Humanities and Social Sciences

Philosophy and Religious Studies

News & Events 2007

• December 2007 - New Publication
  

  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo is proud to announce the publication of Dr Harry Oldmeadow’s, A Christian Pilgrim in India: The Spiritual Journey of Swami Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux). 
   
  For more information see the publisher’s website: www.worldwisdom.com
  
  

• December 2007 - Dr Harry Oldmeadow presents at Rumi Symposium in Sydney
  

  Dr Harry Oldmeadow presented his paper, ‘A Pasture of Gazelles’: Rumi and the Modern Encounter of Religions at the Australian Centre for Sufism International Symposium, Sydney, 9th December, 2007.  For more information see: http://www.australiansuficentre.org/events.htm

  
  
  
• November 2007 – American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Conference, San Diego
  From the 16–20th November 2007 Peter Chang attended the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Religion at San Diego. Peter is a member of the Comparative Religious Ethics panel and presented a paper titled ‘Comparative Study of Conscience: Anglican Bishop Joseph Butler and the Neo-Confucianist Wang Yang-ming (王阳明)’. At the conference Peter also networked and started the groundwork for research on bioethics, specifically from the Confucian perspective.
  
  For general information on the conference see the AAR website: <http://www.aarweb.org>  
  
  
• November 2007 - National Australian Sanskrit Conference at ANU Canberra
  

  On the weekend of 17-18th November 2008 Chris Street attended the inaugural National Australian Sanskrit Conference at ANU Canberra. Delegates attended from all over Australia and the papers offered covered such diverse topics as Pānini’s grammar, the Sanskritisation of Buddhist texts and the significance of the Mahābhārata as a cultural artifact in early historical India.
  
  
  

• October 2007 - New Publication
  

  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo announce the publication of Dr Brian Coman’s essay, ‘The right to personal ownership, use and disposal of property subject to the right of others’ in Life to the Full: Christian Social Teachings in the Australian Context (edited by James Franklin).  Brian is an Honorary Associate with the Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline.  He is the author of A Loose Canon: Essays on History, Modernity and Tradition.

  For more information see the publisher’s website: www.connorcourt.com.au
  
  

• October 2007 - $750 Theosophical Society Perennial Philosophy Essay Prize
  

  The Bendigo Art Program and the Theosophical Society announce the inaugural La Trobe University Bendigo / Theosophical Society Perennial Philosophy undergraduate and postgraduate prizes.  From 2007, annual prizes of $750 each will be presented for (a) the best undergraduate essay of at least 3,000 words, and (b) the best postgraduate essay of at least 5,000 words, on any aspect of the perennial philosophy.  Any student enrolled in the BA/BA Honours at Bendigo is eligible for the undergraduate prize.  The postgraduate prize is open to any student enrolled at Bendigo in a Grad. Dip. in Arts, Masters of Arts or PhD. 

  Submission Closing Date: 30th of Nov. 2007.
  Enquiries: Dr Harry Oldmeadow

  The Arts Program Bendigo is grateful to The Theosophical Society of Australia for this generous donation.

• October 2007 - $400 The Australasian Society for Classical Studies Essay Prize
  

  Undergraduate students are invited to offer submissions for The Australasian Society for Classical Studies Essay Prize.  The Australasian Society for Classical Studies annually offers a prize of $400 for an undergraduate essay on any aspect of Classical Studies: the languages, history, thought and archaeology of the Ancient World.  Up to two “Runner-Up” Prizes of $100 each may also be awarded.  The length should be between 1,000 and 3,000 words. 

  Submission Closing Date: 30th of Nov. 2007.
  Enquiries: Dr Rod Blackhirst

• October 2007 - Welcome to new staff
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo welcomes Dr Algis Uždavinys joining us from The Centre of Oriental Studies, Vilnius University in Lithuania. Algis comes to us as Research Officer in Hellenic and Islamic Philosophy.
• September 2007 - Announcement of new journal and call for articles
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at La Trobe University, Bendigo, announces the launch of Eye of the Heart, a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal in the field of Traditional Philosophy and Religious Studies.
  
