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special project under the supervision of a Jain scholar in India. Visit to Jain temples and homes and meetings with sadhus and sadhvis are arranged to give the students personal glimpses into the Jain society.
Even though ISSJS has only a short history, several past participants already have substantial achievements to their credit. Sarah Hadmack, who has taught Religious studies at Windward College and University of Hawaii, has done her MS Thesis on Jain asceticism. She is writing an article and a chapter on Jain asceticism. Marcel Parent, a PhD scholar at Concordia University Montreal has started offering classes in Jainism. Andrea Jain atRice University, Houston is teaching a section on Jain Diaspora. She is teaching a course at Houston University on Indian Religion with emphasis on Jainism. Dr Shugan Jain has visited University of Ottawa as a guest of Prof. Anne Vallely and Eastern Connecticut State University on invitation of Prof. Hope Fitz. ISSJS is attracting scholars from other regions also, from Singapore and Thailand in 2006 and from Russia and Thailand in 2007.
The ISSJS Organization: The ISSJS program is implemented in India by International School for Jain Studies, Delhi and has been supported by several prestigious organizations in India. These include: Bhogi Lal Leherchand Institute of Indology, Delhi; Jain Vidhya Sansthan, Shri Mahavirji Jaipur Branch), Raj.; Jain Vishwa Bharati Institute, Ladnun, Raj.; Kundkund Gyanpeeth, Indore, MP; Tulsi Global Meditation Centre, Gurgaon, Haryana; Jain Academic Educational & Research Centre, Mumbai University; National Institute of Prakrit Studies and Research, Shravanbelgola; Naval Veerayatan, Pune, Maharashtra, Manglayatan University, Aligarh, U.P and Parshwanath Vidyapeeth Research Institute, Varanasi, U.P.
In North America the program is supervised by the Overseas Academic Council which includes some of the best known overseas scholars on Jainism. Prof. Cromwell Crawford, U of Hawaii, has served as the Director. Others include Prof. Padmanabh S. Jaini, U of California, Berkeley; Prof. Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount U. CA; Prof. Hope Fitz, Eastern Connecticut State University; Prof. John Cort, Dennison University OH; Dr. Anne Vallely, University of Ottawa, Canada; Dr. Natubhai Shah, London, U.K; and Sarah Hadmack, University of Hawaii.
The India Academic Council includes distinguished scholars with expertise in various aspects of Jain studies. Its Director is Dr. Shugan Chand Jain, Delhi. It includes Prof. Kamal Chand Sogani, Jaipur; Prof. Sagar Mal Jain, Shajapur; Prof. Kusum Jain, Jaipur; Dr. M.R. Ghelra, Jaipur; Dr N.P.Jain, Indore; Prof. Anupam Jain, Indore and Prof. M.L. Jain, Delhi as the Coordinator
The Future of Jain Studies: A significant expansion of ISSJS activities is planned in future. It is planning to support the popular study-abroad programs to take students to India to study Jainism and Jain culture. A committee is actively working on a proposed Jain University of North America using the examples
14th
Biennial JAINA Convention 2007
Jain Education International
56
For Private & Personal Use Only
is
The modern world
increasingly becoming a networked and competitive society. That has created new challenges for Jainism. In the past Jainism was concentrated in a
few regions of India where traditional Jain centers were located.
PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE
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