Fields of Study —

Religions of Asia

In the contemporary transnational era religious traditions in Asia and from Asia inform the lives of the majority of the world’s people. Religions of Asia provides students with a broad understanding of the dynamic interactions among Asian Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. This track also connects with Religion in the Americas in considering the ways in which Asian traditions have been imported to the West, and with Religion and Nature in providing opportunities to examine nature-human relationships in Asian cultures and religions.

Religions of Asia faculty work collaboratively with across the campus, including the Samuel Harn Museum of Art, Asian Languages and Literatures, UF Performing Arts, the Water Institute, and Women’s Studies. Dr. Narayanan directs CHiTRa (the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions), a program which emphasizes interdisciplinary work and the study of Global Hindu traditions. In 2007-8, CHiTRa faculty coordinated the Women, Water and Equity Speaker Series in conjunction with the Water Institute to bring internationally renowned scholars to the University of Florida. Travis Smith and Anita Anantharam (Women’s Studies) have initiated the UF in India study abroad program based at Navdanya Institute (Dehradun, Uttaranchal). Set on an organic farm in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, this program explores issues of globalization and gender, pilgrimage and sacred space, sustainability and social justice.

Jason Neelis (South Asian Buddhist literature and epigraphy) is rewriting his dissertation on Long-distance Trade and the Transmission of Buddhism through Northern Pakistan. Articles, book chapters, and reviews related to this research have appeared in the Bulletin of the Asia Institute, South Asian Archaeology 1997, Karakoram in Transition, and On the Cusp of an Era. He is also currently working on an edition of first century CE avadana narratives written on birch-bark scrolls from ancient Gandhara as a participant in the University of Washington / British Library Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project. At the University of Florida he teaches Introduction to Buddhism, Buddhism Across Boundaries, Buddhist Texts and Material Contexts, History of Indian Buddhism, and Religions of Asia, as well as Sanskrit.

Vasudha Narayanan (Hinduism in India and the Diaspora) is a former President of the American Academy of Religion. Dr. Narayanan’s books include The Life of Hinduism (2007) co-edited with John Stratton Hawley, The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual (1994); The Way and the Goal: Expressions of Devotion in the Early Srivaisnava Tradition (1987); The Tamil Veda: Pillan's Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli (1989; co-authored with John Carman). She is currently working on an extended study of Hindu temples and Vaishnava traditions in Cambodia.

Mario Poceski (Buddhist studies and Chinese religions) focuses on Chinese Buddhist literature and history. His latest book is Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism (Oxford UP 2007). Poceski’s publications also include two other books and a number of articles and chapters on various aspects of Buddhist studies. Presently he is writing a book that surveys the history of Chinese religions (to be published by Routledge).

Whitney Sanford (Hinduism) focuses on Braj devotional traditions and Indian environmentalism. Her first book Singing Krishna: Sound Becomes Sight in Paramanand's Poetry (SUNY 2008) explores the role of devotional poetry in ritual practice. Her recently completed manuscript, Transforming Agriculture: Hindu Narrative and Ecological Imagination, explores how Hindu agricultural narratives provide the foundation to expand the ecological imagination in terms and rethink agricultural practice. Current research interests include the relationship between agricultural biotechnology and forms of neo-colonialism, particularly in Latin America and India. Her new project "Gandhi's Environmental Legacy: Food Democracy and Social Movements" investigates Gandhi's influence on sustainability and food and water sovereignty movements.

Travis Smith (Hinduism) joined the faculty in 2007, having received a PhD in Religion from Columbia University. His teaching interests center on Sanskrit literature, in particular, the epic, Puranic and Tantric traditions. His current research explores the relationships between the traditional genres of Kavya (“poetry”), Purana (“ancient lore”), Tantra (“esoteric doctrine”) and Itihasa (“history”). He has a special interest in the religious history and literary constructions of the sacred city of Varanasi. He also initiated and co-directs the UF in India study abroad program, and is a member of CHiTra, the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions.

Graduate students in Religions of Asia have a broad range of research interests, including the religious attitudes towards water in Hinduism, adaptations of second generation ISKON devotees in the United States, Buddhist texts, and the Japanese diaspora.

Required courses: Interpreting Asian Religions, and two of the following three, to be taken in the areas outside the area of the student’s specialization: Islam in Asia, Hindu Traditions, and Buddhist Traditions.

Language requirement: Tested competence in at least one and in many cases two non-English languages selected in consultation with the faculty supervisory committee on the basis of their relevance to the student's research program.

Qualifying examinations: 1) Religion in South Asia (with the understanding that a significant component of the preparation for the exam will include a basic grounding in Islam in Asia) 2) Religion in East Asia (in addition to Buddhist traditions, familiarity with other religious traditions of China and Japan will be expected) 3) Topics in the study of Asian religions (to be determined in consultation with members of the student’s supervisory committee) 4) Area of Specialization. 5) Oral examination.