Category: Doctoral schools

Abstract: This course explores Buddhist sites in the Anyue area of Sichuan, including the analysis of their iconographic features, and the identification of Esoteric and “hybrid” elements, in addition to discussing fieldwork methodologies. The course assumes a background in Buddhist Studies and/or engagement with East Asian art. Lectures and presentations will be in English. Materials supplied for discussion include ”historical” photographs taken by the instructors.

Doctoral school: Call for applications:

We are pleased to announce the following Doctoral School Specialist Course for PhD students at Ghent University (Belgium):

“Anyue Buddhist Sites: Iconography, Inscriptions, and Fieldwork Methodologies”

April 20-24, 2026

Venue: Ghent University

Lecturers:
Prof. Wendi Adamek, University of Calgary
Prof. Henrik Sørensen, Ruhr University Bochum
Prof. Christoph Anderl, Ghent University

We offer a scholarship for a maximum of four international PhD students. To apply please send a one-page motivation letter and your CV to Christoph.Anderl@ugent.be by February 25. The selected candidates will be notified by March 1.

Schedule (updated 09.03.2026)

April 20 (Monday): Methodologies in the Studies of Chinese Buddhist Sites

10:00-10:15: Welcome (Anderl)

10:15-12:00: ‘Practicescape’ methodologies: Part 1 (Adamek)

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-15:00: ‘Practicescape’ methodologies: Part 2 (Adamek)

15:15-16:45: Seminar on methodologies with breakout groups (supervision: Adamek / Anderl)

 

April 21 (Tuesday): Fieldwork in a Historical and Contemporary Perspective

10:00-12:00: “Looking back to fieldwork experiences in the 1990s”; with Seminar: “Working with historical photographs” (Adamek)

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-16:00: PhD Students’ presentations 1

13:30-14:00: Sophia Shi (Princeton Univ.): “Fantastic Beasts in Dunhuang Manuscripts”

14:00-14:30: Zhu Jiayi (Univ. of Chicago): “Verticality and Encounter: Shaping a Buddhist Capital through Peaks and Waters”

14:30-15:00: Catherine Fan (Univ. of Virginia): “Built Surface or Religious Vision? Leifeng’s Missing Exterior Buddhas in Wuyue Pagoda Networks”

15:00-15:30: Hua Bingni (Renmin Univ.): “The Placement and Divine Status of Multi-Headed and Multi-Armed Deities at the Yungang Grottoes.”

15:30-16:00: Liu Yisi (Univ. of Chicago): “Porous Space: Rethinking Guyang Cave.”

16:00-16:30: TBA

16:30-17:00: Anna Sokolova: “Field Work in Central Asia: State of Archaeological Research on Silk Road Centres in Kyrgyzstan”

 

April 22 (Wednesday): The Iconography of Anyue and Chongqing Buddhist Sites

10:00-11:00: Iconographical Novelties in the Buddhist Sculptural Art at Fowan on Mount Bei in Dazu (Sørensen)

11:00-12:00: Experiences from virtual and physical fieldwork in the framework of the FROGBEAR project (Anderl)

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-17:00: PhD students’ presentations 2

13:30-14:00: Tang Siqi (Chongqing / Ghent Univ.): “Using Qing Dynasty local gazetteers in the study of Chongqing Buddhist sites” (online)

14:00-14:30: Liu Chentong (Ghent Univ.): “An overview of Buddhist sites in the Anyue area and GIS Digital Analysis”

14:30-15:00: Zhang Longyu (Ghent Univ.) and Mirella Keller (Dharma Gate Buddhist College, Budapest): “A comparison of Liu Benzun carvings at Baodingshan and Piludong”

15:00-15:30: Zhong Tiantian (Univ. of Calgary): “Chan Buddhist images in the Hangzhou area and their interregional relations”

15:30-16:00: Wen Xueyu (Ghent Univ.): “The iconography of flying figures in medieval China: A survey”

16:00-16:30: Tian Mengqiu (Ghent Univ.): “Report on recent fieldwork in the Dunhuang area”

16:30-17:00: Grace Sun (Florida State Univ.): “Guanyin in Ming Popular Literature: Precious Scrolls, Drama, and Material Culture”

 

April 23 (Thursday): Fieldwork and Data Collection at Anyue Buddhist Sites 1 / Esoteric Buddhism in Sichuan

10:00-12:00: MA students’ presentations (“Anyue Buddhist sites”)*

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-15:00: On sources and resources for the study of the Buddhist sculptural sites in Sichuan: Methodology, systematics, and the handling of relevant data (Sørensen)

15:20-17:00: On the phenomena of Esoteric Buddhism in Sichuan? Part I: How to understand, identify and contextualise Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. Part II: Esoteric Buddhism in Sichuanese sculptural sites (Sørensen)

