Indian Religious Traditions in Context

ASIANetwork invites you to apply to join a two-week travel seminar to India (December 27, 2026 – January 9, 2027) designed to enrich faculty skills, forge new teaching and research collaborations, and enhance teaching excellence across a range of academic fields and departmental commitments. ASIANetwork will provide documentation in support of participants’ requests for institutional faculty development funds.

The seminar, structured as a short-term study abroad course (“World Religions in India”) will familiarize faculty with the logistics and format of onsite immersive learning. Participants will be selected to foster interdisciplinary conversations and engagements with faculty at Indian institutions (e.g. colleges of Delhi University), including workshops and scholarly colloquia for sharing of pedagogical and research work and academic exchange. The goals of the program are to:

• Cultivate professional networks and scholarship 
  • Establish connections with faculty at several Indian campuses
  • Present ongoing research / pedagogy in a scholarly symposium
• Kickstart your own Short-term Study Abroad Course 
  • Develop a rubric for on-site immersive learning
  • Generate meaningful site-specific learning outcomes
  • Feel the pace of short-term study abroad
• Bring knowledge back to campus
  • Improve your existing courses across a range of teaching areas
  • Contribute new perspectives and expertise to course proposals
  • Build confidence teaching about India’s connections to your curriculum
• Experience “World Religions in India” 
  • Visit 9 UNESCO World Heritage sites in North India
  • Learn about Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and Baha’i traditions
  • Eat, pray, and learn local culture!

This seminar is designed and led by Dr. James Godde (Monmouth College), an experienced director of short-term study abroad programs, and Dr. Nick Tackes (Xavier University), an ethnographer of Indian religions. A full tentative itinerary is below, and includes focused visits with contextual guidance to a suite of key religious and cultural points of interest. Curricular connections are infused throughout the duration of the seminar. The participation fee, including in-country transportation, accommodations, programming, and meals, is only $1,500. (International airfare is on your own.) To apply for this opportunity, please complete an application that includes a statement of interest, traveler details / accommodations, and a proposal for a research / pedagogy paper to workshop at Delhi University symposium. For full consideration, the completed application must be submitted by May 1, 2026.

Contact: James Godde and Nick Tackes