Department of Philosophy

Gandhi’s Global Legacy International Conference

October 10 & 11 at Fresno State

In this conference, Fresno State celebrates Gandhi’s life and legacy through intellectual and activist analyses, a Classical Indian Music concert, and an Interfaith Prayer event. This two-day international conference will feature internationally known scholars and eminent thinkers including keynote speeches by Rev. James Lawson, Jr., Dolores Huerta, and Nipun Mehta.

The main objective of this event is to explore Gandhi’s global impact and the relevance of his philosophy and methods to confronting our current challenges. How would Gandhi approach our modern issues of social and economic inequity, racism, terrorism, environmental crisis, and overwhelming demoralization? What can be learned from his struggles and strategies to mobilize a movement against injustice?

Conference Schedule

All conference events are free and open to the public. However, we do ask that you please register so we may plan for your attendance.

Oct. 10 - Thursday

1:00-2:30, PETERS BUSINESS ROOM 191

Gandhi’s Journey from Mohandas to Mahatma

Documentary: Gandhi’s Awakening
Discussant: Cynthia Lukas, Film Producer, Writer
Moderator: Mary Husain, CineCulture Advisor/Instructor, California State University, Fresno

3:00-4:15, PETERS BUSINESS ROOM 191

Keynote I: Applying Mahatma Gandhi’s Principles and Ethics in Business and Society: A Framework For 21st Century Business and Community Leaders

Ramsey Jay, Jr., Global Investment Management Executive/Strategic Consultant
Welcome: Dr. Sergio La Porta, Interim Associate Dean, College of Arts and Humanities, California State University, Fresno
Moderator: Dr. Falon Kartch, Associate Professor, Dept. of Communication, California State University, Fresno

4:30, WALK TO THE PEACE GARDEN

5:00-5:40, THE PEACE GARDEN (NEAR Library)

Gandhi’s Prayer Meetings: A Way to Connect to the Human Spirit

Readings and Songs by Students
Moderator: Sam Wittstruck, Student, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno

6:00-7:45, SATELLITE STUDENT UNION (SSU)

Keynote Address: Gandhi and King on the “Arduous Beautiful Struggle”: Lessons in Going Forward

Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr., ‘Architect of the Nonviolent Movement in the US’ (1953-1973); UCLA lecturer
Reflections by Dr. Mary Elizabeth King, Director, James Lawson Institute; Fellow at the University of Oxford
Welcome: Interim Dean Honora Chapman and Dr. Veena Howard, Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy
Moderator: Dr. Francine Oputa, Director Cross Cultural and Gender Center; Chair, the President’s Commission for Human Relations and Equity, California State University, Fresno

Oct. 11 - Friday

8:30-8:50, REFRESHMENTS, PETERS BUSINESS FOYER

8:55-9:50, PETERS BUSINESS, ROOM

191 Keynote II: Lessons we have Learned from Gandhi’s Methods of Nonviolence: How to Empower Your Community!

Dolores Huerta, President and Founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation
Reflections by Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr.
Welcome by California State University, Fresno President Joseph I. Castro and Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval
Moderator: Dr. Andrew Fiala, Director, Ethics Center; Professor, Department of Philosophy, CSU Fresno

10:00-10:50, PETERS BUSINESS ROOM 191

Session 1-Roundtable: Gandhi in the 21st Century

A Revolution of the Heart
Dr. Cheyney Ryan, Oxford University, U.K.
Gandhi’s Relevance in India Today: His Teachings and Recent Initiatives
Dr. Gauri Mahulikar, Chinmaya University, Kerala, India
Gandhi, Nonviolence, and Islam
Dr. Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Moderator: Dr. Andrew Fiala, Director Ethics Center, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno

