Buddhism without Borders conference announcement

This should be of interest for those who follow this blog. Great folks and very interesting topics. Very much worth a visit for those in the Bay area.

Buddhism without Borders: Contemporary Developments in Buddhism in the West

Institute of Buddhist Studies
Berkeley, Ca
March 19 -21, 2010

Keynote Speaker: Thomas A. Tweed

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is pleased to announce the “Buddhism without Borders” conference and seeks papers that offer new, critical, and creative approaches to the study of Buddhism in the West, understood as part of a larger global religious movement.

This conference seeks to explore contemporary and historical developments of Buddhist thought and practice in American Buddhisms, Buddhisms in the West, or Buddhisms outside Asia. How has the Buddhist tradition been shaped by the transnational movement of peoples, diasporas, or immigration? How has the rise of global communication, tourism, and capitalism affected the way Buddhism is understood, taught, and practiced? How do we define “modern” Buddhism? The West? Or even “Buddhism” itself in an increasingly globalized world?

These and other themes will be explored in a series of panels held at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, CA, March 19–21, 2010.

Tentative panels include:
Modernity and tradition in Buddhisms in the West
The adaptation of Buddhism in response to globalization, modernity, and new cultural environments
Buddhist practice and ritual in North America, the West, or outside Asia
Gender in Western Buddhisms
Buddhist political movements, socially engaged Buddhism
Buddhism as commodity, popular Buddhisms
The development of Buddhist organizations in the West
Race, class, and Western Buddhisms

Please submit your 500-word abstract to conference organizer:
Dr. Scott Mitchell ([email protected]) Natalie F. Quli ([email protected]) by June 1, 2009.

Confirmed panelists include:
Thomas A. Tweed (keynote)
Charles Prebish
Jeff Wilson
Richard Huges Seager
Wakoh Shannon Hickey
among others

The Institute of Buddhist Studies is a graduate school and Buddhist seminary located in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1964 to train ministers for the Buddhist Churches of America, today the IBS offers multiple degree and non-degree programs, distance and online learning opportunities, and chaplaincy training. Through our affiliation with the Graduate Theological Union and close ties to the University of California, Berkeley, students have the opportunity to study Buddhism from multiple perspectives in a diverse and enriching setting.

Scott A. Mitchell
Institute of Buddhist Studies