Jain Studies Conference 2024

Constructing the Self: Jain Perspectives on Emotion Concepts

SATURDAY, JUNE 1
FIU-MMC | SIPA II 102
8:45 am – 8:00 pm

The affective turn transformed the study of emotion by breaking down the barrier between private and public domains and merging the emotional with the embodied. The resulting studies challenged conventional distinctions between the internal and external, cognition and action, and emotion and reason. This conference builds on the rising awareness of the malleable condition of bodies, emotions, and cognitions, which contribute to shaping malleable selves, with a particular focus on Jain perspectives. Participants will investigate the notions of affect and emotion as portrayed in Jain practices, philosophy, literature, and art, with the goal of constructing a more integrated theory of the self.

Event streaming will be from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm

8:45 am - 9:00 am — Welcome and introductions

9:00 am - 9:30 am — Peter Flügel: Emotion, Cognition, and Action in Jaina Philosophy

9:30 am - 10:00 amAlba Rodriguez: Benevolence, Joy, Compassion, and Equanimity in Jain Texts

10:00 am - 10:30 amAleksandra Restifo:  Doing Emotions: Emotion as Practice in Jain Metaphysics and Aesthetics

10:30 am - 11:00 am — Coffee break

11:00 am - 11:30 amSarah Pierce Taylor: The Affective Lives of Animals in Jain Literature

11:30 am - 12:00 pm — Justin Henry: Moral Naturalism in Jain Literature and Pali Buddhism

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm — Gregory Clines: Karma and Emotion in Raviṣeṇa's Padmapurāṇa

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm — Lunch

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm — Samani Pratibha: From Despair to Liberation through Cognition: The Story of Muni Megha in the Nāyādhammakahāo

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm — Nandita Punj: Emotion and Devotion: Moods and Transitions in an Early Modern Jain Narrative Tale

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm — Coffee break

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm — Miki Chase: Gendered Voices of Grief: Distributing the Work of Memory and Mourning in Sallekhana Memorialization

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm — Carol Rodriguez: Jain Women in Florida Kitchens: How to Speak the Language of Food?

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm — Summary discussion

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm — Reception