Jain Studies is the academic exploration of Jainism, one of the oldest living religious traditions in the world, originating in India over 2,500 years ago. Jainism emphasizes non-violence (ahimsa), non-absolutism (anekantavada), compassion for all living beings, and ascetic practices aimed at ethical self-cultivation. Its philosophy and doctrine have contributed to community engagement with issues of environmental sustainability, animal rights activism, and mindful consumption, with growing relevance in today’s world as we face critical global issues like climate change, social inequality, and mental well-being. Jainism’s core teachings focus on ethical conduct, self-discipline, and the pursuit of individual moral virtue, providing a profound framework for understanding concepts of morality and the nature of the soul and self alongside other South Asian religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism.
The Jain Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a new and expanding initiative, established in 2023 and housed under the Shri Anantanatha Endowed Chair in Jain Studies in Jain Studies within the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. With a focus on both academic scholarship and community outreach, the program offers students the opportunity to engage with Jain ethical practices through interdisciplinary courses, workshops, and service learning. The program also connects the UW-Madison campus with local Jain and South Asian diaspora communities, building bridges that promote cultural understanding and collaboration.
Students interested in exploring Jainism within a broader South Asian context are encouraged to learn more about the Asian Languages & Cultures major, as well as the South Asian Studies Certificate offered through the Center for South Asia.
Śrī Anantnāth Endowed Chair in Jain Studies
Dr. Miki Chase is Assistant Professor in South Asian Studies and holds the Shri Anantanatha Endowed Chair in Jain Studies in ALC. Her research and teaching focuses on intersections of religion, law, and gender in questions of care around death and dying in India, with a specific focus on Jainism. Dr. Chase’s book project in progress is an examination of social negotiations of the ascetic ethical disposition in the Jain voluntary fast unto death. Based on fieldwork in Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai, her work uses ethnographic methods to trace the gendered norms through which Jain laywomen reshape ideals and concepts of death outlined in scripture, attending to the complexities of urban domestic life, the medicalization of death, and the shifting political and legal terrain following public interest litigation contesting the legality of the fast. Her research has been funded by the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) (2019-20) and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (2018-19). Email Dr. Chase at mochase@wisc.edu.
The Shri Anantanatha Endowed Chair in Jain Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison represents a significant commitment to the academic study of Jainism and its broader cultural and philosophical contexts. Established to promote the study and teaching of Jainism, the Chair supports research and educational initiatives that explore Jain philosophy, religion, history, and ethics. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is grateful to Bipin & Rekha Shah, Harshad & Raksha Shah, Jasvant & Meera Modi, and Prem & Sandhya Jain for their generous gift, which enabled the endowment of the Shri Anantanatha Chair.
News & Events
09/30/24 – Dr. Miki Chase, Shri Anantanatha Endowed Chair in Jain Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is named recipient of the 2024 Mohini Jain Presidential Chair in Jain Studies Best Dissertation Prize from the Department of Religious Studies at University of California, Davis. Read more.
10/05/23 – Public Talk: “Nonviolence as Practice: Lessons from a Museum Exhibition about Jainism” by Dr. Johannes Beltz, Chief Curator of “Being Jain” Exhibition, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, Head of Collections & Deputy Director, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland.
Jain Studies Connections at UW-Madison
Related Course Offerings
ASIAN 300: Jainism: Religion & Culture of Nonviolence
ASIAN 274: Religion in South Asia
ASIAN 252: Contemporary Indian Society
ASIAN 301: Animal Ethics in Asia
ASIAN 100: Euthan(Asia): Defining a Good Death
ASIAN 301: Debating Life and Death in India
ASIAN 405: Gods and Goddesses of South Asia
ASIAN 428: Visual Culture of India
ASIAN 473: Meditation in Indian Buddhism & Hinduism
ASIAN 655: Ethnography in Asia
