[Aar-mbh] Ideas for AAR seminar on Mbh in future years

Fri Jun 14 14:11:36 EDT 2019

Good day all,

Below (in a separate message) you can see my initial message on our listserv concerning the November session in San Diego.

I am now following that up with another message to start discussion of how we might organize a 5-year seminar.  The format would be one session per annual meeting.  Those who are seminar participants would receive by email copies of papers to be discussed at the annual meeting with the idea that we would read the papers and come prepared to discuss them.  The paper would not be read at the session.  As AAR sessions are public and in the printed schedule, others are welcome to attend and listen to the discussion, but they will not have read the papers, so they don't have a seat at the seminar table.  Given time constraints each year, we should probably think in terms of discussing at the meeting about five papers a year.  Each paper could have a discussant appointed to highlight important issues for general discussion; other issues can be expected to come up during discussion.

Here is one big issue we need to consider:  Does it make sense to have an annual call for papers on a theme, or not.  My opinion: it makes more sense to identify a set of themes at the outset that we regard as of particular interest, calling for work that would advance the field in some way.  It seems too restrictive to limit our papers to a single theme each year, as we cannot predict what good work someone will do.  We don't want to exclude good work to include mediocre work that fits a theme.  The advantage of multiple papers addressing a theme is that they might shed light on each other, hence the appeal of a theme.  I just think it's too limiting for a smallish group who are engaged with various projects.

Here is another important issue:  Do we include in the seminar not only versions of the Mahābhārata such as vernacular language texts and dramas, but do we also include other texts such as Purāṇa-s and Rāmāyaṇa?  Were we to do that, do we need to reframe the seminar from Mahābhārata to a more inclusive rubric?

OK-- I am hopeful that those interested in this initiative will have comments to share on this.  Thanks.

Bruce

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Professor Bruce M. Sullivan
Northern Arizona University
https://nau.academia.edu/BruceSullivan

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________________________________
From: Bruce Millen Sullivan
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 12:39 PM
To: AAR Mbh Listserv
Subject: AAR session in November

Good day all,

After a couple of glitches, we are ready use this listserv for discussion.  I'll begin by passing along the time slot set by AAR, thankfully a good one.

A25-136

  *
Exploratory Sessions

Exploratory Sessions
Theme: The Mahābhārata: A Text for Classical Hinduism
Bruce M. Sullivan, Northern Arizona University, Presiding
Monday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM

There has never been greater interest in the Mahābhārata than in recent years. This is reflected in the quantity of fine scholarly work being done on the text and its traditions. These developments build on the completion of a critical edition of the Mahābhārata in 1966. They would have been unimaginable without the secure textual foundation that this edition provides. It has transformed our understanding of the history of Hinduism. As the text that both establishes the canonical authority of the four Vedas and adds itself to them as the Fifth Veda, the Mahābhārata is key to understanding the religion and system of thought we today call Hinduism. This roundtable seeks to establish whether sufficient interest exists to justify the creation of a five-year seminar dedicated to the Mahābhārata. Rather than present papers, we seek to articulate a case for such a seminar, while soliciting participation from fellow AAR members.

Panelists:
Vishwa Adluri, City University of New York
Unregistered Participant
Frederick M. Smith, University of Iowa
Unregistered Participant
Joydeep Bagchee, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
Responding: Brian Collins, Ohio University
We will later learn about the room.  You may have received a message from AAR about AV equipment; as I understand it, we have the usual computer and projector setup.

We have the full 150 minutes for our session.  If we were to dedicate half the time available to presentations and half to discussion of the seminar plans, that would mean 75 minutes each.  That could be apportioned as 12 minutes for each of the 5 presentations, 15 minutes for Brian's response, the rest for discussion.  This is a suggestion, but the use of our time is up to participants.  Let's see if we have general consensus on time usage.

I have sent email about this session and possible seminar to those I thought might be interested, and got a fair number of replies.  We will begin to add them to the recipient list for this listserv.  I think we will have sufficient participants for a successful seminar if AAR grants us that.

So, let's discuss time usage in the session, and ideas for organization of the seminar.  If you have thoughts on how to proceed with an annual gathering for five years, please share those.

Bruce

=========<>=========
Professor Bruce M. Sullivan
Northern Arizona University
https://nau.academia.edu/BruceSullivan

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