Annual Meetings

Held in Conjunction with the American Academy of Religion


The society’s annual meetings are held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion, typically scheduled the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The format of our meetings typically consists of two or more sessions, the first on Friday evening and the others on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, with a business meeting (open to all members) in the final half-hour of one of the latter sessions.

The 2024 AAR Annual Meeting will be held November 23-26 in San Diego, California.

The Society for Hindu-Christian Studies will be conducting its 2024 meeting in conjunction with the AAR, with session dates, times, and places currently being arranged. All sessions will be in-person. Participants will need to register for the Annual Meeting of the AAR to attend.


2024 Annual Meeting Program

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San Diego, California, November 22-24, in conjunction with the American Academy of Religion


Friday, Nov. 22
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Hilton Bayfront, Sapphire 410A (Fourth Level)
Session ID: P22-501

Book Panel: Discussion of Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue by Anantanand Rambachan, winner of the 2024 Best Book Award in Hindu-Christian Studies (Theology/Philosophy)

Francis X. Clooney, Harvard University, Presiding

Panelists:

Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida
Reid Locklin, University of Toronto
Patrick Beldio, University of Scranton
Bhakti Mamtora, University of Arizona

Responding:

Anantanand Rambachan, St. Olaf College


Saturday, Nov. 23
7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Hilton Bayfront, Cobalt 501C (Fifth Level)
Session ID: P23-100
Society for Hindu-Christian Studies Board Meeting


Saturday, Nov. 23
9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Grand Hyatt, America’s Cup CD (Fourth Level)
Session ID: P23-108

Themed Panel: The Role of Context in Hindu-Christian Engagement

Elsa Marty, Institute for Vaishnava Studies, Presiding

Panelists:

Arun W. Jones, Emory University
Indic Kingly Ideologies and the Shaping of Missionary Vocations in 19th Century Rajasthan

Jess Navarette, Boston College
Hindu Integration of Jesus Christ in the United States Contemporary Context

Maharshi Vyas, University of California Santa Barbara
Gathering the Family: A Subaltern Woman’s Perspective on Hindu-Christian Conflict Resolution

Charissa Jaeger-Sanders, Graduate Theological Union
A Mayhaw Among the Lotus Blossoms

Jason W. Smith, Mercer University
The Role of Ethics in the Hindu-Christian Engagement Around the Tirukkural

Elsa Marty, Institute for Vaishnava Studies
The Promise and Pitfalls of Context: Hinduisms, Christianities and Contexts

Business Meeting

Kalpesh Bhatt, University of Mary Washington, Presiding


Saturday, Nov. 23
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Convention Center 15A (Mezzanine Level)
Session ID: P23-301

Themed Panel: Aging, Death, and Death Rituals in Hindu Christian Contexts

Arun W. Jones, Emory University, Presiding

Panelists:

Stephanie Corigliano, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
What do we need to forget? Mystical experience, Kaivalya, and the realities of Dementia

Shruti Dixit, University of St. Andrews
Antyeṣṭi and Catholic Funeral Rites: A Dialogue on Food, Water, and Incense

Jeffrey Long, Elizabethtown College
The Dialectic of Finality and Eternity: Hindu and Christian Funerary Rituals as Catalysts for Acceptance of Death

Viraj Patel, University of Chicago
Did I Burn My Bad Karma? Addressing Physical and Spiritual Pain at Death