News

Sanskrit was recently approved by the Board of the Faculty of Theology to be taught at the level of the preliminary exam (first year).

This means that Sanskrit will be taught in Theology alongside New Testament Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Pali.

The conference ‘Thinking Inside the Box: the idea of a category in Indian philosophy’ was held at Somerville College, on the weekend of 10–11 October.

An international group of highly regarded speakers addressed the issue of categorisation in a number of different Indian philosophical traditions.

During the course of the conference a number of themes and issues began to emerge. One was the general problem of categorisation.

Dear Friends,

We have the mists and mellow fruitfulness of autumn, the beautiful canopies of changing colour, and the crisp crunch of leaves underfoot, but the temperature is worthy of remark. An Indian summer they call it,

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a relaxing and peaceful summer and found somewhere with a bit of sun in which to bask.

The second OCHS Shivdasani Conference – Thinking Inside the Box: The Concept of a Category in Indian Philosophy – will be held at Somerville College, Oxford on 10–11 October.

A two-week international Workshop on Manuscriptology and Sanskritic Text Editing is being organised by Jadavpur University, Kolkata; the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies; Indira Gandhi National Centre for The Arts, National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi: and Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan.

The workshop will take place from 10–22 August 2009 at at Jadavpur University.

Journal of Hindu Studies launches second issue

The Journal of Hindu Studies, a joint publication between the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Oxford University Press, launched its second issue in April. The publication of this Journal is a significant step in the Centre's progress. It and the OCHS-Routledge Hindu Studies series go far in fulfilling the Centre's role as a leading source of academic publishing.

National Hindu leaders have pledged to work together to create long-term plans for environmental protection and education which have the potential to reach every Hindu living in the UK. Ideas considered include a Hindu benchmark for a range of products and services, endorsement for ethically sourced food, and advocating sustainable lifestyles. These plans will be developed and implemented over the next nine years – a timeframe chosen to encourage long-term planning.

Last month saw the arrival of a new member of staff at the OCHS. Well known to many at the Centre, Gateen Patel is working as an intern for a six-month period. Gateen has been friends with the Centre since 2001 when he arrived in Oxford to study at Oxford Brookes University. Since then he has gone on to complete an MA at King’s College, London, and spent time traveling in India.

May 2 sees the launch of "The Vedas and Upanishads" the second of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies online courses. Enrolments and more information are now available at www.ochs.org.uk/external/courses