines the development of Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava traditions along with ideas about liberation, ritual, asceticism, yoga and devotion. There will be some exploration of Hinduism and Modernity and there may also be reference to major schools of Hindu philosophy such as Vedānta.
Archives: Lectures
Readings in Phenomenology: Week Four (HT19)
Phenomenology is one of the most important developments in philosophy in the twentieth century, and it has also had a deep impact on other theoretical fields more widely conceived. This seminar series seeks to engage with some of the fundamental concepts of phenomenology, and has turned in the past to thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Levinas, Peter Sloterdijk, Quentin Meillassoux, and others.
This term we will be reading Anthony Steinbock’s Phenomenology and Mysticism: The Verticality of Religious Experience.
Sanskrit Prelims: Week Five (HT19)
The course provides an introduction to Sanskrit for the preliminary paper of the Theology and Religion Faculty in Elementary Sanskrit. A range of relevant Hindu and Buddhist texts will be chosen for translation and philological comment. The class is designed to introduce students of Theology and Religion to the essentials of Sanskrit grammar, syntax, and vocabulary and its importance for the exegesis of Sanskrit texts. Students will learn to appreciate the interpretative nature of translation as a central discipline for the study of religions. By the end of the course students will have gained a basic competency in translating classical Sanskrit and reading relevant passages from texts such as the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, the Bhagavadgītā and the Buddhist Heart Sūtra. The course book will be Walter Maurer’s The Sanskrit Language. Sanskrit Prelims continues throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Terms and for the first four weeks of Trinity.
Intermediate Sanskrit Readings: Pañcadaśī of Vidyāraṇya: Week Five (HT19)
These reading sessions are intended for students who have some knowledge of Sanskrit (such as that provided by the Sanskrit Prelims) and are interested to continue reading Sanskrit texts. This term we will be reading the Pañcadaśī (“The Fifteen Chapters”) which is ascribed to Vidyāraṇya, a very influential fourteenth century teacher of Advaita Vedānta. Written in a simple language, the Pañcadaśī has been used for centuries as a primer in Advaita Vedānta, and therefore also functions, in these reading sessions, as a very accessible introduction to the reading of philosophical and theological Sanskrit texts.
From Myth to Metaphysics: The Emergence of Ancient Philosophy in Greece, India, Egypt and China (HT19)
Cosmologies across ancient cultures describe the shape and structure of the universe, its origins and functioning – but when do these ‘myths’ become ‘metaphysics’? This symposium will bring together scholars of diverse ancient cultures in a ‘global’ conversation exploring the path from ‘Cosmology’ and ‘Myth’, to ‘Philosophy’ and ‘Metaphysics’. Jessica Frazier, Christopher Marlow, Lea Cantor and others will explore cases from Greece, India, Egypt and beyond.
Sanskrit Prelims: Week Five (HT19)
The course provides an introduction to Sanskrit for the preliminary paper of the Theology and Religion Faculty in Elementary Sanskrit. A range of relevant Hindu and Buddhist texts will be chosen for translation and philological comment. The class is designed to introduce students of Theology and Religion to the essentials of Sanskrit grammar, syntax, and vocabulary and its importance for the exegesis of Sanskrit texts. Students will learn to appreciate the interpretative nature of translation as a central discipline for the study of religions. By the end of the course students will have gained a basic competency in translating classical Sanskrit and reading relevant passages from texts such as the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, the Bhagavadgītā and the Buddhist Heart Sūtra. The course book will be Walter Maurer’s The Sanskrit Language. Sanskrit Prelims continues throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Terms and for the first four weeks of Trinity.
Hinduism 2: Modern Hinduism: Session Five (HT19)
Beginning with the early medieval period, this paper traces the development of Hinduism in devotional (bhakti) and tantric traditions. The paper examines the development of Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava traditions along with ideas about liberation, ritual, asceticism, yoga and devotion. There will be some exploration of Hinduism and Modernity and there may also be reference to major schools of Hindu philosophy such as Vedānta.
Readings in Phenomenology: Week Five (HT19)
Phenomenology is one of the most important developments in philosophy in the twentieth century, and it has also had a deep impact on other theoretical fields more widely conceived. This seminar series seeks to engage with some of the fundamental concepts of phenomenology, and has turned in the past to thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Levinas, Peter Sloterdijk, Quentin Meillassoux, and others.
This term we will be reading Anthony Steinbock’s Phenomenology and Mysticism: The Verticality of Religious Experience.
Sanskrit Prelims: Week Six (HT19)
The course provides an introduction to Sanskrit for the preliminary paper of the Theology and Religion Faculty in Elementary Sanskrit. A range of relevant Hindu and Buddhist texts will be chosen for translation and philological comment. The class is designed to introduce students of Theology and Religion to the essentials of Sanskrit grammar, syntax, and vocabulary and its importance for the exegesis of Sanskrit texts. Students will learn to appreciate the interpretative nature of translation as a central discipline for the study of religions. By the end of the course students will have gained a basic competency in translating classical Sanskrit and reading relevant passages from texts such as the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, the Bhagavadgītā and the Buddhist Heart Sūtra. The course book will be Walter Maurer’s The Sanskrit Language. Sanskrit Prelims continues throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Terms and for the first four weeks of Trinity.
Intermediate Sanskrit Readings: Pañcadaśī of Vidyāraṇya: Week Six (HT19)
These reading sessions are intended for students who have some knowledge of Sanskrit (such as that provided by the Sanskrit Prelims) and are interested to continue reading Sanskrit texts. This term we will be reading the Pañcadaśī (“The Fifteen Chapters”) which is ascribed to Vidyāraṇya, a very influential fourteenth century teacher of Advaita Vedānta. Written in a simple language, the Pañcadaśī has been used for centuries as a primer in Advaita Vedānta, and therefore also functions, in these reading sessions, as a very accessible introduction to the reading of philosophical and theological Sanskrit texts.