News

Comparative Theology is a fast growing field in academia, and one that the OCHS is committed to developing.

In February we hosted the 'Icon and Murti' seminars with Drs Matthew Steenberg and Kenneth Valpey. These seminars examined the issue of representation of the divine in Christian Orthodoxy and Vaishnava Hinduism. Questions were raised about how a transcendent reality can be represented, the function of such representations, and the degree to which such mediations are thought to be required by tradition.

Claire Robison, our first ever undergraduate student, has completed her degree with a First that placed her first in her year in Oxford University's Theology Faculty. She is also the recipient of the Denyer and Johnson prize, awarded on the recommendation of the examiners in the Final Honour School of Theology.

MP3 and images from the conference are available at www.ochs.org.uk/sdc07)

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is pleased to announce the Shivdasani Conference – Archaeology and Text: The Temple in South Asia.

This conference, to be held at Trinity College, Oxford, on the weekend of 20–21 October, is an attempt at understanding sacred spaces as they came to be defined in the archaeological record from around the latter half of the first millennium BC onwards.

MP3 available for download here.

Speakers: Professor Julius Lipner, Dr. Yahya Michot, Professor Keith Ward

This afternoon conference examined the idea of surrender to God in three religions and provided the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns.

In October 2006, Emerging Markets Group (EMG) invited OCHS to participate in discussions on the formation of a Dharma Index, identifying a gap in the market for ethical investment packages suited to Hindu needs. The OCHS’s role was to provide the academic underpinnings of the Index.

Thanks to kind donations by friends of the OCHS we are able to offer several bursaries in recognition of students’ academic excellence and hard work. These bursaries greatly benefit the recipients financially and the recognition of their work is further inspiration to excel.

The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS) celebrates ten years of growth from humble beginnings in a suburban house to one of the worlds leading Hindu Studies centres building bridges between academia, tradition, and economics.

(Click here for photo gallery)