article + 6 photographs from the Manuscriptistan Project

Recent scholarly work has focused on the erasure and mistreatment of bisexuality in histories of sexuality. Such erasure is not only observed in academic work but also in the lived experiences of people who identify as plurisexuals. The present paper brings together studies on bisexuality, hegemony, and sexual politics to explain the discursively…[Read more]

Belonging to the retrovision genre, It’s a Sin (2021) dramatizes the early years of the pandemic. Audiences are shown what reality was like before and immediately after the outbreak of HIV/AIDS. It narrates the transition from a sex-positive era where non-heterosexual people were standing up for their freedom to love, have sex and enjoy life to a…[Read more]

The present study contributes to recent scholarship on homosexism and side sexualities by providing empirical evidence that supports stigmatizing societal responses to non-penetrative sexual practices among men who have sex with men as well as to those engaging in such practices. The study provides a close reading of two scenes of the series…[Read more]

Equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of all educational reforms taking place at this moment around the world. However, the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) industry has not yet followed through. This chapter focuses on the inclusion of LGBTQI+ references in EFL materials as an example of inclusive practice but aims to be adaptable…[Read more]

On Friday, September 21, 2018, news reports on Greek corporate media announced the death of a man who had allegedly attempted to rob a jewellery store. The media announcement was accompanied by video footage in which two civilians were shown violently attacking the alleged thief while the latter was attempting to escape the jewellery store. A…[Read more]

In comics: how ancient rabbis upend “traditional” ideas of reproduction, gender, and humanity. A blog post commissioned by UC Press Blog about the book When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species.

Link: htt…[Read more]

In 2023, a new museum opened in Tbilisi, at the Writer’s House of Georgia that previously house the Soviet Writers’ Union: The Museum of Repressed Writers. The museum honours the executed poets from Georgia’s Soviet past, poets whose identities Soviet authorities tried to destroy. This article examines the story the museum tells about Soviet l…[Read more]

Two of the most fundamental distinctions in metaphysics are (1) that between reality (or things in themselves) and appearance, the R/A distinction, and (2) that between entities that are fundamental (or real, etcetera) and entities that are ontologically or existentially dependent, the F/D distinction. While these appear to be two very different…[Read more]

A survey of Buddhism in Japan from roughly the time of its introduction into the mid-ninth century. The following topics are covered:
The Introduction of Buddhism to Japan – Transmission Myths – The Myth of Prince Shōtoku – The Myth of a Buddhist-Shintō Rivalry – Temples in and around the Capital – Provincial Temples – The Order of Nuns – Female…[Read more]

Three consecutive patriarchs of Esoteric Buddhism were Amoghavajra of India, Huiguo of China, and Kūkai of Japan. This paper foregrounds the usually taken-for-granted but vital historical role of language education and translation in the international spread of religion and culture. There had to be sufficiently educated bilingual or multilingual…[Read more]

This is pre-publication preview introduces the major questions, methods, and insights of my book When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis & the Reproduction of Species (UC Press, 2023).

Through the book Kūkai the Universal, the podcast guest discusses the life and times of Japan’s great saint Kūkai, Esoteric Buddhism, and Zen, in terms of East Asian history, language education, and translation issues including voice.

पत्रकार और शिक्षाविद् प्रमोद रंजन ने जून, 2017 में हिमाचल प्रदेश के दुर्गम इलाकों की यात्रा की थी। इस यात्रा में उन्हें किन्नौर जिले के सुदूर गांव कानम के एक गोम्पा में सुमार नाम की जोमो मिलीं। जोमो यानी बौद्ध भिक्षुणी। मध्य हिमालय की अपूर्व शांति से भरी उस घाटी में सहज वात्सल्य से भरीं 56 वर्षीय सुमार के साथ कुछ घंटे बिताना उनके लिए एक अनूठा अ…[Read more]

In this short article I argue that the UK government’s decision not to update the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) is more than a missed opportunity. It weaponises the GRA, now an effective instrument of assimilation and containment. The failure to reform the GRA seems like a maintenance of the status quo, but given that the circumstances have s…[Read more]

खूबसूरत प्राकृतिक दृश्यों से परिपूर्ण किन्नौर का समाज व संस्कृति शेष भारत से अलग है। यह बौद्ध धर्म का इलाका है, जिसे हिंदूवादी संस्कृति लीलती जा रही है। आर्थिक संपन्नता के आगमन से जाति-आधारित उत्पीड़न और भेदभाव कम हो रहा है। प्रमोद रंजन ने इस यात्रा संस्मरण में किन्नौर की विशिष्ट संस्कृति, बहु पत्नी प्रथा, वहां के समाज और राजनीति…[Read more]

Satire, Humor, and Environmental Crises explores how satire and humor can be employed to address and mitigate ecological crises at individual and collective levels.

Besides scientific and technological endeavors, solutions to ecological crises must entail social and communicative reform to persuade citizens, corporations, organizations, and…[Read more]

The multimedia aspects of one of the most beautifully illuminated charters is in the focus of this paper.

Th is essay deals with the relevance of medieval grants of arms in art history, focusing on the aspects of innovation and quality. Th e fi rst part discusses the origins of innovative prototypes that did not yet match the quality of later grants of arms. Th e second part presents a selection of qualitative landmarks in the history of grants of…[Read more]