16–19 July, 2010
Villa Vrindavana, Italy

Theme – Education, Preaching, and Conversion

Following the success of its 2nd conference on the theme of “Guru: Person, Position, Possibilities,” the ISKCON Studies Institute invites proposals for presentations at its 3rd conference at Villa Vrindavana, near Florence, Italy.

The theme of this year’s conference – Education, Preaching, and Conversion – addresses concerns central to ISKCON’s history and mission. In what ways have Indic religious traditions, especially the Caitanya Vaisnava tradition, understood and articulated these concepts? How does ISKCON draw from or reinterpret these traditions?

What are the theological underpinnings of present-day educational and preaching practices? The conference offers an academic forum to discuss such questions, especially as they relate to ISKCON, but with attention to their broader context.
Possible topics for discussion include:

• Philosophies of education as articulated or suggested in the
  scriptural corpus
• Historical developments in education, preaching, or conversion
• Articulations of formal and informal education
• Theological understandings of conversion
• Varieties of spiritual transformation
• Nature and dimensions of the conversion experience
• The terminology of education, preaching, and conversion

Each presentation will be about 45 minutes long, followed by discussion.
If you are interested in presenting, please send a 300-word abstract, presentation title, and contact information by September 30 to iskcon.studies@pamho.net.

ISKCON Studies Journal

After a lot of hard work, the first issue of the ISKCON Studies Journal is now available.

The ISJ is one of the main activities of the ISKCON Studies Institute. The idea is that issues will link in to our conferences. Hence, volume two should feature articles from the Guru conference in July.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This issue is full of excellent articles by some of the best scholars in the field of ISKCON Studies.

Accessibility is a key concern so all articles are available on the web. However you can also buy hard copies or pdf of the Journal by clicking here.

Many thanks to all who have made this issue possible – the editors, the authors, and the ISKCON Studies Editorial Board.

This includes presentations by such luminaries as Jayadvaita Swami, Ravindra Svarupa Dasa, Massimo Introvigne, Krsna-ksetra Dasa, Radhika Ramana Dasa, Sesa Dasa, Braja Bihari Dasa, Rembert Lutjeharms, Federico Squarcini, Kumaripriya Dasi, and the venerable Pranava Dasa