"What Can Buddhist Studies Offer Survivors?"

A Roundtable Discussion Featuring Kali Nyima Cape, Damchö Diana Finnegan, Ann Gleig, Sarah Jacoby, and Amy Paris Langenberg

Abstract

At the October 2024 Heartwood/Northwestern symposium, a panel of Buddhist Studies scholars responded to a series of questions regarding the academic study of sexual abuse in Buddhist Studies. Topics included Buddhist Studies' history of responding to the issue of sexual violence, barriers to Buddhist Studies as a field taking a survivor-centered approach, what Buddhist Studies can offer to survivors of sexual abuse in Buddhist communities, how survivor-centered approach in Buddhist Studies might open new areas of study and new perspectives on Buddhism, and the relationship between advocacy and scholarship more generally.