2023 Glorisun International and Intensive Program with Peking University

“天宫勝景” from 會稽山龍華寺. https://www.kuaijishanlonghuasi.com.

 

2023 Glorisun International and Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies

Co-organized by Glorisun Network for Buddhist Studies @ Peking University and UBC

(August 9 – August 22, 2023 with Peking University)

 

Schedule Seminar and Lecture Series Lecturers Conference Series
Student Participants Student Forum Student Report Videos

 

The Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies, whose members are Peking University, UBC, Hamburg, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, UC Berkeley, Harvard FAS CAMLab, University of Hong Kong, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Zhejiang University, cordially invites applications for an intensive program on Buddhist Studies. This year’s intensive program is hosted by the Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at Peking University (the Research Center for Buddhist Texts and Art 北京大學佛教典籍與藝術研究中心), with administrative support from the Glorisun Network at UBC, the FROGBEAR project at UBC and the College of History at Zhejiang University 浙江大學歷史學院. Lasting from August 9, 2023 to August 22, 2023, this year’s program is composed of a series of conferences in Hong Kong from August 9–12, followed by two teaching segments: Segment 1 from August 12–16 and Segment 2 from August 18–22, which are connected by an intersegmental student forum on August 17.

The backbone of this program consists of NINE lectures and lecture series delivered by international scholars (listed by the alphabetical order of the speakers’ family names):

  • Kate CROSBY 寇思璧 (University of Oxford 牛津大學): Theravada Meditation: Transforming and Transformed 上座部禪定： 能變與所變 (lecture series; Segment 1);
  • Imre GALAMBOS 高奕睿 (University of Cambridge 劍橋大學): Manuscripts and Lay Believers along the Silk Road 絲綢之路上的寫本與居士 (lecture series; Segment 1);
  • HE Huanhuan 何歡歡 (Zhejiang University 浙江大學): To Paint the Unpaintable: Indian and Chinese Notions of Emptiness Merged in Ancient Chinese Paintings 和繪空有 (lecture; Segment 2);
  • LI Ling 李翎 (Sichuan University 四川大學): Construction of Caitya and Its Cultural Origin 支提的營建與文化淵源 (lecture; Segment 1);
  • Robert SHARF 夏復 (University of California, Berkeley 加州大學柏克萊分校): Thinking through Chan Buddhism 禪思、思禪 (lecture series; Segment 1);
  • Kai SHENG 聖凱 (Tsinghua University 清華大學): Transformation of Tang Buddhism under the Perspectives of Military Conflicts 唐代戰爭視域下的佛教轉型 (lecture; Segment 2);
  • SUN Yinggang 孫英剛 (Zhejiang University 浙江大學): Imperial Courts under the Buddha’s Light: Religious Aspects of Medieval Politics 佛光下的朝廷——中古政治的宗教面 (lecture; Segment 1);
  • Barend ter HAAR 田海 (University of Hamburg 漢堡大學): Alternative Sources for Studying Local Religious Life: Sutra Colophons (Song-Yuan) and Late Ming Precious Scrolls 研究本土宗教生活的不同資料: 經跋(宋元)與晚明的寶卷 (lecture series; Segment 2);
  • ZHAN Ru 湛如 (Peking University 北京大學): Monastic Educational Tradition in Medieval China: Historical Background and Modern Significances 中古中國的寺學傳統及其現代意義 (lecture series; Segment 2).

For this year’s intensive program, three concurrent international conferences (scheduled for August 9–12, 2023) will take place in Hong Kong preceding the teaching segments.

Student participants are encouraged to present papers at one of the conferences (to guarantee full consideration, a conference application needs to be submitted by April 15, 2023). Details of the conferences are available here:

The program also includes a series of occasional lectures to be delivered by four top scholars. This year, student participants will conduct field trips on Mount Kuaiji and neighbouring areas to gain firsthand experience of famed religious sites. In addition to participating in the conferences, seminars, and lectures, students are also encouraged to present their research papers to their program instructors, lecturers, and their peer participants at the intersegmental student forum. Attendance at the three conferences in Hong Kong is encouraged but not required.  Outstanding students will be selected and invited to carry out 3–12 month research at Glorisun partner universities (listed above). This may further bring them the opportunity of pursuing doctoral degrees or doing postdoctoral research at these top universities.

Senior undergraduate students and graduate students specialising in any Buddhist tradition(s), and postdoctoral fellows working in relevant fields, are encouraged to apply. Please direct applications and inquiries to FrogBear.Project@ubc.ca. Please submit applications before April 15, 2023. Each application should include: (1) an application form (link to be provided upon request via the above email address), (2) updated curriculum vitae, (3) one writing sample in either Chinese or English, and (4) a reference letter (to be emailed by the referee directly to the above email address). Priority will be given to those applicants who are able to participate in both segments.

To guarantee sufficient interaction of student participants with instructors, and between student participants themselves, student enrollment is limited to 40. In addition to being exempted from all tuition and administration fees and being provided free accommodation and meals during the program period, a successful candidate may receive a limited amount of travel subsidy depending on his or her individual needs and the distance s/he has to travel for the program.