11:00-12:25, PETERS BUSINESS ROOM 191

Session 2-Gandhi’s Thought: Community Building and Communal Harmony

Women’s Contribution to the Development of Gandhi’s Nonviolent Resistance Tactics in South Africa
Dr. Gail Presbey, University of Detroit Mercy, Michigan
Gandhi’s Theory and Practice of Religious Pluralism
Dr. Joseph Prabhu, California State University, Los Angeles
The Satyagraha of Cesar Chavez
Dr. José-Antonio Orosco, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
Gandhi of Our Own: The Mahatma’s Historical Presence in Colonial Korea
Sungjin Im, Duke University, North Carolina
Moderator: Dr. J. Ashley Foster, Assistant Professor, Department of English, California State University, Fresno

12:20-1:30, LUNCH BREAK

1:20-2:45, CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Session 3-A, Peters Business Room 192

Workshop - Gandhi and Nonviolence: Some Practical Strategies for Peace-buliding

Facilitator: Mandar Apte, Director, Cities4Peace, International Association for Human Values, Los Angeles, CA
Moderator: Dr. James Rocha, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno

Session 3-B, Peters Business Room 191

Mahatma Gandhi in the Age of Globalization: Rethinking his Philosophy and Methods

‘Science of war leads to dictatorship…science of nonviolence leads to democracy’: Exploring a Gandhian Approach to Politics in the 21st Century
Dr. Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Nonviolence Human Rights, and World Peace, Hindu University of America, Flordia
Mahatma Gandhi: Interactions with Jainism
Dr. Shivani Bothara, University of California, Santa Barbara
Religion and Public Life: Some Gandhian Considerations
Dr. Sanjay Lal, Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia
Moderator: Dr. Ramdas Lamb, Religious Studies Department, University of Hawaii Manoa

3:00-4:15, CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Session 4-A, Peters Business Room 191

Gandhi’s Global Impact--Literature and Culture

Tolstoy and Gandhi: Reflections on Pacifist Nonviolence and Social Obligation
Dr. Steven Shankman, UNESCO Chair of Transcultural Studies, Interreligious Dialogue, and Peace, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Paradoxes and Pacifism: Gandhi’s Legacy in the Writings of Mulk Raj Anand
Dr. J. Ashley Foster, Assistant Professor, Department of English, California State University, Fresno
Seeing Gandhi: The Representation of Gandhi in Indian fiction
Dr. James Earl, Department of English, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Moderator: Dr. Steve Adisasmito-Smith, Professor, Department of English, California State University, Fresno

Session 4-B, Peters Business Room 192

Gandhi’s Methods of Activism: Some Examples Gandhian Legacy Carried Forward by Acharya Vinoba Bhave
Dr. Anshu Vashishtha and Dr. Gita Mehta, Maharishi University, Mumbai India
Can Gandhi’s Call to “be the change that you wish to see in the world” Provide an Alternate Approach to Contemporary Design Practice?
Dr. Sanjeev Bothra, National Institute of Design, India
Gandhi in Conversation with Contemporary Islam: Peace, Pluralism, and Change
Dr. Amine Tais, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno
Moderator: Dr. Carolyn Cusick, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno

4:30-5:20, PETERS BUSINESS ROOM 191

Keynote 3: Gandhi 3.0: Bridging the Internet with the Inner-Net

Nipun Mehta, Founder of ServiceSpace.org, San Francisco, California
Moderator: Dr. Veena Howard, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno

DINNER BREAK

7:30 PM, WAHLBERG RECITAL HALL, MUSIC 183

Classical Indian Music Concert: Melodies of Peace
Download flier (PDF)

Pandit Debasis Chakroborty, Mangalayatan University, India
Gourisankar, School of Indian Percussion and Music, Texas
Dr. Lovely Sharma, Dayalbagh University, Agra, India
Moderator: Prof. Joan Sharma, Department of Art and Design, California State University, Fresno

Student Gandhi Posters Exhibition, the Dean’s Gallery, Music 184

This conference is generously Supported by JP and Renu Sethi Foundation and the Uberoi Foundation for Religious Studies.

Conference Planning Committee:

Dr. Veena Howard, Coordinator Peace and Conflict Studies; Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy
Dr. Andrew Fiala (Department of Philosophy, Director, Ethics Center)

Coordinator & Organizer: Dr. Veena R. Howard, vehoward@csufresno.edu