New Chapters in Jain Studies: Four Recent First Books with their Authors

Authors become critics as four recently published first books will be discussed. Each are key contributions to the fields of Jain Studies and Religious Studies, to the interdisciplinary study of South Asia, and to their respective academic disciplines. The books are: 1) Gregory M. Clines, *Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation* (Routledge, 2022), 2) Ellen Gough, *Making a Mantra: Tantric Ritual and Renunciation on the Jain Path to Liberation* (University of Chicago Press, 2021), 3) Steven M. Vose, *Reimagining Jainism in Islamic India: Jain Intellectual Culture in the Delhi Sultanate* (Routledge, expected Oct. 2023), and 4) Brianne Donaldson and Ana Bajželj, *Insistent Life: Principles for Bioethics in the Jain Tradition* (University of California, 2021). Authors and audience will discuss their contributions to the present and future of Jain Studies, focusing on the ways this small field is reshaping Religious Studies and the study of religion in South Asia.