 

April 24 (Friday): Fieldwork and Data Collection at Anyue Buddhist Sites 2 / Future Perspectives

10:00 – 12:00: Introduction to the Beta version of the “Sichuan Buddhist Sites” fieldworkatabase Infrastructure (Bell / Schrupp – technicians/programmers)**

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-15:00: How to approach the sculptural sites in Anyue: With focus on the characteristics typical of the post-Tang period (with seminar) (Sørensen)

15:15-16:00: Future perspectives: fieldwork in Autum 2026 / Final discussions

Evening: Informal social gathering of all participants

 

* Throughout the Spring term, 16 MA students will work on topics concerning Anyue Buddhist sites in the framework of the course “Buddhism: Text and Material Culture”. During the DS, they will present some of the results of their work.

** A technical database framework is currently constructed for the project and will be introduced during the Doctoral School.

Abstract: Representation, a vital concept in accounting for how we perceive and engage with the world, has emerged as a significant subject across various fields, including anthropology, philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, cognitive science, and visual culture. Focusing specifically on Asian religions, philosophy, and aesthetics, this course explores profound existential and ethical inquiries that have played a formative role in shaping and impacting those societies.

 

We are glad to announce our upcoming one-week Doctoral School “Systems of Representation in Asian Religious and Philosophical Traditions” and encourage interested students in applying to attend.

 

October 9th – 13th, 2023.

Venue: De Abt Meeting Center Ghent.

Organizers (Ghent Univ.)

Prof. Dr. Christoph Anderl,

Prof. Dr. Daniela De Simone,

Dr. Henry Albery.

 

Primary instructor:

Prof. Dr. Robert Yelle (Interfaculty Programme for the Study of Religion, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich)

 

Supporting instructors

Dr. Polina Lukicheva (Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of Zurich)

Dr. Henry Albery (Junior Postdoctoral Fellow, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO), Department of Language and Cultures, Ghent University)

Dr. Juen Chien (Assistant Professor, Department of Buddhist Studies, Fo Guang University, Taiwan)

Prof. Dr. Christoph Anderl (Prof. of Chinese Language and Culture, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University)

 

Registration

Ghent PhD students: Registration through the Doctoral Schools website

External participants: Please send an application to christoph.anderl@ugent.be. The Doctoral School accepts the participation of up to five external PhD researchers. Applicants should attach a short CV and letter of motivation to the email. For the accepted students, a fee waiver will apply. Application deadline: Sept. 10th.

 

Course description

Representation, a vital concept in accounting for how we perceive and engage with the world, has emerged as a significant subject across various fields, including anthropology, philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, cognitive science, and visual culture. Focusing specifically on Asian religions, philosophy, and aesthetics, this course explores profound existential and ethical inquiries that have played a formative role in shaping and impacting those societies.

The objective of the course is to offer a systematic study of systems of representation and symbolism within Asian thought and practice and provide students with a cutting-edge conceptual apparatus in semiotics and anthropology, enhancing their theoretical grounding through an introduction to key concepts from these disciplines. It shall examine the evolution of systems of representation and their function in conveying complex concepts in different historical contexts and communities, providing the students with both a specialised knowledge in the history and cultural contexts of the regions considered, whilst fostering a comprehensive understanding of the terminologies and histories of specific forms of representation. Through an interrogation of fundamental theoretical frameworks, case studies, and analyses of textual and visual materials, the course is designed to equip students with the analytical, methodological and theoretical skills for usage in their research.

This course is specifically designed for doctoral students specialising in Buddhist studies and related fields which focus on the cultural traditions of Asia. It offers a deep exploration into the working of systems of representation and symbolism within specific cultural frameworks, illuminating their role in shaping existential and ethical attitudes and conveying religious and philosophical ideas. Through such an exploration, students will develop a new conceptual lens with which they shall nuance their understanding of the traditions they study.

The course covers a wide range of topics within the field, from establishing and exploring theoretical frameworks for studying the complexities of representation to examining concrete case studies. It includes the analysis of textual and visual materials, alongside an investigation into the terminology and history of concepts pertaining to the problematics of representation, e.g.:

• Multifaceted perspectives on representation: ontological assumptions, cognitive processes, and communicative functions;

• Symbolic systems and the construction of meaning: unravelling layers and referential dynamics in representation, such as pragmatic versus semantic functions;

• Representation and Transcendence: investigating the interactions between the perceived and unperceived, the sign and signlessness, form and formlessness and meaning and meaningless in ritual, meditative and aesthetic practices;

• Analysing terminology and concepts of representation: exploring philosophical theories and primary sources (including accounts on meditation, visualization, observation and contemplation. e.g., the conceptual history of guan 觀) and Buddhist theories of mind, perception and cognition;

• Representation and Aesthetics: exploring the intersection of artistic expression and (religious) symbolic systems;

• Exploring symbolism in Buddhist ritual practices and arts and the significance of (the representation of) the Buddha’s body.

