Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen, an OCHS Fellow, established the Memorandum of Understanding with the Aarhus University Department for the Study of Religion that enabled the exchange.
[8] Since 2003, the OCHS Continuing Education Department (CED) has facilitated access to Hindu Studies for adults in the UK at various locations, and online for a more international audience.
[18] The library holds a collection of some 25,000 volumes received mainly by donation concentrating on the study of Hindu culture, religion, languages, literature, philosophy, arts and society.
The aim of the Journal is to create a forum for critical and constructive interdisciplinary discourse, exploring key questions and meta-issues relating to the developing field of Hindu Studies.
These themes focus on theoretical meta-issues that are relevant to all fields within Hindu Studies, linking scholars in interdisciplinary dialogue.
The disciplines represented in the Journal presently include History, Philology, Literature and the Arts, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Archaeology, and Religious Studies.
This includes annotated translations of important primary sources and studies in the history of the Hindu religious traditions.
The series has attracted original, high quality, research level work on religion, culture and society of Hindus living in India and abroad.
This series publishes books that tackle questions of South Asian religion and society from the perspective of archaeological evidence.
Underpinning the series is an approach that is motivated by close study of inscriptions, iconography, numismatics, and archaeological remains (particularly of shrines and diverse sacred sites).
[27] Stretching from 2001 to the present and growing with each new term, the library ranges from introductory surveys of major Hindu themes, texts and traditions; single lectures on topics like Women in the Mahabharata or Poetry in the Vedas; discussions with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Scholars, and seminars on Hindi Cinema.
The six main areas of research in regards to Bengali Vaishnavism are: 1) theology and philosophy, 2) history, 3) transnational currents and the development of modern institutions, 4) case studies and biography, 5) human rights, gender, family, and caste, and 6) theoretical and methodological issues.
Phase two of the project was marked by a large international conference in Chennai with the University of Madras that brought together the network of scholars in the field.
The BORI in its partnership with the OCHS has compiled a database of Bhagavata Purana manuscripts and secondary literature and is assessing a critical edition of the text.
In 2018, Bjarne Oleson established a study and research centre for the project in Kathmandu with a focus on manuscript collection and preservation and fieldwork.
[23] The Shakta Traditions project resulted from the memorandum of understanding between the OCHS and Aarhus University and is run as a collaboration between the two institutions.
[35][36] Project Managers: Kiyokazu Okita, Rembert Lutjeharms This project investigates the formative period of Gaudiya Vaishnavism through research into the Sanskrit writings of the Goswamis, a group of early followers of Krishna Chaitanya whose works provided the theological underpinning of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
These gatherings have dealt with topics including the idea of Desire, Women in Hinduism, Philosophy, Archaeology, temple art and architecture, and Shakta Traditions.
The conference took an interdisciplinary survey of Shakta history, practice, and doctrine with the aim of exploring the tradition's uniqueness in the context of the Indian religious landscape.
[41][42] In order to further develop the Bhagavata Purana Project, the OCHS held a conference in Chennai co-hosted by the University of Madras and C.P.
[33] To officially launch the Gosvami Era Project, a two-day workshop titled 'The Building of Vrindavana' (2017), was held at Oxford.
As discussed in the book, they take interest in the task of translating a conventionally Christian notion of Chaplaincy into Hindu terms.
[47] The Bhumi Project is one of the centre's key outreach programs and aims to mobilize Hindus against climate change globally.
Its inauguration was held at Windsor Castle in the presence of Prince Philip and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
[46] The Bhumi Project has also facilitated Hindu Environment Week for several years, in which events to raise awareness of environmental issues are held across the world (India, UK, US) - there were over 10,000 global participants in 2015.
[50] In October 2006, after being invited by the Emerging Markets Group (EMG), the OCHS began work with Dow Jones in creating the Dharma Index.
The OCHS brought together academics, financial experts, and religious leaders (both Hindu and Buddhist) to form three committees tasked with creating the Index.
The BORI is engaging in a lengthy assessment of the critical edition of the Bhagavata Purana published by the BJ Institute of Learning and Research.
