Conference on the Study of Religions of India

About CSRI

ANNUAL MEETING 2006

JUNE 8 - 11, 2006

Co-sponsored by:

Albion College,
University of Chicago Committee on Southern Asian Studies,
and
Theology Department & Dean's Office at Loyola University Chicago

Material Religion:
The Intersection between Religion and Material Culture

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO

6525 N. Sheridan Road,
CHICAGO, IL 60626 USA

For driving directions to Loyola University, see
http://www.luc.edu/about/visitor/visitlsc.shtml#public

GETTING FROM THE CHICAGO AIRPORTS TO LOYOLA

From O'Hare International Airport by taxi

The Norshore Taxi Association offers inexpensive transportation to and from O'Hare International Airport. A one-way trip from the airport to campus, for example, costs around $30. This is very reasonable considering that most taxis from O'Hare to campus would charge $40 or more.

To order a Norshore taxi, you should do the following. After you have arrived, cleared immigration and customs, collected your luggage, and exited the arrivals area, go to the nearest public telephone and call 1-800-244-9200. This is a free telephone number; you will not have to put any coins into the telephone. When the dispatcher answers, tell him or her that you have just arrived at O'Hare and would like a taxi. The dispatcher will tell you the number of the taxi that will be sent to you and will also tell you where to wait for it. You will recognize it when it arrives by its number. It usually takes only 10 or 15 minutes for the ordered taxi to arrive.

When the taxi arrives, give the driver your campus address. The trip to campus will take about 45 minutes to one hour. When you arrive at your address, the driver will tell you the final charges ($26). Be sure to give the driver a 15% tip, as well.

From Midway Airport to Campus by taxi

If you arrive at Chicago Midway airport, which is much further from campus, this trip will be more expensive. Even Norshore, one of the least expensive taxi associations, charges at least $40 for a trip from Midway to campus. Also, because of Midway's location, Norshore does not have taxis waiting there. To use a Norshore taxi for transport from Midway, you must call (773) 743-0066 at least one day before your arrival to reserve the taxi. In the end, most students who arrive at Midway decide to use public transport to get to campus. It is less expensive (under $2), and it is just as fast as a taxi. (The trip from Midway to campus, whether by taxi or public transport, takes about 90 minutes.)

Taking public transportation from the airports.

This option is only for people who...
     1. have very little luggage, and
     2. have a sense of adventure, and
     3. do not arrive at rush hour (7:30-9am or 3:30-6pm) or late at night (after 10pm)

From O'Hare airport, take the CTA Blue Line train, and at the "Washington" stop, you change to the northbound (Howard) Red Line train. Take this to "Loyola" stop for Lake Shore campus.

From Midway airport, take the CTA Orange Line train to "State/Lake" stop and walk to the "Lake" stop of the Red Line. Take the northbound (Howard) Red Line train to "Loyola" stop for Lake Shore campus.

Again, this option is not recommended if you have heavy luggage or if you arrive at rush hour or late at night!

Consult the Chicago Transit Authority trip planner to help you with public transportation questions.

The above information was taken from Loyola's Website:

For additional information, please see: http://www.luc.edu/depts/esl/arrival.html

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PROGRAM

[All conference events will be held in Regis Hall on Loyola campus at the intersection of Winthrop Ave and Sheridan Road]

Thursday June 8, 2006

12:00 – 3:30 pm Registration (Regis Hall)

3:30-4:00 Coffee Break

4:00 – 4:30 Inaugural Session

Welcome, Opening Remarks, and Introductions
Selva J. Raj, Albion College

Welcome from On-Site Coordinator
Tracy Pintchman, Loyola University Chicago

SESSION I CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS OF SACRED MATERIALITY-1

Chair: William Harman, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

4:30-5:15                     The Sacred Image in the Age of Mechanical
                                    Reproduction
                                    Ian Muhlhauser, University of Chicago

