What's New
Commencement 2011. This year, I have been the Chair of the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies as we have moved toward creating the Department of South Asian Studies, which will come into being on July 1. It has been exciting to oversee this transition. During this time, I have also completed the manuscript of my new book, India: A Sacred Geography, and will be receiving the page proofs during the month of June. I hope it will be published in the late fall (Random House).
The Pluralism Project has two major initiatives: In our Case Studies Initiative, we continue to produce teaching cases on the issues of multireligious America, and this spring term I taught a case-studies course in the General Education curriculum on case studies in religious pluralism. This was a new venture for me, forsaking the lecture format for one that is case-based and discussion-based. It involved a new teaching-learning contract with students who are expected to show up twice a week, ready to discuss. It was a very successful course, both from my standpoint and that of the students. We are seeking funding to keep our research and writing of cases going.
Our second Pluralism Project initiative is on the interfaith infrastructure in 20 U.S. cities. With the support of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, we are tackling ground-breaking research on the status of an amazing set of new interfaith initiatives across the country.
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