Scripture in Inner Asia: A Symposium on Religious Books and Manuscripts
Ten scholars in the Boston area share their work on books in different religious traditions in Inner Asia
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Inner Asia refers to the vast stretches of inland Eurasia between the Caucasus and the Hinggan Mountains, hemmed laterally by the Siberian Tundras and the Himalayan mountains. Mobility, cultural exchange, and campaigns of conquest, as well as their opposite — the quaint, isolated lives of nomads and Oasis farmers — have characterized its history. Accordingly, religious texts bear marks of both traversed distances and secluded growth.
At this Rare Book School event, we bring together textual scholars in the region with a shared focus on the religious texts and critical bibliography, engaging with not just the content of the books, but how we relate to them as physical objects.
Our esteemed speakers will share their research on Inner Asian books in the Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian religions, as well as the textual traditions in the Native Religions and the spiritual legacy of the Mongol Empire. The time and space covered collectively spans from the 12th c. Tibet, Mongol Korea in the 13th c., the 18th-20th c. Qing juggernaut, the heady days of the Japanese Empire, and contemporary Mongolia.
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