[INDOLOGY] 51st Annual Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions 2026: Cambridge, UK

[Kush Depala]

Dear All,


(Apologies for cross posting)

We are delighted to announce the dates and call for papers for the Spalding
Symposium on Indian Religions 2026.

After the successful 50th anniversary Spalding Symposium at the University
of Oxford in 2025 on the theme of ‘Festivals and Celebration’, curated by
Professor Jim Mallinson with support from Dr. Pranav Prakash, Dr. Avni
Chag, Dr. Karen O-Brien-Kop & Kush Depala, we are moving on to the
University of Cambridge where Dr Ankur Barua will be the local convenor for
the 51st Spalding Symposium on the topic of ‘Questioning Boundaries’.

Please see the Call for Papers below and hold the dates – more information
to follow soon.

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Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, 2025

Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge

Friday 27th to Saturday 28th March, 2026

Call for Papers – Proposal submission deadline: October 07th 2025

Theme: Questioning Boundaries

As the Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions moves into its fifty-first
rendition, and turns a new corner, we would like to take this opportunity
to examine the state of the field of Indian Religions, to see where
boundaries are, and where the field might go next.

Questioning a boundary makes one aware of what that boundary is, what
purpose it serves, and what it seeks to keep in, and to keep out. Ancient
texts, such as the Upaniṣads and the Tripiṭaka, have explored the lines
between the perishable and imperishable, the material and immaterial,
dhārmika and adhārmika, right and wrong, true and false. Limits are
negotiated, policed, contested, and crossed, not only in philosophical,
ritual and legal texts, but also in literature, art, performance and even
architecture. Boundaries become fluid, and status-quos are challenged as
ideas, methods and thoughts are applied and re-applied in new contexts.

The scholarly field of Indian Religions has examined the role of boundaries
and limits. More recently, scholarship has focused on boundaries of the
global north and south, the human and the ecological, and boundaries of
religious traditions. We have also seen work that challenges disciplinary
boundaries and methodological approaches, and also involves interlocutors,
artists, filmmakers and the public.

Where can the field go next? How can and do scholars interact with the
digital, the material, and the global? What new approaches may they use?
What should the 2025 scholar of Indology and/or Indian Religions be aware
of, and what other places can the modern scholar learn from? How can the
field become more equitable and open to new approaches and methods? How can
the study of Indian Religions maintain its relevancy in a time and place
where the Humanities are increasingly under threat? And how can the study
of Indian Religions help us deal with the problems of today such as
isolation, extremism, post-truthism, intolerance and climate change?

We welcome papers on the theme of “Questioning Boundaries” from the
humanities, social sciences and other disciplines, from a variety of
methodological approaches (such as, but not limited to, textual, visual,
sonic and ethnographic approaches), focusing on past as well as present
contexts. Paper proposals might include but are not limited to the
following topics:

   -

   Shifting disciplinary boundaries
   -

   New methodological approaches and opportunities
   -

   Temporal limits (modernity, medieval, ancient)
   -

   Geographic boundaries (north/south, diaspora and migration)
   -

   Religious/secular lines
   -

   Ritual frames
   -

   Human/ecological interactions
   -

   Linguistic divisions and overlaps
   -

   Textual/material/oral spheres
   -

   Boundary makers and boundary breakers
   -

   Comparison and contrast
   -

   Scholar/practitioner approaches
   -

   Emic/etic approaches

Presenters are allocated forty minutes for their paper and twenty minutes
for discussion. As the conference will be in person, a conference fee will
apply.

We also welcome proposals from advanced doctoral candidates, who will be
allocated twenty minutes for their paper and ten minutes for discussion.
Doctoral students may be entitled to bursaries if their papers are accepted.

If you would like to give a presentation, please fill out this Google form (
https://forms.gle/iH8UvUJdqeh1VhJfA) with a title, abstract (maximum 500
words), short bio and affiliation to the Spalding Symposium committee, by
7th October 2025.

Due to the typical volume of submissions, individual feedback on proposals
cannot be provided. Successful proposals will be announced in November 2025.

For further enquiries please email the committee on the email address:
spaldingsymposium1 at gmail.com.

With best wishes,

Dr. Ankur Barua (Cambridge)
– local convenor 2025

and

Kush Depala (Heidelberg), Hershini Soneji (Cambridge), & Dr. Saran
Suebsantiwongse (Leiden)
– the organising committee
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