 

Programme

Monday 9th October: Theories of representation

10.00 Welcome (Christoph Anderl and Daniela De Simone)

10.00-12.00 Lecture: “Conceptual Foundations of a Semiotics of Religion” * (Robert Yelle)

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30-15.00 Lecture: “From Semantics to Pragmatics in the Semiotics of Religion” (Robert Yelle)

15:00-15:15 Coffee break

15.15-16.30 Lecture: “Representation: Bridging the Gap Between Idealism and Realism” (Polina Lukicheva)

 

Tuesday 10th October: Methodological applications

10.00-12.00 Lecture: “The Semiotics of Ritual Performance” * (Robert Yelle)

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30-16.00 Source analysis: Case Studies from Ritual Traditions (Robert Yelle)

 

Wednesday 11th October: Perspectives from South Asia

10.00-12.00 Lecture: “The Structure and Function of Mantras” * (Robert Yelle)

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30-14.30 Source analysis: Case Studies from Selected Hindu and Buddhist Texts (Robert Yelle)

14:30-15:50 Coffee break

14.50-16.30 Student presentations (Moderator: Robert Yelle)

 

Thursday 12th October: Meditation traditions of Central and East Asia

10.00-12.00 Source analysis: “Semiotic Ideology and Buddhist meditation in Central Asia” (Henry Albery)

12.00-13.30 Lunch

13.30-16.00 Source analysis: “Mental representation in Yogācāra and Chan: the case of the three natures and guan 觀” (Chien Juen and Polina Lukicheva)

 

Friday 13th October: Representation and Narrative in Dunhuang

10.00-12.00 Source Analysis: Text-Image relations in the narration of Buddha’s life in Dunhuang Cave 61 (Christoph Anderl)

12.00.13.30 Lunch

13.30-15.30 Student presentations (Moderator: Christoph Anderl)

15.30-16.00 Closing discussion

 

Reading materials: A list of recommended reading materials will be sent to the participants ca. three weeks prior to the beginning of the Doctoral School.

 

Note: Lectures marked with * are planned to be open to the general public and will be broadcast via Zoom. After registration for the public lectures (via email to christoph.anderl@ugent.be), a Zoom link will be sent.

 

Update: doctoral school pictures

Abstract: This (on campus) course will focus on how Buddhists in China engage(d) with various aspects of the Buddhist monastic law (Vinaya). It will cover discussions on clerical immunity for ordained Buddhists in Buddhist legal texts; Chinese transformation of jurisdictional negotiation between the state and the Buddhist establishment; and case studies of Buddhist engagements with state law and Buddhist religious law in modern and contemporary China.

 

We are pleased to announce the following Doctoral School at Ghent University (Belgium):

“Buddhism and Law in China”

Date: June 19-23, 2023.
Venue: Het Pand (Ghent University).
Organizing committee: prof. dr. Ann Heirman, prof. dr. Christoph Anderl (Ghent University).

Description
This (on campus) course will focus on how Buddhists in China engage(d) with various aspects of the Buddhist monastic law (Vinaya). It will cover discussions on clerical immunity for ordained Buddhists in Buddhist legal texts; Chinese transformation of jurisdictional negotiation between the state and the Buddhist establishment; and case studies of Buddhist engagements with state law and Buddhist religious law in modern and contemporary China. The course is designed for doctoral students with backgrounds or seeking further training in Buddhist studies, East Asian Studies, Chinese Studies, Chinese Religion, Chinese Law, and Religion and law. This course will combine lectures, primary text readings, film screenings, discussions, and student presentations. Students will have ample time to learn and grow from interactive lectures, hands on exercises in working with primary sources, and opportunities to present work in progress.

Thanks to the generous support of the Tianzhu Foundation, we are pleased to award up to 500 Euros in travel remuneration for a maximum of 5 international PhD students. This money can be used for travel, accommodation, and meals. To apply for this travel grant, please send a one-page motivation letter and your CV to Mathieu.Torck@UGent.be by April 20. The selected candidates will be notified by May 1. Candidates who are not selected for the travel grant may still participate on their own means depending on the available places (inquiries should be sent to the same e-mail address).

Lecturers
Prof. Cuilan Liu, University of Pittsburgh (lecturer)
Prof. Ester Bianchi, University of Perugia (guest lecturer)

Tentative schedule
The five-day course will have ca. 5 contact hours a day (23 contact hours all together) that include lectures, text readings, presentations by the participants, and discussions.

