Our Program

Itinerary Daily Schedule Lectures and Courses Community Interaction Independent Project Language Tutorials

The International Summer School for Jain Studies (ISSJS) is an annual academic summer program that began in 2005. The program is intended to provide students and scholars with the opportunity to pursue Jain studies in India from June 1st to July 31st.

During this two month period, ISSJS students will spend most of their time studying in the North Indian cities of New Delhi, Jaipur and Ladnun in Rajasthan. Program participants will also go on day and weekend trips to other sites of interest, including Mathura, Mt. Abu, and Ranakpur.

Below you will find the ISSJS expected Itinerary (subject to change) and Daily Schedule for the 2008 summer program. All of the travel arrangements from North America and within India in conjunction ISSJS will be arranged and paid for by ISSJS (please see our section for “admitted students” for further details).

Date		Place
June 1st - 12th		Lal Bahadur Shasri Sanskrit Vidhyapeeth New Delhi
June 14th – July 8th		Jain Vidhya Sansthan. Savai Ram Singh Marg, Jaipur, Rajasthan. Two days at Jan Vishva Bharti Institute Ladnun included.
July 8th- 15th		Independent projects with Jain Scholars
July 15th - 27th		Chotti-Dadawari, New Delhi

A TYPICAL DAILY	SCHED	ULE :
6.00 - 6.45		Tea, getting ready.
6.45-7.30		Mediataion / poojas (optional)
7.30- 8.00		Breakfast
8.00 -9.30		Academic lesson I
9.30 -9.45		Coffee Break
9.45 -11.15		Academic lesson II
11.15-11.30		Coffee break
11.30-13.00 PM		Lunch
14.00 – 18.00		Free time for work on your independent project etc. Academic support will be available
18.00 -19.00 PM		Dinner

Lectures and Courses

ISSJS academic lessons will be delivered by notable Indian scholars and will cover a range of topics from Jain history and philosophy to ritual practice and contemporary Jain life. Topics in Jain ritual and practice will be delivered by scholars as well Jain community members. The finalized list of speakers and lecturers, as well as the final daily lesson and lecture schedule will be distributed upon arrival in India. Please follow the highlighted links to view the tentative two-month course program details* and reading list*.


Community Interaction

An integral part of this program is the opportunity to conceptualize what is learned in the classroom by visiting academic and historical places of interest and interacting with Jain communities. On evenings and weekends, students will have the opportunity to visit homes of Jain families, observe family ceremonies, temple rituals and festivals. Since we will be traveling to a number of different locations in India, this course of study will vary and our program participants will have the opportunity to experience Jain communities in diverse locations and environments. Please take the time to review our ISSJS IN INDIA SLIDE SHOW* for a chance to see such varying aspects of the program .

After lectures and during the times we commit to community interaction, ISSJS participants will have the unique opportunity to speak with members of the Jain community including scholars, government officials, practitioners and ascetics. In past years, our students have found that this time is particularly helpful for networking and establishing connections that may support further academic research and fieldwork.

Independent Project

Throughout the summer, program participants will be expected to engage in independent research that will result in the composition of a final research paper. The topic of this paper is flexible as long as it corresponds to the course materials or community interaction (you will have the opportunity to discuss your topics with ISSJS staff and guest lecturers). Please see a list of paper topics by former students . A copy of your composition must be sent to the directors of ISSJS. While you may begin composing this paper while you are in India, previous students found that it was a better use of time to complete the essay upon return to their home institution (we request that the paper be submitted within 4 weeks of return).

Language Tutorials

In addition to the daily lecture series, community interaction and independent projects, the ISSJS will provide language tutorials for students already engaged in the study of Hindi, Prakrit. Tutorials will be based on student requests for five out of the eight weeks of the program. If you are interested in a language tutorial make sure that you have noted this on your application. 2008 will be the first year that we will be offering language tutorials. Tutorials will be arranged to meet the needs of individual students. Please contact us at info@jainstudies.org for further information.