Second circular

SECOND CIRCULAR: MAY 2013

Dear Colleagues,

This is the second circular for the XVIIth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, to be held in Vienna, Austria, at the University of Vienna, August 18! 23, 2014.
General Information

This circular is being sent to current IABS members and all persons who filled out the mailing request form for the Congress. Please feel free to forward the circular to colleagues and graduate students.

All XVIIth Congress participants must have valid IABS membership for the year of the conference. To join the International Association of Buddhist Studies, please refer to the IABS website (http://www.iabsinfo.net) or send a request for membership to Dr. Ulrich Pagel, Secretary General of the IABS (email: up1@soas.ac.uk).

Online abstract submissions begin June 15, 2013 and end November 1, 2013.
Online conference registration/payment will open September 1, 2013, and will remain open until August 15, 2014. Registration for the conference will be online through a secure server accessed through the conference website.

It is a policy of the IABS that conference presentations are given in English only.

Participants who don't present a paper or talk are welcome to join the conference. All attendees must be IABS members and will be charged the regular conference fee.

Individuals planning to attend the XVIIth Congress are urged to complete the electronic  mailing request form at http://iabs2014.univie.ac.at as soon as possible.
All future communication will be distributed by email, unless postal mail is specifically requested (see the postal address at the end of this letter).

Academic Program
The conference will be organized into panels and sections. Individual panel and section papers are restricted to 20 minutes (with an additional 10 minutes allowed for discussion). Individual papers will begin on the hour and half hour as per the conference schedule (to be announced May, 2014). This will allow conference members to attend their presentation of choice.

Individual Paper Proposals

Scholars from all areas of Buddhist Studies are invited to submit abstracts for papers. Abstracts should be 500 words or less. All abstracts for panel and section papers should be uploaded to the Congress website by November 1, 2013 at the latest: http://iabs2014.univie.ac.at/academic-program/paper-proposal.


Panels are organized by conveners who are responsible for their thematic unity, academic content and internal structure. Persons interested in contributing a paper to a panel are requested to contact the respective convener. If the paper proposal is accepted by the convener, the abstract should be uploaded by the panel participant to the appropriate panel on the Congress website (http://iabs2014.univie.ac.at/academic-program/paper-proposal).

The final decision regarding the acceptance of individual panels will be made when all of the panel participants abstracts have been formally submitted. Conveners are requested to close the panel when it is full (at the latest November 1, 2013).

Sections

Persons wishing to present a paper in a section are requested to upload the paper's abstract to the Congress website (http://iabs2014.univie.ac.at/academic-program/paper-proposal). Participants are kindly requested to choose which of the sections best suits their paper.

The proposed sections are as follows:
 
 Title

 Abhidharma Studies
 Buddhism and Its Relation to Other Religions
 Buddhism and Its Relation to Science
 Buddhism and Society
 Buddhism and the Śramaṇas
 Buddhism in the Himalaya
 Buddhist Art and Architecture
 Buddhist Hermeneutics, Scholasticism and Commentarial Techniques
 Buddhist Literature
 Buddhist Music
 Buddhist Places
 Buddhist Sciences
 Contemporary Buddhism
 Early Buddhism
 Epistemology and Logic in Buddhism
 Information Technologies in Buddhist Studies
 Mahāyāna Buddhism
 Mahāyāna Sūtras
 Manuscripts and Codicology
 Schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism
 Schools of Śrāvakayāna Buddhism
 Tantric Buddhism
 The Canonical Languages of Buddhism
 Vinaya Studies

We regret that papers whose abstracts have not been submitted by November 1, 2013 will not be included in the conference schedule.

The planning committee reserves the right to accept or reject a paper on the basis of its abstract. All participants will be informed on the acceptance of their paper proposal by email. Abstracts for accepted papers will appear on the Conference website no later than January 15, 2014.

Conference Schedule

Pre-registration starts on Sunday, August 17, 2014, and will run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Registration Fee

The regular registration fee for the conference is 270 EUR. Those registering before March 31, 2014 will be eligible for the advance registration fee of 230 EUR. This includes the conference fee, tea and coffee, the reception and Friday dinner. The registration fee does not include travel, accommodation, food, excursions, or special events.

Registration for the conference will be online through a secure server accessed through the conference website. The registration fee can be paid by bank transfer or credit card. Online conference registration/payment will open September 1, 2013, and will remain open until August 15, 2014.

Posters and Exhibits

There will be a session dedicated specifically to posters during which each poster contributor will have the opportunity to give a brief presentation to conference delegates.
The organizers of the IABS 2014 invite exhibitors to present their products to the Congress participants. Exhibition space is located on the ground floor and basement of the venue. Carpeted space rental or stand rental is available. For further information please contact the event management office (email: nikolaus.ortner@univie.ac.at, +43 1 4277 175 23).

Visa Requirements

Visa requirements vary according to the nationality of the visitor. Please check with your travel agent or the consular officials of Austria in your country for current information. The organizers cannot offer any assistance in procuring a visa.

Airline

Registered participants plus one accompanying person travelling to the Congress can qualify for a discount on travel with the Star Alliance Network of up to 20%, depending on fare and class of travel booked.

The participating airlines are: Air Canada, Air China, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS International Air Lines, TAP Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways.

Discounts are offered on most published business and economy class fares, excluding website/internet fares, senior and youth fares, group fares and Round the World fares.

Further information will be available on the Congress website in August 2013.

Accommodation

The Planning Committee has managed to negotiate favorable discounted rates for IABS conference participants at a range of hotels and youth hostels. A selection of hotels and hostels can be found below. For an expanded list and detailed information, please contact the event management office (email: congress@univie.ac.at) or consult the Congress website (http://iabs2014.univie.ac.at/travel-arrangements/accommodation). Please note that you are personally responsible for all aspects of your booking, including payment.

Selection of IABS 2014 Partner Hotels and Student or Youth Hostels:

Conference/Travel Grants

The Planning Committee regrets that it cannot provide travel or conference grants for the XVIIth Congress.

Website

The latest information and news about the XVIIth Congress of the IABS may be found on the conference website at iabs2014.univie.ac.at.

Third Circular

The Third Circular will be distributed in May 2014. It will provide the conference program, travel information and other practical details concerning the conference.

The Planning Committee of the XVIIth IABS Congress

Correspondent

Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Mathes
Chair, Planning Committee of the XVIIth IABS Congress
University of Vienna
Dept. of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies
A 1090 Vienna
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7
Austria (Europe)
E-mail: klaus-dieter.mathes@univie.ac.at