From February to May 2024, the Department of Languages and Cultures – India at Ghent University is organising an online lecture series titled:
‘Religious Foundations – Recent Research on the Built Environment in South Asia ’.
This series will consist of six lectures delving into the intricate relationship between religion and the built environment in South Asia.
Throughout the lectures, scholars from different disciplines will examine how diverse groups have – by their simultaneous or consecutive presence – influenced architecture, spatial organisation, and the urban landscape. As such, Religious Foundations aims to foster a nuanced understanding of how religion, as a fundamental aspect of society, has shaped and reshaped the built environment, forging an enduring bond between faith and architecture from antiquity to the present.
This Lecture Series is open to all, but registration is required.
For registration and more information, go to www.india.ugent.be/religious-foundations
Thursdays 4:00 pm CET
- 29 Feb: Saarthak Singh (Ghent University) : Temple Urbanism in North India: Case studies from Medieval Malwa, 10th-13th centuries
- 14 March: Vera Lazzaretti (ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon) : The Kashi Vishvanath Dham in Banaras: A tale of contorted heritage-making and insecurities in new India
- 28 March: Shalin Jain (Delhi University) : Making Places and Claiming Spaces: Jain Religious Architecture in Medieval Gujarat
- 18 April: Elora Tribedy (Nalanda University) : Crossing the Ocean of Fear: Unveiling Monastic Foundations and Medieval Transformations of the Cult of Tārā in India
- 2 May: Roshan Mishra (Taragaon Museum) : Reclaiming Nepal’s Heritage
- 16 May: Sara Mondini (Ghent University) : Transforming architectural vocabularies, reshaping religious identities: The impact of Modern Muslim patronage on the urban landscape in Kerala