Monday, June 19: Indian Origins

10:00-10:30: Welcome and introductions
10:30-12:00: Buddhist Clerical Immunity: Can Kings Punish a Monk Criminal in India? (Cuilan Liu)
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Text Reading: Shilun jing 十輪經 (Chinese and Tibetan translations) (Cuilan Liu)**

Tuesday, June 20: Chinese Inventions
10:00-12:00: Hybrid Courts and Hybrid Laws: How Did Chinese Buddhists Reinvent the Indian Model for Clerical Immunity? (Cuilan Liu)
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Text Readings: Chinese Texts related to Daoseng ge 道僧格 (Cuilan Liu)**

Wednesday, June 21: Vinaya Movements in Modern Chinese Buddhism
10:00-12:00: Vinaya Trends in Twentieth Century China and Beyond. With a Focus on Monastic Ordination (Ester Bianchi)
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Screening of Documentary Films
15:30-16:30: Student Research Projects Presentation (moderated by Ester Bianchi)

Thursday, June 22: Case Study in Contemporary China
10:00-12:00: When Buddhist Law and State Law Clash: What Happens to a Deceased Monk’s Inheritance and Living Heirs? (Cuilan Liu)
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Text Reading: the Pure Rules 清规 and the Chinese Law of Succession 继承
法 (Cuilan Liu)**
15: 30-16:30: Student Research Projects Presentation (moderated by Cuilan Liu)

Friday, June 23: Case Study in Contemporary China
10:00-12:00: The Dragon Spring Temple: Are Buddhists and Buddhist Institutions Immune from Legal Entanglements? (Cuilan Liu)
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-14:30: Postdoctoral Project Presentation
14:30-15:30: Open discussion on the study of Buddhism and Law: Topics, Primary Texts, and Methodologies (moderated by Cuilan Liu)
** Sinological background needed (7 hours)

Update: doctoral school pictures

Abstract: This (on campus) course is aimed at PhD students and will focus on the rise and success of Chan Buddhism (known in Japan as Zen) in medieval China. It will cover (1) Indian and Chinese doctrinal antecedents; (2) the emergence of new modes of ritual and literary expression, drawing from both Indian and Chinese exemplars; and (3) the specific contributions of the “public case” literature (gong’an, Japanese kōan) to ongoing philosophical controversies that galvanized the medieval Buddhist scholastic community.

 

We are pleased to announce the following Doctoral School at Ghent University: “Demystifying Chan (Japanese: Zen) Buddhism”
Date: July 4-8, 2022
Venue: Het Pand (Ghent University)
Organizing committee: prof. dr. Ann Heirman, prof. dr. Christoph Anderl, prof. dr. Anna Andreeva (Ghent University)

Description

This (on campus) course is aimed at PhD students and will focus on the rise and success of Chan Buddhism (known in Japan as Zen) in medieval China. It will cover (1) Indian and Chinese doctrinal antecedents; (2) the emergence of new modes of ritual and literary expression, drawing from both Indian and Chinese exemplars; and (3) the specific contributions of the “public case” literature (gong’an, Japanese kōan) to ongoing philosophical controversies that galvanized the medieval Buddhist scholastic community.
Thanks to the generous support of the Tianzhu foundation, we are pleased to award up to 800 Euros in travel remuneration for a maximum of 5 international PhD
students. This money can be used for travel, accommodation, and meals. To apply for this travel grant, please send a one-page motivation letter and your CV
to Mathieu.Torck@UGent.be by April 20. The selected candidates will be notified by May 1. Candidates who are not selected for the travel grant may still participate on their own means depending on the available places (inquiries should sent to the same e-mail address).

Lecturers

Prof. Robert Sharf, University of California, Berkeley.
Prof. Christoph Anderl, Ghent University

Tentative schedule

The five-day course will have 4 to 4.5 contact hours a day (21 contact hours all together) that include lectures, text readings, presentations by the participants, and
discussions.
Monday, July 4: Orientations
10:00-10:30: Welcome and introductions*
10:30-12:00: Philosophical background to Chan Buddhism (or, Thinking about not thinking): On the role of non-conceptual cognition in early Buddhist thought (Robert
Sharf)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Can insentient objects become Buddhas? The Indian background to a Chinese Buddhist debate (Robert Sharf)*
Tuesday, July 5: The Birth of Chan in the Tang Period
10:00-12:00: Text reading: Two Ox-head Chan lineage texts—Treatise on No-Mind (Wuxin lun), and Treatise on the Cessation of Discernment (Jueguan lun) (Robert
Sharf)**
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Student presentations (moderated by Robert Sharf)*
Wednesday, July 6: Insentient Things Becoming Buddhas cont.
10:00-12:00: Text reading: Zutang ji 祖堂集 (Christoph Anderl)**
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Text reading: Jingde chuandeng lu 景德傳燈錄 (Christoph Anderl)**
Thursday, July 7: Chan “Public Cases” (gong’an, Japanese: kōan)
10:00-12:00: Indian and Chinese literary antecedents of Chan gong’an: Aṣṭasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā, Gongsun Longzi, Zhuangzi, Shishuoxinyu, etc.
(Robert Sharf)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: A reading of the Gateless Barrier (Wumenguan) (Robert Sharf)*
Friday, July 8: Buddhist Modernism: Chan, Zen, and the Mindfulness Movement
10:00-12:00: How Buddhism became “spiritual but not religious” (Robert Sharf)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Open discussion on the study of Chan and the field of Buddhist studies (moderated by Robert Sharf)*
* Lectures also suitable for a general audience (no Sinological background needed) (15 hours)
** Sinological background needed (6 hours)

