DALLAS (TIP): The University of North Texas has named George Alfred James, a distinguished faculty member in the department of philosophy and religion, as its first Bhagwan Adinath Professor of Jain Studies. The professorship aims to promote Jainism, an ancient religion of India, in the US. It was created in the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences with a USD 500,000 gift from the Jain Education and Research Foundation.
The professorship was established by the foundation to promote the study of Jainism, an ancient religion of India, in the United States. The central tenet of Jainism is nonviolence and love toward all living beings, with nonviolence, non-absolutism and non-possessiveness as the three main principles. Mahatma Gandhi adopted many Jain principles in his life, although he was born and raised Hindu. The professorship at UNT is named for the first Tirthankara, a spiritual guide in Jain tradition who preaches the dharma, or righteous path.
On June 27, 2017 Jain Education and Research Foundation signed an MoU to establish the Professorship in Jain Studies at the University of North Texas (UNT). This was the second major initiative after successful establishment of the Bhagwan Mahavir Professorship of Jain Studies at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami in 2010. The professorship at FIU has flourished in the past 6 years exposing thousands of students to Jain values through academic courses and other programs. The program at UNT aims to follow in the footsteps of FIU to create a perpetual center of Jain education and research. UNT is ideally suited for this endeavor with its many scholars of Jainism and other Asian cultures. UNT is also one of the largest Tier-1 US universities with student body of almost 40,000 from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.
James, who joined the UNT faculty in 1983, has included information about Jainism in the courses on South Asian philosophy and world religions that he teaches in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. The department also occasionally offers a course on Jainism, which was created after Pankaj Jain was hired as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Department of Anthropology. Jain taught a similar course at North Carolina State University.
James also studies environmental movements in India and has traveled extensively to the nation for his research.
He said a Jain professorship at UNT “will help to fortify the religion program and provide UNT with distinction.”
“Not every university includes information about Jainism as part of its courses, but there’s a long legacy of the influence of Jainism throughout history. The religion’s idea of nonviolence was extremely influential on Gandhi and also Martin Luther King, who adopted Gandhi’s actions during the civil rights movement,” he said. “Unfortunately, the idea of nonviolence is now getting less and less attention in the world.”
Interest from the professorship’s endowment will eventually fund conferences focusing on nonviolence as it pertains to contemporary issues and bring speakers with expertise in Jainism to UNT, James said.
David Holdeman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, said many faculty members and students in the college and at UNT are interested in cultural and social issues pertaining to India.
“We hope that the Jain professorship will help to foster additional discussion not only of Jainism in particular but also of Indian religion and culture more generally. We are excited and grateful to be able to launch this new professorship,” he said.