AAR2016

In years past, I’ve posted a list of Buddhist-studies-related panels and other events at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion. Not this year.

If you’re interested in Buddhism-related stuff, it’s fairly easy to find — the meeting program book is available online here.

But the real reason I’m not making my annual list is because of the following. Folks are uneasy. There’s a concern that folks — Especially folks of color, women, and other minorities — traveling to AAR could be the subject of assault or antagonism by those emboldened by the results of last week’s election.

My home institution is suggesting that folks travel in groups to avoid confrontation. And I’d like to offer myself as traveling companion. I’ll be in San Antonio for nearly the duration of the event — I arrive Thursday evening and fly out Tuesday morning. If you feel unsafe, if you need someone to accompany you back to your hotel, reach out to me. (Twitter‘s probably the easiest if we don’t know each other personally.)

The work we do as scholars is important, doubly so in the current climate. And I hope that this work continues both despite and in spite of the current climate. We’re in this together.