 

Update: doctoral school pictures

Abstract: This specialist course will focus on an interdisciplinary approach to the intersection of religion and medicine in medieval and late imperial East Asia, with a particular focus on Buddhism. As a religious and cultural tradition with transnational scope, Buddhism played an important role in circulating medical knowledge around Asia. This course focuses on this history from the perspectives of Religious Studies, History of Medicine, Sinology, and Translation Studies.

Level – Target audience

PhD students with a background in Chinese studies and/or in Chinese religions or in the history/anthropology of medicine. A good knowledge of pre-modern and modern Chinese language is expected for the students attending the classes requiring a sinological background.

Organising & Scientific Committee

• Contact persons: prof. Ann Heirman, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Department: Languages and Cultures, E-mail: Ann.Heirman@UGent.be and mathieu.torck@ugent.be
• prof. Christoph Anderl (Department: Languages and Cultures – East Asia), Ghent University
• prof. Andreas Niehaus (Department: Languages and Cultures – East Asia), Ghent University

Topic

Between 150 and 1100 CE, Buddhism played a central role in introducing Indian medicine to East Asia. This historically represented a relatively discrete corpus of health-related knowledge, relatively unintegrated into East Asian medicine and often ignored in mainstream medical historiography. Nevertheless, Buddhist sources are critical to understanding the history of medicine in medieval East Asia, and it is not an exaggeration to say that this corpus offers one of the most voluminous sources of textual evidence for the transregional communication and reception of medical ideas in first millennium CE Asia that is available anywhere. Buddhist ideas and practices deserve more attention than they have received thus far from Sinologists and scholars of East Asia. This course is meant to introduce young scholars to this exciting emergent field, and to give them the tools to enter into this arena of scholarship.

Objectives and learning outcomes

The course is to provide intensive training for doctoral students with a background in East Asian history, Chinese studies, Chinese religions, Buddhist studies, history of medicine, and/or history of science. Half of the course is dedicated to lectures, and the other half to interaction with students, including a presentation of their dissertation projects, text readings, discussions, and the screening of documentary films. The course is meant to provide students with an insight into the intersection between Buddhism and medicine in East Asia. In detail, the course aims:
1) to enhance students’ understanding of the intersections between religion and medicine in the pre-modern world;
2) to provide new insights into the role of Buddhism in cross-cultural exchange of science, medicine, and technology;
3) to provide students with a knowledge of the practice of Buddhism and healing in contemporary Chinese and diasporic communities;
4) to enhance the students’ presentation competences
5) (for the sinological group) to improve students’ skills in classical Chinese through the reading of examples of Chinese Buddhist literature.

Dates and Program

From Monday 28 June to Friday 2 July 2021 (details see program hereunder)

• Monday, June 28, 2021: Orientations

10:00-10:30: Welcome Greetings*
10:30-12:00: Buddhist medicine in a global context (Pierce Salguero)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Presentation of current research projects/questions by all participants (moderated by Leslie de Vries)*

• Tuesday, June 29, 2021: Medieval China

10:00-12:00: Buddhist healing in medieval China (Pierce Salguero) *
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Health and bodily practices in Chinese Buddhist monastic practice (Ann Heirman) *

• Wednesday, June 30, 2021: Cross-cultural movements and translations

10:00-12:00: Buddhism and medicine in transit (China, Japan, Vietnam) (Leslie de Vries)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Analysis of medieval Chinese practices of translation (Pierce Salguero)**

• Thursday, July 1, 2021: Primary Text Readings

10:00-12:00: Text reading: “On Eliminating Disease” from Sūtra of Golden Light (Pierce Salguero)**
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-15:30: Text reading: “Buddhism and scholarly medicine: A selection of passages from the medical literature” (Leslie de Vries)**

• Friday, July 2, 2021: Integrating Research and Teaching

10:00-12:00: Film screening and discussion: Buddhist healing in a contemporary diasporic community in North America (Pierce Salguero)*
12:00-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-16:00: Open discussion about integrating research and teaching based on this seminar (moderated by Andreas Niehaus)*