  
  
  Call for articles
  
  Eye of the Heart is seeking original scholarly articles. There are no thematic constraints; however, as part of the early development of the journal we are seeking articles that will clarify and defend key traditional methodologies, such as Hermeneia (Greek), Nirukta (Hinduism), Lectio Divina (Christian), and Kabbalistic practices such as gematria, notariqon, and temura.  Other areas of interest include: Metaphysics, Theology, Philosophy, Cosmology, Mythology, Symbolism, Sacred art, Religious forms, the Spiritual Life, and the Sophia Perennis.
  
  

  Proposals or letters of query can be directed to editor:
  Dr Timothy Scott
  Arts Program
  La Trobe University, P.O. Box 199,
  Bendigo 3552, Australia
  Tel: +61 3 5444 7243
  Fax: +61 3 5444 7970
  Email: t.scott@latrobe.edu.au
  
  For more information regarding call for articles

• September 2007 - Welcome to new staff
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo welcomes Dr Peter Chang joining us from Harvard Univesity. Peter comes to us as a new Research Officer in Traditional Chinese Studies. He has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is presently working on the derivation of human rights from traditional Chinese sources.
• July 2007 - New publication
  

  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo is proud to announce the publication of Dr Brian Coman’s new book, A Loose Canon: Essays on History, Modernity and Tradition.  Brian is an Honorary Associate who aligns his research with the Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline. 

  

  For more information see the publisher’s website: www.connorcourt.com.au

  
  

• June 2007 - New staff
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo is pleased to announce the appointment of three new staff members: Dr Timothy Scott, Dr Peter Chang, and Dr Algis Uždavinys. Dr Scott has already commenced work and the other two will be here in August or September.
  
  Dr Timothy Scott returns to Australia after six years in Europe, including three years teaching in Oxford. His primary role in the program is to act as executive editor of a new on-line journal in the field of Traditional Philosophy and Religion. This journal is called Eye of the Heart. Timothy was awarded his doctorate from La Trobe in 2003. His research focus is traditional metaphysics and symbolism. He has published numerous articles in international journals and his work appears in several key anthologies in the field. His first book, Symbolism of the Ark, is forthcoming from Fons Vitae publishing.
• March 2007 - New publication
  

  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo is proud to announce the publication of Dr Harry Oldmeadow’s, Light from the East: Eastern Wisdom for the Modern West. 
  

  Light from the East is a companion piece to Dr Oldmeadow’s Journey’s East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions published by World Wisdom in 2004 and now established as a university text in the US.
  PIC
   
  For more information see the publisher’s website: www.worldwisdom.com

• March 2007 - Welcome to new doctoral candiate
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline at Bendigo welcomes Chris Drew who joins us as a new PhD candiate. Chris was awarded a First Class Honours in History of Ideas from Adelaide University in 2004. His doctoral thesis is titled "Characterizing Selfhood in the 16th Century: A study of the Mental Health of Paracelsus as evinced from his Seven Defences."

• Feburary 2007 - $500,000 grant
  The Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline within the Arts Program at Bendigo is excited to announce a generous external grant of $500,000. This funding will enable the creation of new research opportunities within the Program.

• January-Feburary 2007 - Animals in Religion
  A series of short public lectures and seminars, organised and sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies discipline, explored the place of animals in the world's myths and religions.

• November 2006 - Lecture tour of Pakistan
  Dr Rodney Blackhirst (Philosophy and Religious Studies) visited Pakistan where he presented the following lectures: 'Australia Islamica: A Manifesto of Australian Islam' (International Islamic University, Islamabad); 'The Mysteries of Wine and Spiritual Transformation in Sufi and Christian Perspectives' (Sufism and Intercultural Discourse, Iqbal Academy, Lahore); 'Sufism and Goethe', (Goethe and Iqbal Conference, Iqbal Academy, Lahore) and 'The Relevance of Sufism Today' (Minhaj University, Lahore).