Podcast 35

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, speaks with Dr. Johannes Beltz, Deputy Director of the Museum Rietberg in Zürich, Switzerland, about his chapter, "Engaged Curation: Challenges, Experiences, and Potentials from a Museum Exhibition about Jainism," from the edited volume Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement (SUNY Press). Their conversation explores how museum curation can itself become a form of engaged scholarship, bringing together academic research, community collaboration, and public education through the landmark exhibition Being Jain.

Together, Professor Miller and Dr. Beltz discuss the collaborative process behind Being Jain, highlighting the many relationships among museum professionals, Jain communities in Switzerland and India, government officials, and the broader public that shaped the exhibition. They also reflect on Dr. Beltz's earlier research on engaged Buddhism, comparing its historical development with emerging understandings of engaged Jainism and considering how museums can serve as important spaces for dialogue, cultural preservation, and public engagement.

Dr. Beltz's chapter is featured in Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement, edited by Christopher Jain Miller, PhD and Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD. The paperback edition will be released on September 2, and pre-orders are now available through SUNY Press. For a limited time, readers can receive 30% off with coupon code SNPF26.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS

• Pre-order the paperback edition of "Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement" (available September 2) and save 30% with coupon code SNPF26.
• Learn More about the "Being Jain" exhibition, purchase the exhibition catalogue, and engaged the interactive game discussed in this episode.
• Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of Jain Social Engagement

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ABOUT OUR PODCAST GUEST

Dr. Johannes Beltz is Deputy Director of the Museum Rietberg in Zürich, Switzerland, where he serves as curator of the museum's collections of Indian bronzes, sculptures, textiles, and Southeast Asian art. He studied Theology, Indian Studies, and Religious Studies at the Universities of Halle, Strasbourg, Paris, and Lausanne, and conducted extensive research in India throughout the 1990s for his doctoral work. Before joining Museum Rietberg in 2002, he worked at the South Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg. Since 2009, he has chaired the Museum's Curatorial Board, was appointed Assistant Director in 2016, and has lectured regularly at the University of Zurich and the Zurich University of Teacher Education since 2005. His scholarship explores South Asian religions, material culture, and museum practice, with a particular interest in how exhibitions foster dialogue between academic scholarship and living religious communities.

ABOUT OUR PODCAST HOST

Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, is the co-founder, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Jain and Yoga Studies at Arihanta Institute. He completed his PhD in the Study of Religion at the University of California, Davis, and serves as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Zürich's Asien-Orient-Institut and Visiting Professor at Claremont School of Theology, where he co-developed and co-directs the world's first fully online Master of Arts in Engaged Jain Studies.

His research and teaching focus on Engaged Jainism, Modern Yoga, and South Asian Philosophy, and his recent publications include Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge, 2024), Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Approaches to the Study of Jain Social Engagement (SUNY Press, 2025, co-edited with Cogen Bohanec), and Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age (Lexington Books, 2020, co-edited with Pankaj Jain and Michael Reading).Copyright 2026 Arihanta Institute