Kathryn McClymond | |
---|---|
18th President of Oglethorpe University | |
Assumed office November 2023 Interim: June 2023 – November 2023 | |
Preceded by | Nick Ladany |
Personal details | |
Born | Washington,D.C.,U.S. | October 13,1960
Alma mater | Harvard College University of California,Santa Barbara |
Kathryn T. McClymond (born October 13,1960) is an American historian of religions and academic administrator serving as the 18th president of Oglethorpe University since 2023.
McClymond was born on October 13,1960,in Washington,D.C. [1] She is from Pittsburgh. [2] She earned a B.A.,cum laude,in history and literature from Harvard College in 1982. [3] [1] In 1985,she earned a M.A. from the Trinity Divinity School. [1] She completed a M.A. (1995) and Ph.D. (1999) in religious studies at the University of California,Santa Barbara. [3] Her 1999 dissertation was titled In the Matter of Sacrifice:A Comparative Study of Vedic and Jewish Sacrifice. [1] Barbara A. Holdrege was her doctoral advisor. [1]
McClymond is a historian of religions who is specialized in Hinduism and Judaism. [4] She is a scholar of religious studies,particularly in the areas of sacrifice and ritual. [3] She began her academic career at Georgia State University (GSU),where she joined the faculty in the department of religious studies in 1999. [3] [5] Over the years,she has taken on numerous roles within the department,including serving as the Religious Studies Graduate Director from 2005 to 2008,and later as chair of the department starting in 2008. [3] In 2013,she was elected a member of the American Society for the Study of Religion. [3] She served as associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences. [5] Throughout her 22 years there,she contributed to the development of faculty resources and academic initiatives. [3] [5] She is recognized for her scholarly work in the field of comparative religions,authoring numerous articles and books. [5] Among her contributions is a co-edited volume examining how humanities disciplines inform research on moral injury among veterans. [5]
Her research has explored topics such as sacrifice,violence,and the intersection of religion and society. [3] McClymond is the author of several monographs,including Beyond Sacred Violence:A Comparative Study of Sacrifice (2008) and Ritual Gone Wrong:What We Learn from Ritual Disruption (2016). [3] The former work earned her the Georgia Author of the Year Award in 2009. [3] McClymond has also contributed to academic journals and edited volumes,offering insights into a wide range of topics such as moral injury,religious violence,and ritual correction in both ancient and modern contexts. [3] She has participated in collaborative projects,including the Religious Sounds Map Project,which aims to document and archive religious sounds from metropolitan Atlanta,and the Moral Well-Being/Moral Injury Project,designed to develop tools to address moral injury in military veterans. [3]
On July 19,2021,McClymond joined Oglethorpe University as its provost and vice president of academic affairs. [6] [5] On June 3,2023,became its interim president. [4] In November 2023,she was appointed the 18th president of Oglethorpe University,becoming the institution’s first female president. [5] [4] McClymond was named its 18th president,succeeding Nick Ladany. [7] She has held leadership roles within the broader academic community,serving on the boards of directors for both the American Academy of Religion and the American Society for the Study of Religion. [5]
McClymond has shared that her mother,a college professor,had a significant impact on her career trajectory,fostering an early appreciation for education. [5] This influence has shaped her view of higher education as a means of investing in the personal and academic growth of students. [5]
Ahimsa is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism.
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/priestly figure, spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein a monarch's servants are killed in order for them to continue to serve their master in the next life. Closely related practices found in some tribal societies are cannibalism and headhunting. Human sacrifice is also known as ritual murder.
In the Vedic religion, Ṛta is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, Ṛta is described as that which is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral and sacrificial orders. Conceptually, it is closely allied to the injunctions and ordinances thought to uphold it, collectively referred to as Dharma, and the action of the individual in relation to those ordinances, referred to as Karma – two terms which eventually eclipsed Ṛta in importance as signifying natural, religious and moral order in later Hinduism. Sanskrit scholar Maurice Bloomfield referred to Ṛta as "one of the most important religious conceptions of the Rigveda", going on to note that, "from the point of view of the history of religious ideas we may, in fact we must, begin the history of Hindu religion at least with the history of this conception".
Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia.
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The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedicism or Vedism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period. These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today. The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions which shaped modern Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion.
Yajna in Hinduism refers to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda. The tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire (Agni).
Sacred dance is the use of dance in religious ceremonies and rituals, present in most religions throughout history and prehistory. Its connection with the human body and fertility has caused it to be forbidden by some religions; for example, some branches of Christianity and Islam have prohibited dancing. Dance has formed a major element of worship in Hindu temples, with strictly formalized styles such as Bharatanatyam, which require skilled dancers and temple musicians. In the 20th century, sacred dance has been revived by choreographers such as Bernhard Wosien as a means of developing community spirit.
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Violence and the Sacred is a 1972 book about the sacred by the French critic René Girard, in which the author explores the ritual role of sacrifice. The book received both positive reviews, which praised Girard's theory of the sacred, and more mixed assessments. Some commentators have seen the book as a work that expresses or points toward a Christian religious perspective. However, the book has also been seen as "atheistic" or "hostile to religion". Violence and the Sacred became highly influential, in anthropology, literary criticism, and even Christology. It has been compared to the classicist Walter Burkert's Homo Necans (1972). Girard further developed its ideas in a subsequent book, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (1978).
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The practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is in recent times mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions. Animal sacrifices were part of the ancient Vedic Era in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such as the Puranas. The Hindu scripture Brahma Vaivarta Purana forbids the Asvamedha Horse sacrifice in this Kali Yuga. However, the perception that animal sacrifice was only practiced in ancient Non-Vedic Era is opposed by instances like Ashvamedha and other rituals that are rooted in Vedas. Both the Itihasas and the Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Kalika Purana as well as the Saiva and Sakta Agamas prescribe animal sacrifices.
Madhu Khanna is an Indian scholar based in Delhi who works on Indic studies, Religious Studies and Tantric studies. She is a well-known expert on the goddess centric Śakta tantric traditions of India. At present she serves as the Director and founding trustee of Tantra Foundation and Shrikunja. She is also currently serving as a subject expert to the Acarya Shankar Sanskritik Ekta Nyas, set up by the culture department of the Madhya Pradesh government for their Omkareshwar Project. At present she also serves in the academic council of Nalanda University and in the fellowship council of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. She has many research papers as well as several books and exhibition catalogues to her credit. She has contributed to three national projects, as well as several research projects for the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
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