大发彩票平台

Arvind Sharma

Academic title(s): 

Birks Professor in Comparative Religion

Arvind Sharma
Contact Information
Address: 

3520 University Street, Room 103
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2A7, Canada

Phone: 
514-398-4123
Fax number: 
514-398-6665
Email address: 
arvind.sharma [at] mcgill.ca
Degree(s): 

B.A. (Allahabad)
M.A. (Syracuse)
M.T.S., Ph.D. (Harvard)

Specialization: 

Comparative Religion; Hinduism; Advaita Vedanta

Biography: 

Arvind Sharma was born in India and had his early education there. He then joined the IAS ( Indian Administrative Service) and served in the state of Gujarat (1962-68) before resuming his academic career in the United States, towards the end of which he was appointed as a lecturer in Australia in 1976 and taught at the Universities of Queensland and Sydney. He moved to 大发彩票平台 in 1987 where he is currently the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion. He has also taught in the United States (Northeastern University, Boston University, Temple University, Harvard University) and in India (Nalanda University).

Courses: 
  • RELG 207. Introduction to the Study of Religions.

    Credits: 3
    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)
    This course is not offered this catalogue year.

    Description

    This course is an introduction to classic and contemporary approaches to the academic study of religions. This includes perspectives from philosophy, theology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, phenomenology, and feminism. Students are also exposed to applications of these perspectives from visiting scholars who treat some aspect of a religious tradition in light of current-day interests and events. The primary objective is to introduce students to the principal theories and methods that have shaped our understanding of religion, its various meanings as well as its roles and functions in society.
    • Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken RELG 255.
    • Winter

    Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

  • RELG 348. Classical Hinduism.

    Credits: 3
    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)
    This course is not offered this catalogue year.

    Description

    Surveys classical Hinduism through Sanskrit learning traditions. Topics include: Vedic literature, fables, ethics, statecraft, erotics, liberation, and epic literature.
    • Prerequisite: RELG 252 or permission of the instructor
    • All texts are read in English translation; no prior knowledge is assumed.

    Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

  • RELG 353. Gandhi: His Life and Thought.

    Credits: 3
    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)
    This course is not offered this catalogue year.

    Description

    A study of the life and thought of Gandhi.
    • Winter

    Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

  • RELG 552. Advaita Vedanta.

    Credits: 3
    Offered by: Religious Studies (Faculty of Arts)
    This course is not offered this catalogue year.

    Description

    The relation of Nyaya-Vaisesika and Mimamsa to Kevaladvaita with concentration on Sankara's Brahmasutrabhasya, Pada 1 and 2.
    • Prerequisites: 6 credits in Indian religions
    • Prerequisites: 6 credits in Indian religions

    Most students use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to organize their schedules. VSB helps you plan class schedules, travel time, and more.

Selected publications: 

He has published extensively in the fields of Comparative Religion and Indian Religions. Two books edited by him are widely used in the field: Women in World Religions (SUNY 1987) and Our Religions (Harper, 1993). His most recent work is entitled: Religious Tolerance: A History (2019).

Projects: 

Current Projects

His two foci of current interest are : how to read the MANUSMRTI and how to offer a decolonized account of Indian civilization.

Milestone Projects

Three global conferences in Montreal on World鈥檚 Religions After September 11 in 2006, 2011, and 2016 which were attended by more then 6000 delegates overall and which culminated in the release of A Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World鈥檚 Religions in September 2016.

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