5:15-6:00 Religious Rhetoric in Visual Arts
Richa Pauranik Clements, Indiana University–Bloomington

6:30 Dinner & Leisure

Friday June 9, 2006

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Greetings from Loyola University

Dr. Isiaah Crawford, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago

CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS OF SACRED MATERIALITY-2

9:30-10:15 The Murti of Yoga: Patanjali as Nagaraja in Contemporary Yoga
Stuart Sarbacker, Northwestern University

10:15-10:30 Coffee Break

10:30-11:45                PLENARY SESSION

                                   Tracy Pintchman, Loyola University Chicago, Presiding

                                   Multidimensionality as South Asia's Religion
                                   McKim Marriott, University of Chicago

12:00 Lunch

SESSION II WOMEN AND MATERIAL RELIGION

Chair: Paul Younger, McMaster University

1:00-1:45 ‘The Gods at Play’ in the Field of Visual Culture
Katherine Hacker, University of British Columbia

1:45-2:30 Gods of Mud, Temples of Flesh: Materials of Worship in Women's Kartik Traditions
Tracy Pintchman, Loyola University Chicago

2:30-3:00 Coffee Break

3:00-3:45 Garbo: the Pot, the Womb, the Goddess, the Song, the Dance
Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, Wellesley College

SESSION III REVISIONING MURTIS

Chair: Chad Bauman, Butler University

4:00- 4:45 Satisfying Ganesh? The Materiality of Milk and a Phenomenology of Devotion
Shreena Gandhi, University of Florida

4:45-5:30 The Art of Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati: The Form and Function of Modern Sacred Imagery (Murtis)
Vilius Rudra Dundzila, Harry S. Truman College

5:30-6:15 The Sacred Power of the Ter in Rush, New York
Sudharshan Duraiyappah, University of Toronto

6:30 Dinner

8:00 pm BHARATANATYAM DANCE RECITAL BY KALAPRIYA (Mullady Theater, Loyola Campus)

Saturday June 10, 2006

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

SESSION 1V MATERIAL CULTURE IN SACRED BUILDINGS

Chair: Corinne G. Dempsey, Univesity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

9:00-9:45 The Architecture of Sikh Memory
Anne Murphy, The New School University

9:45-10:30 Material Culture in Brahmanical Hinduism
Prabhavati C. Reddy, Northwestern University

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-11:45 "Material Dialogue" in Catholic Lay Religion in South India
Selva J. Raj, Albion College

12:00 Lunch

SESSION V NATURE AND MATERIAL RELIGION

Chair: Robin Rinehart, Lafayette College

1:00-1:45 Circumambulating Govardan Hill: The Yatra of a Pilgrim
Leena Taneja, Stetson University

1:45-2:30 Maruti’s Mountaintop Power: Shri Jarandeshvar Devasthan
Jeff Brackett, Ball State University

2:30-3:00 Coffee Break

3:00-3:45 From Balarama to Biotech: Narrative, Agricultural Ethics and Material Culture
Whitney Sanford, Iowa State University

4:00-4:30 Business Meeting

6:00 Happy Hour followed by Indian Dinner

Sunday June 11, 2006

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 Visit to Swaminarayan Temple, Bartlett, Illinois

12:00 Lunch & Depart

See you next year!

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Tracy Pintchman
and
Loyola University Chicago
for hosting the 2006 Annual Meeting of CSRI.

PLEASE NOTE:

Conference participants may park their vehicles in the main parking garage of Loyola at the intersection of Winthrop Ave and Sheridan Road. Parking fee is $6.00 per day.

Proceed through the main entrance of campus toward the parking structure. Do not enter the main entrance of the structure. Rather, proceed to the security entrance gate and park. Identify yourself as a conference participant.

For additional information, contact:

Selva J. Raj
Department of Religious Studies
Albion College
Albion, MI 49224
(517) 629-0400
sraj@albion.edu

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