Exploring the World of Pali: Current Doctoral Research at U of T

This event is a celebration of the recent generous gift in support of Pali study, thanks to the Levman family.

The roundtable will feature doctoral students of religion in whose work Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism, figures in very different ways: as the medium of ritual soundscapes, as an idiom of modern political commentary, as the language of women’s monastic empowerment, and as a way to encode Buddhist positions on sacrifice. The conversation shall reveal how alive and contemporary Pali is, how an engagement with it bridges areas as diverse as politics, ritual, media, and education, and how it even allows for a more comprehensive study of religion by reaching across the boundaries that divide fields like Buddhism and Hinduism. Last but not least, this is an opportunity to celebrate the study of Pali at the University of Toronto as well as the emerging young scholars who have helped to make our university a world player in this field.

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