* Lectures also suitable for a general audience (no Sinological background needed)
** Sinological background needed

Venue

ONLINE

Lecturers

• C. Pierce Salguero, Penn State University (Abington College)

Contact details: salguero@psu.edu; 302 Sutherland Bldg., 1600 Woodland Rd., Abington PA 19001 USA.
Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary medical humanities scholar who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and cross-cultural exchange. He has a PhD in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and a Master’s Degree in East Asian Studies from University of Virginia (2005).
Thus far, Pierce Salguero has produced an academic monograph on medieval China, an edited volume on China and Japan, a two-volume collection of translations from around the world, thirteen peer-reviewed academic articles and book chapters, and a number of other translations, encyclopaedia entries, and public scholarship projects on various aspects of Buddhism and medicine in East Asia. A second monograph, a global history of Buddhist engagements with health and healing, is under contract with Columbia University Press. He has become well known as a leading specialist in this field through his publication projects, various online professional networks, as well as through his frequent organization of and participation in conferences, workshops, and collaborative online projects. His editorial work with the journal Asian Medicine has also been important to the academic world, and he became the Editor-in-Chief in 2016. He has been invited to present his research at many prestigious American universities, as well as internationally in Canada, England, Germany, Korea, and Taiwan. His research has been recognized by fellowships from humanities centers at the University of Pennsylvania (2011–12) and Duke University (Fall 2013), and has been funded by Fulbright (2008–09), the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation (2009–10), the National Research Foundation of Korea (2015–17), University of Leipzig (2017), and various awards from Penn State.

 

• Leslie de Vries, University of Kent

Contact details: L.DeVries@kent.ac.uk; Department of Religious Studies, SECL, Cornwallis North West, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NF, United Kingdom. Leslie de Vries is a historian of religion and medicine in East Asia. He holds a PhD degree in Oriental Languages and Cultures (Ghent, 2012). From 2013 to 2015, he was a Research Fellow in the Wellcome Trust funded project “Beyond Tradition: Styles of Practice and Ways of Knowing in East Asian Medicine, 1100 to the present” at the University of Westminster. Since 2018, he is a Lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Kent.
Leslie de Vries is a leading scholar researching the intersections of medicine and religion in East Asia during the late imperial/early modern period. In his forthcoming monograph, The Thread that Runs Through Medicine: A Style of Practice in Seventeenth-Century China (Berghahn), and earlier journal articles, including “The Authentic Man as Ideal for the Late Ming Dynasty Physician: Daoist Inner Alchemy in Zhang Jiebin’s Commentary on the Huangdi neijing” (Synthesis Philosophica 2014) and “The Dangers of ‘Warming and Replenishing’ (wenbu 溫補) during the Ming to Qing Epistemic Transition” (Asian Medicine 2015), he focused on medicine and the Three Teaching (Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism) in China. Leslie de Vries is also one of the very few specialists researching Vietnam’s pre-modern medical history. In this field, he published “The Dồng Nhân Pagoda and the Publication of Mister Lazy’s Medical Encyclopedia” (2017) and “Vietnam in the Premodern Period” (forthcoming). Work in progress include research on Buddhist trajectories of medical knowledge transmission from China to Vietnam and Japan in the aftermath of the Ming-Qing transition. As a leading expert, Leslie de Vries is frequently invited to specialist workshops at renowned institutions (Oxford, Cornell, Max Planck Munich, Heidelberg, …). He organised and co-organised international academic conferences (Kent, Michigan) and acts as Book Review Editor (China) for Asian Medicine.

Registration fee

Free of charge for PhD students of the Doctoral School of Arts, Humanities and Law at Ghent University

Registration

Please follow this link: https://webappsx.ugent.be/eventManager/events/buddmedeastasia

Teaching materials

Reading materials (required readings and suggested readings), electronic sources, and the source texts to be translated in class will be (electronically) provided to the participants prior to the course.

Number of participants

Maximum 20

Evaluation criteria (doctoral training programme)

100% attendance (sinological group 20 hrs, non sinological group 16 hrs); active participation (text reading, individual presentations by doctoral researchers, discussions).

Abstract: This specialist course will focus on an interdisciplinary approach to the Sino-Tibetan (ST) language family, with an emphasis on languages of the Tibeto-Burman (TB) branch spoken by ethnic minorities in China. In the course there will be an emphasis on linguistic aspects, such as the genetic relations between the ST languages in a historical perspective, comparative approaches to the study of language families, fieldwork research on endangered languages, fieldwork methodologies, as well as the cultural and religious background of ST speaking ethnic minorities in China.

