The two-day conference brings together specialists in ritual, texts, architecture, epigraphy and art, for a conversation on the concept of paradise--Vaikuṇṭha--within the Śrīvaisṇava tradition. The purpose of this conference is to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue around a focused theme, to encourage further collaboration between the disciplines that will help us illuminate gaps in our own understandings of the complex ways in which religious communities shape their present, and imagine their pasts and futures.
The papers are grouped thematically. Each panel, consisting of two presenters and a moderator, is two hours. Each presenter will have 40-45 minutes to speak, with a half-hour discussion following the presentation of both papers. The conference concludes with a one hour round-table discussion.
This conference is organized by Professor Srilata Raman, Professor Archana Venkatesan and Dr. Rashmi Poddar, and is co-sponsored by the University of California, Davis, Jnanapravaha and the faculty at the University of Toronto.
The conference is open to the public. Registration is required. Details about registration may be found here.
The schedule for the event is here. Details about the abstracts can be found here. Speaker bios may be found here,