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Gender and Labor in Transnational Jainism Online Conference
Call For Papers (CFP)
Saturday, February 20, 2027 | Online
7:00 AM–2:00 PM PT / 10:00 AM–5:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM–11:00 PM CET / 8:30 PM–3:30 AM IST
Arihanta Institute invites proposals for the online conference Gender and Labor in Transnational Jainism, a one-day scholarly gathering exploring intersections of gender, labor, and transnationalism through the lens of Engaged Jain Studies. The conference will be held live online and will be recorded. If you would like to receive conference updates, speaker announcements, and registration information as the program develops, register here.
Call for Papers
Arihanta Institute cordially invites scholars to explore issues of gender, labor and transnational intersections through the lens of Engaged Jain Studies (EJS). This developing field, which takes as its object Engaged Jainism (Miller and Bohanec 2026), makes connections between the study of Jainism and historical and contemporary issues, exploring topics from the perspective of social justice, environmentalism, sustainability, wellness and transnationalism. To think about EJS is to consider the ways that we can study interactions between Jains and the communities around them, while exploring their approach to religiosity as a conscious lifestyle rather than a prescriptive set of unengaged regulations.
An engaged lens can allow for a more effective analysis of prominent organizations and leaders who promote Jain values as a path toward a more sustainable and nonviolent world. However, it is also imperative to apply this framework when addressing the broader Jain community as they play a crucial role in shaping spaces of engagement and authority. The ways in which Jain families embody and publicly express their values serve as important agents in the preservation and transmission of their identity. These expressions demonstrate the influence of Jainism in domestic and communal spaces that often fall beyond the direct reach of larger institutions. Everyday activities are actively performed according to these values. The work they do, their labor, refers to much more than their means of subsistence. From the jobs they perform to the housework they share and delegate among family members, their labor serves as a constant tool for the praxis of ahiṃsā, aiding in the production and reproduction of their socio-cultural and religious identity. Labor is also a deeply gendered phenomenon as work and care expectations are intrinsically connected to daily domestic and communal operations. Accordingly, this colloquium invites scholars to discuss intersections of gender and labor in Jain thought and practice, especially as they exist outside of India.
Finally, the colloquium aims to generate new avenues of inquiry into Engaged Jain Studies by encouraging critical reflection on the theoretical and methodological challenges facing contemporary Jain Studies and by highlighting in its featured papers the multiple theoretical modes through which this framework can be systematically applied. It aims to expand the various analytical frameworks of EJS by focusing on themes such as gender, labor, food, and transnationalism which continue to gain attention as promising directions for future research. Its goal is to bring together scholars working on these themes not only to encourage interdisciplinary dialog, but also as an opportunity to advance and diversify the field of EJS more broadly, examining questions such as: Which approaches and disciplines best contribute to new understandings of gender and labor in Jain communities and experiences? What has been lacking in previous research? What improvements can be made? How can we effectively navigate through the methodological frameworks operative under EJS and how can they augment our current research?
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Gender and religious authority
- Care work and community formation
- Foodways, ethics, and religious identity
- Domestic and ritual labor
- Jain diaspora and transnational communities
- Environmentalism, veganism, and animal advocacy
- Digital Jain communities
- Youth and contemporary Jain identities
- Socially engaged Jainism and social action
- Methodological and theoretical approaches to contemporary Jain Studies
- Lived religion and everyday practice
- Gender as a category of analysis in Jain Studies
We welcome proposals from both established scholars and graduate students. All proposals must include (1) a title, (2) an abstract no longer than 250 words and (3) a few keywords that describe your work. Please reach out to Carol Rodriguez (carol.rodriguez@arihantainstitute.org) with your submissions, questions and/or concerns.
Abstract submission deadline: October 15, 2026
Notification of acceptance: November 15, 2026
Colloquium: February 20, 2027
Works Cited
Miller, Christopher & Cogen Bohanec. 2026. Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement. SUNY: State University of New York Press.