Thanks to the generous support of the TIANZHU FOUNDATION, we are pleased to award up to 800 Euros in travel remuneration of five international PhD students. This money can be used for travel, accommodation, and meals. To apply for this travel grant, please send a one-page cover letter and your CV to Christoph.anderl@ugent.be by July 31st, 2020. The selected candidates will be notified by August 10th , 2020.

Organizers
Name: Prof. Christoph Anderl
Faculty: Arts and Philosophy
Department: Languages and Cultures (Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies / DiaLing)
E-mail: Christoph.anderl@ugent.be
Co-organizers:
Prof. Ann Heirman (Languages and Cultures – East Asia)
Prof. Linda Badan (Translation, Interpreting and Communication / MULTIPLES / DiaLing)

Course
Title: Sino-Tibetan Languages: Research Methodologies and Approaches to Linguistic Field Studies and Language Documentation among Tibeto-Burman Speaking Minorities in China
Dates: October 26 – 30, 2020
Venue: Het Pand, Ghent
Based on the current Covid19 situation, the DS could be also transformed into an online event, if necessary.

Topic of the course

The course focuses on the Sino-Tibetan language family and Tibeto-Burman languages as spoken in Southwestern regions of China, as well as the sociocultural, religious, and ecological contexts of ethnic minorities of these regions. The DS will provide an overview of ST languages in a historical perspective, and deal with the research of language families in a comparative context (especially contrasting / comparing the Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan groups). More specifically, the focus will be on Tibeto-Burman languages as spoken in the Southwestern region of Yunnan, China, many of them being endangered and on the verge of becoming extinct. The linguistic aspects will be discussed in a contextualized way, giving consideration to the sociocultural, religious (e.g., Buddhism, Christianity, and native religions), and environmental / ecological aspects of the ethnic minority communities. Another part of the course will concretely deal with linguistic fieldwork methodologies and the documentation of endangered languages.
Tentative programme with time schedule: The five-day course will have 5 – 6 contact hours a day (ca. 27 contact hours all together), includinglectures, discussions of research material, presentations by the PhD students, round-table discussions, and documentary film screenings.

Program

Monday, October 26th:

11:30 Welcome Greetings (C. Anderl; A. Heirman; L. Badan) / Opening of Zoom room

12:00-14:00: Sino-Tibetan Languages: Introduction and Historical Perspective (Nathan Hill)

14:30-15:30: Tibeto-Burman Languages: An Introduction (Nathan Hill)

15:45-16:45: Sino-Tibetan Languages: Research Methodologies in a Comparative Perspective 1 (Nathan Hill)

Tuesday, October 27th:

12:00-14:00: Linguistic Field Work Methodologies 1: New Developments (Nathan Hill)

14:30-15:30: Sino-Tibetan Languages: Research Methodologies in a Comparative Perspective 2 (Nathan Hill)

15:30-16:15: Discussion with Students (C. Anderl; N. Hill; J. Wang; L. Badan)

Wednesday, October 28th:

10:00-12:00: Religion and Culture of the Biyo Communities of Southwestern China (PhD student Shan Bai) / Discussions

13:00-15:00: Introduction to the Hani language group (Wang Jianhua)

15:15-17:15: Interactive Presentations of StudentsÕ PhD Projects*

Thursday, October 29th:

10:00-12:00: Linguistic Field Work Methodologies 2: Field Work Among Hani Communities in Southwestern China and Beyond (Wang Jianhua)

13:00-15:00: Presentation of a Documentary Film on Minorities in Southwestern China (Wang Jianhua)

15:30-17:30: Interactive Presentation of StudentsÕ PhD Projects**

Friday, October 30th:

12:00-14:00: Linguistic Field Work Methodologies 3 (Linda Badan)

14:30-16:00: Final Discussion with Students(C. Anderl; N. Hill; J. Wang; L. Badan)*
Presentations: (1) Selin Grollmann (Univ. of Bern): A grammar of Nachiring: Describing an endangered language of eastern Nepal /(2) Valentina Punzi (Univ. of Tartu): Linguistic identity and cultural heritagization in the Sino-Tibetan borderlands: reflections of a 90hou Baima ritual expert on mother tongue / (3) Nikita Kuzmin (Univ. of Pennsylvania): How to master the Tangut language? A new view on Tangut manuscripts with Tibetan glosses from Khara-khoto ** Presentations: (4) Deng Bingcong (Max Planck Institute, Euroasia3angle Project): Transeurasian loanwords in Sino-Tibetan: Whatcan they tell us? / (5) Pascal Gerber (Univ. Bern): A historical grammar of Mewahang: Aim, Methods and Preliminary Findings / (6) Bai Shan (Ghent Univ.): Field studies among Biyo communities

Abstract: The Doctoral School’s specialist course will focus on historical literature, including local gazetteers and Transmission of the Lamp texts, of the Chinese Buddhist schools. While adopting a diachronic perspective, covering texts between the 10th and the 17th century, the special angle of the course is to relate the study of historical sources to modern technologies and most recent advances in Digital Humanities. This will offer students important insights in key Chinese text genres and their study based on modern research tools. This specialist course contributes to the FROGBEAR project.

