Jain Studies

Students in the Jain Studies concentration study Jain philosophy, ethics, and living streams of religious experience based on non-harming. Students will have the opportunity to explore Jain culture’s primary texts, doctrines, and their contemporary application. Research topics may include diaspora Jainism, sacred and commentarial literature, pilgrimage, ritual, material culture, monastic traditions, lived Jainism and cultural exchange, Jainism and ecology, and Jainism and the natural sciences. The Jain tradition will be studied in conversation with the other Dharma traditions (Hindu and Buddhist) in order to deepen understanding of their mutual illumination as well as the unique contributions of Jainism.