The 48th Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions
Theme: ‘Authority, Lineage and Schism’
21st to 23rd April 2023
For schedule, see: www.spaldingsymposium.org
Lecture Theatre 1, Bush House, King’s College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG
Closing Date for Registration: April 11, 2023.
Opening Keynote Address
Professor Tulasi Srinivas (Emerson College, USA) [Online]
The Lake of Fire: Water, caste and gender in India’s climate apocalypse
Closing Keynote Address
Professor Gwilym Beckerlegge (Open University, UK)
From Gurus and Svāmīs to Workers, Trusts and Managing Committees
Speakers
Panel: Sikh traditions
Nirinjan Khalsa-Baker (Loyola Marymount, USA)
Subjectivity, Sovereignty, and Authority in the Sikh Kirtan Renaissance
Satnam Singh (Independent Scholar, Denmark)
Intellectual Authority in the Early Modern Sikh Tradition: A case study of Bhai Mani Singh
Julie Vig (York, Canada)
Imagining Early Modern Punjab in Gurbilās Literature: Tensions, affinities, and conflicts
Panel: Constructing authority on texts, and writing texts on/for authority
Avni Chag (SOAS, UK)
Sources of Schism Formations in the Svāminārāyaṇa Sampradāya
Nabanjan Maitra (Bard, USA)
Provincializing the Digvijaya: Jain antecedents to Śankara’s rule at Śṛṅgeri
Rosina Pastore (Gent, Belgium)
How Does a King Become a Philosopher? Jasvant Singh of Mārvāḍ (1626–1678) and his Vedāntic writings
Panel: Gender and leadership
Leah Comeau (St Joseph’s, USA & Hamburg, Germany)
Organic Leadership at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: The Samadhi, the Mother, and her flowers
Dr Waithanji Mutiti (Gretsa University, Kenya)
Patriarchy, Women and Leadership Contestations in Hinduism in Kenya
Panel: Constructing self-made identity/authority 1
Taushif Kara (King’s College London, UK)
The Imam between the Merchant and the King
Christine Marrewa-Karwoski (Columbia, USA)
The Political Dynasty of Gorakhpur’s Godmen: The Nath Mahants, the Ramjanmabhoomi Movement, and A New Era For India
Panel: Constructing self-made identity/authority 2
Amanda Lucia (California-Riverside, USA)
‘Self-styled God man’: Lineage versus criminality in media discourse
Jon Keune (Michigan State, USA)
Babasaheb’s Heavy Mantle: Buddhism and community leadership after Ambedkar
Panel: Narrative lineage constructions in early Hindu literature
Sanne Doktor-Mersh (Leiden, Netherlands)
Purāṇic Influencers: Authoritative lineages in the Bhaviṣyapurāṇa
Simon Brodbeck (Cardiff, UK)
Taking Back the Disgraced Wife in the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
Panel: Tradition, lineage and succession
Jonathan Edelmann (Florida, USA)
Lineage and Ontology: The construction of tradition and conversion in Hindu and Christian scholasticism
Mans Broo (Abo Akademi, Finland)
Rupture and Reform of Succession: The case of the Gauḍīya Maṭha
Postgraduate papers
Tushar Shah (Cambridge, UK)
‘The Guru Never Leaves the Earth’: Death, transition and continuity
Kirtan Patel (Texas at Austin, USA)
Politics of Piety: Schism, Sovereignty, and Obedience in Colonial Gujarat, 1870-1905
Lucy May Constantini (Open University, UK)
Evolutions in the Transmission of Kaḷarippayaṟṟ ̆, a South Indian Martial Art
Arkamitra Ghatak (Heidelberg, Germany)
The Divine Mother as Vaishnava Guru: Female Leadership, Charismatic Authority and Succession Dispute in the Nimbārka Sect in the early Twentieth Century
Imran Visram (Oxford, UK)
The Shi’a Imam as the Satgur: Religious Authority in the Satpanth Ismaili Muslim tradition
Tillo Detige (Ruhr-Bochum, Germany)
Successions of Sovereignty: Digambara Jaina Ascetic Lineages of early modern Western India
Supported by:
The Spalding Trust (Registered Charity No: 1188315)
Kings’ College London, Theology & Religious Studies
Venue
Bush House is on the Strand Campus and has entrances from both Aldwych and the Strand.
Lecture Theatre 1 Bush House is an accessible venue.
Lecture Theatre 1 | King’s Venues (kingsvenues.com)
Food and drink
Tea and coffee will be provided during conference breaks and are included in the registration fee.
King’s College London is in central London and there is a wide range of dining options in the vicinity.
The conference registration has an opt-in conference dinner (at an additional charge) for Saturday 22nd April.
How to get to the Strand Campus
Strand Campus (kcl.ac.uk)
Plan your journey via TFL: https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/.
By underground
Temple (District and Circle lines): 2 minute walk. Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines): 10 minute walk, Embankment (District, Circle and Bakerloo lines): 10 minute walk, Waterloo (Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo, Waterloo & City lines): 12 minute walk, Holborn (Central and Piccadilly lines): 12 minute walk, Chancery Lane (Central line): use exit 4 – 15 minute walk.
By train
Charing Cross: 9 minute walk. Waterloo: 12 minute walk. Waterloo East: 10 minute walk. Blackfriars: 12 minute walk.
By bus
Buses stopping outside the university: 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, X68, 168, 171, 172, 176 (24 hour), 188, 243 (24 hour), 341 (24 hour), 521, RV1.
By boat – commuter river service
From the west, Putney – Blackfriars: get off at either Embankment Pier or Blackfriars Pier.
Parking
No public parking, but a pay-and-display parking system operates in nearby streets including Surrey Street. Motorcycle bays are available in the Strand, Arundel Street, Temple Place and other nearby streets.
Weekend and evening bicycle parking after 20.00 is permitted at the Strand entrance opposite Security. Please note that any bicycles left in this location after 08.30 Monday to Friday will be removed. No responsibility will be accepted for the replacement of locks or costs incurred. No bicycles are permitted to be brought into the buildings or chained to railings.
Students and staff may park at the Strand Campus secure bicycle park off Strand Lane but must register with Strand Campus Security for access. There is bike parking in the streets, and Barclays Cycle Hire bikes are available close by.
Hotels
There is a wide range of hotels in all price ranges in close vicinity to the Strand Campus as well as within a 20-minute walking distance or a short commute by public transport.
Some mid to budget options may include:
Strand Palace Hotel – 372 Strand, London WC2R 0JJ. Tel: 020 7379 4737
Strand Palace Hotel London | Welcoming Guests Since 1909
Premier Inn – various branches nearby to King’s College London Strand Campus
Crescent Hotel – 49-50 Cartwright Gardens, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 9EL. Tel: 0207 387 1515 (No facilities for wheelchair users)
Tavistock Hotel, Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury
Tavistock Hotel – Guest Reservations
St Pancras, Youth Hostel Association (dorms and private rooms), by King’s Cross:
YHA London St Pancras Hostel | Cheap Kings Cross Accommodation