Description:

Date: October 21–25, 2019
Venue: Het Pand (Ghent University)

Thanks to the generous support of the Tianzhu foundation, we are pleased to award up to 800 Euros in travel remuneration for 5 International PhD students. This money can be used for travel, accommodation, and meals. To apply for this travel grant, please send a one-page cover letter and your CV to Ann.Heirman@ugent.be.

Lecturers

• Prof. Marcus Bingenheimer (Temple University)
• Prof. Christian Wittern (Kyoto University)
• Prof. Christoph Anderl (Ghent University)
• Sally Chambers (Center for Digital Humanities, Ghent)
• Prof. Ann Heirman (Ghent University)

Schedule

October 21 – 25, 2019

 

Day One, Monday
Location: Jan Gillis
09:30: Welcome by the Doctoral School organizers (CA and AH)
10:00 – 11:00:* Lecture and discussion 1: Gazetteers literature, reference tools, and print editions of Buddhist Temple Gazetteers (MB)
11:00 – 11:15: Coffee
11:15 – 12:15: Practice session 1: material in printed form (45 mins. practice, 15 mins reports) (MB)
12:15 – 14:15: Lunch break
14:15 – 15:15: Lecture and discussion 2: The Digital Archive of Chinese Buddhist Temple Gazetteers at DDBC (archive / dataset part) (MB)
15:15 – 15:30: Coffee
15:30 – 16:30: Practice session 2: Digital datasets (45 mins. practice, 15 mins reports) (MB)

 

Day Two, Tuesday
Location: Dormitoriumzaal
10:00 – 11:00: Lecture and discussion 3: The Digital Archive of Chinese Buddhist Temple Gazetteers at DDBC (online interface) (MB)
11:00 – 11:15: Coffee
11:15 – 12:15: Text reading 1: Ming-Qing Biographical data and gazetteers (MB)
12:15 – 14:15: Lunch break
14:15 – 15:00: Lecture and discussion 4: The Gazetteers of Mt. Putuo – Chinese whispers or reliable text witness? (MB)
15:00 – 15:15: Coffee
15:15 – 16:15: Text reading 2: Reading of selected historical sources (MB)
16:15 – 17:00: Discussions and Q&A with students (MB and CW)

 

Day Three, Wednesday
Location: Amaat Burssens room (Faculty Library, 2nd floor, behind the Japanese collection)
9:45 – 10:45:* Lecture and discussion 5: A short introduction to the Ghent Database of Chinese Medieval Texts as a flexible research tool (CA, with MB)
10:45 – 11:00: Coffee**
11:00 – 12:30: Presentation of students’ projects 1 (MB, CW, SC, CA)
12:30 – 14:15: Lunch break
14:15 – 15:15: Presentation of students’ projects 2 (MB, CW, SC, CA)
15:15 – 15:30: Coffee**
15:30 – 17:00:* Short presentation of Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities; Discussions and Q&A with students and Digital Humanities researchers from Ghent University: Recent trends in Digital Humanities from an interdisciplinary perspective (SC, MB, CW, CA)

** Note that the coffee breaks on Wednesday will be in the kitchen facilities of the Department of Languages of Cultures (5th floor). Somebody will guide you there, so don’t worry, you won’t miss your coffee!

Day Four, Thursday
Location: Jan Gillis
09:30 – 10:00: Coffee
10:00 – 12:00:* Lecture and discussion 6: Digitization of printed and manuscript historical records: general and specific problems, methods, and results (with example from recent digitization projects of Chan records and the Daoist canon) (CW, with MB and CA)
12:00 – 14:00: Lunch break
14:00 – 15:15: Text reading 3: Reading of selected Chan records (CW)
15:15 – 15:30: Coffee
15:30 – 16:30: Text reading 3 (continued): Reading of selected Chan records (CW)

Day Five, Friday
Location: Jan Gillis
09:30 – 10:00: Coffee
10:00 – 12:00: Text reading 4: Reading of selected Chan records (CW)
12:00 – 14:00: Lunch break
14:00 – 15:30: Text reading 5: Reading and discussion of selected Chan records (CW)
15:30 – 15:45: Coffee
15:45 – 16:30: Final discussions and Q&A with students (CW, with MB und CA)

 

Lecturers /Speakers:
MB = Marcus Bingenheimer
CW = Christian Wittern
CA = Christoph Anderl
AH = Ann Heirman
SC = Sally Chambers (Digital Humanities Research Coordinator, Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities)