Vaishnavism as Fine Literature
The focus of the conference is the intersection between the religion of Vaishnavism on the one hand and the conventions of fine literature and aesthetic theory in Sanskrit and South Asian vernaculars on the other. While there has been a growing scholarly production concerning this intersection, mostly focused on the tradition following the Bengali cultural hero Chaitanya, the purpose of the conference is to map the broader contours of the field in terms of the “Religion and Literature” approach.
Some of the questions that participants in the conference will consider include: