[Tlc] TLC-Buddhism Conference

Sat May 31 09:14:57 PDT 2008

FYI from Dr. Pattana Kitiarsa.
Thanks,
justin

    International Workshop on

    Buddhism and the Crises of Nation-States in Asia

    The event is jointly organized by Asia Research Institute and

    Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Religion Research Cluster, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences,
    National University of Singapore

    Date:              19 – 20 June 2008

    Venue:           Asia Research Institute

    National University of Singapore @ Bukit Timah Campus

    469A Tower Block, Level 10, Bukit Timah Road

    Time:              09:00 – 18:00

    Website:        http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/events_categorydetails.asp?categoryid=6&eventid=777

    While the post 9/11 international communities have focused their attention on Islam and its political involvements, the Buddhist counterparts throughout Asian continent have been increasingly visible and vocal. Indeed, no religion is politically free and neutral, including Buddhism with its peaceful and non-violent principles. In Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics and Violence in Sri Lanka, Stanley Tambiah (1992) has struggled to come to terms with this discomfiting question: “If Buddhism preached nonviolence, why is there so much political violence in Sri Lanka today”. This question has well echoed current political situations in most Asian Buddhist states.

    Buddhism has had problematic relationships with the rulers and the modern states. Since after the Second World War, Buddhism has served as a spiritual and political backbone to many of the “new Asian states”. Buddhism has pervaded the politics of nation building and modernization processes in Asia’s new Buddhist-dominated nation-states. In Tibet, the Buddhist Sangha was perhaps the sole spiritual and political force of resistance against the Chinese annexation in early 1960s. In Sri Lanka, Singhalese Buddhism is the foundation of its postcolonial nation building project, yet it has failed to establish itself as a dominant source of moral authority for the new nation. In Laos and Cambodia, traditional Buddhism has been contested by the socialist vision of imagined community. The Sangha in both Indochinese countries have found themselves excluded from the socialist governments’ national ideologies. They have performed the dual roles of reviving and regaining moral and political legitimacy, and healing their countries’ traumatic experiences from their violent revolutionary pasts. In Myanmar, young, radical Buddhist monks consider themselves as the sole organized force and institution to contest the oppressive military regime which has been in power since 1962. The recent “Saffron Revolution” stands as a testimony to this historical tension of Buddhist polity in the country. In Thailand, Buddhism has been fragmented from a relatively centralized Sangha entity into smaller communities of faiths and believers. Although Thai Buddhism is considerably strong as a state-sponsored, nationalistic religion, it has been weakening by sectarianism, consumerism, and materialism in the past three to four decades. Thai Buddhism’s political functions are also well documented.

    The workshop is timely in terms of both current political situations throughout Asia’s Buddhist world and scholarly interests. It intends to bring together top scholars working on Buddhism in Asia to examine the “crises of nation-states” in Asia’s Buddhist countries. It aims to explore complex situations and issues pertinent to the changing status and role of Buddhism in the far-from-complete processes of nation-state building and modernization in major Buddhist countries in the region. It also compares the paths, patterns, and processes which Buddhism has undertaken in its role as a traditional source of moral and political authority in various states. Some of the questions that will be explored are 1) to what extent has the Buddhist Sangha in each Asian nation been involved in the politics of nation-building and modernization? 2) how and why Buddhism negotiates with some of the dynamic forces of secular governance and overall secularization of modern culture and society. A total of 16 papers and invited speakers will address issues concerning the following themes: (1) Buddhist Polity Revisited; (2) Buddhist Visions and Politics of Nation Building; (3) Buddhist Fundamentalism and Nationalism; (4) Militant and Socially-Engaged Monks and Nuns; and (5) The Politics of Buddhist Piety and Fragmentation.

    PROGRAM

    Please click here for the tentative program and abstracts.

    REGISTRATION

    Admission is free. Do register early as seats are available on a first come, first served basis. We would gratefully request that email to Ms Valerie Yeo at valerie.yeo at nus.edu.sg indicating your name, email, designation, organisation/affiliation and contact number.

    FOR ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:

    Organiser:

    Dr Pattana Kitirasa

    Southeast Asian Studies Program, National University of Singapore

    Email: seapk at nus.edu.sg

    Secretariats:

    Ms Valerie Yeo

    Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

    Email: valerie.yeo at nus.edu.sg

    Tel: (65) 6516 5279

    Fax: (65) 6779 1428

    Mr Rodney Sebastian
    Research Assistant, Research Clusters (Religion),
    Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore
    Email: fasrodn at nus.edu.sg

    Valerie YEO (Ms) :: Management Assistant Officer (Events), Asia Research Institute :: National University of Singapore :: 469A Tower Block, #10-01, Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770 :: 65-6516 5279 (DID) :: 65-6779 1428 (Fax) :: valerie.yeo at nus.edu.sg (E) :: www.ari.nus.edu.sg (W) :: Company Registration No: 200604346E

    Important: This email is confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify us immediately; you should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you. 

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu