Vegan Studies Initiative 2024
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Vegan Studies Initiative 2024
A Year in Review
02/20/2025
At the close of 2023, Arihanta Institute had a vision: Launch a sophisticated yet accessible program focused on education in the fields of veganism, animal studies, environmental ethics, and food practices, rooted in Jain principles. A few months later, under the leadership of Arihanta professor Jonathan Dickstein, the Vegan Studies Initiative (VSI) was born.
Formally launched in April 2024, the VSI is a multipronged intervention in the emerging field of vegan studies. The VSI interweaves graduate-level academic training, live and self-paced online learning courses, public conferences and guest speaker events, and global partnerships with aligned organizations.
Graduate-level academic training
In partnership with Claremont School of Theology (CST), Arihanta Institute offers a fully online Master of Arts in Engaged Jain Studies: South Asian and Global Perspectives. With the objective of the VSI in mind, Arihanta initiated a unique learning concentration within the master’s program titled “Veganism, Animals, And Ecology.” This is a specialized learning track for students passionate about the intersections of Jain philosophy and culture with contemporary movements for animal rights, ecological justice, and sustainability. Students within the concentration must complete three newly designed courses: “Jain Veganism in the History of Global Veganism,” “Food Politics in South Asia and Beyond,” and “Veganism, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice.”
This concentration complements the institute’s alternative track in “Yoga Studies,” offering students diverse pathways for specialized study.
Live and Self-paced online learning courses
In the latter half of 2024, the VSI prioritized offering in-depth courses led by experts in vegan studies. This effort resulted in four engaging, self-paced courses that featured weekly live Q&A sessions, allowing students to interact with professors and peers in real time to explore course material and related topics. Professors Jonathan Dickstein and Christopher Jain Miller kicked off the curriculum with a co-taught course on “Jainism, Veganism, and Engaged Religion.” The next three courses traversed key issues in the past, present, and future of global animal exploitation. Vasile Stanescu’s course “Debunking the Myth of Sustainable and Humane Animal Agriculture” explored the “greenwashing” and “humanewashing” efforts of contemporary animal agriculture. This class was followed by “Toward a Plant-Based Food System” with Jan Dutkiewicz. Focused on the structure, operation, and pitfalls of the current animal-input-heavy food system, Dutkiewicz revealed the reasons and means to pivot to an alternative vegan future. Lastly, in a course dedicated to intellectual history, Renan Larue’s “Beasts & Beliefs: Animals and the Origins of Vegetarianism in the Ancient West” probed the emergence of the idea of anthropocentrism in antiquity, discussing pro- and anti-vegetarian sentiments in ancient Greek and early Christian thought and society.
These four VSI classes— akin to all classes at Arihanta Institute—remain available for enrollment and self-directed completion.
Public conferences and guest speaker events
Widely popular in 2024, the Voices in Vegan Studies (ViVS) speaker series was a free, nine-part, monthly event hosting prominent public figures in vegan studies. The goal of the series was to highlight the shared values connecting Jain and non-Jain communities with regard to animal welfare, environmental protection, and human health and wellbeing. Attendees learned how to have effective conversations about dairy with “Earthling” Ed Winters, how to be sensitive to issues of culture and race with professor Maneesha Deckha, and how to teach about nonviolence and compassion from an animal sanctuary with Kelly Nix and Shaleen Shah from Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary.
Course instructors and speakers also participated in select episodes of Arihanta Institute’s Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, sharing additional information about their professional projects and personal paths to veganism and animal advocacy.
Global partnerships with aligned organizations
The 2024 VSI also organized a fantastic online panel, “Animal Futures: A Roundtable on Contemporary Movement Building,” spotlighting on-the-ground animal advocacy work in the United States. The panel featured Monica Chen, Executive Director of New Roots Institute, Courtney Dillard, Social Change Researcher for Mercy for Animals, and Eva Hamer, Program Lead for Pax Fauna/Pro-Animal Future. The VSI also built relationships with notable organizations such as Compassionate Living, Climate Healers, Animal Justice Academy, and Sanctuary Doc and We Animals through the “Transfarming Switzerland’ documentary.
Looking ahead to 2025
The Vegan Studies Initiative continues in the new year, serving as an educational template for our new Compassionate Studies Initiative and future programming in the years to come. Early 2025 VSI courses explore the history, philosophy, and day-to-day operations of an animal sanctuary (Jonina Turzi, Lancaster Farm Sanctuary), the imagery and rhetoric of veganism in pop culture (Christopher Sebastian), and the reality of the dairy industry in North America (Kathryn Gillespie).
Stay tuned for Vegan Studies course announcements, public talks, conferences, and other special events in 2025!
arihantainstitute.org/vegan-studies
Jonathan Dickstein, Assistant Professor at Arihanta Institute, completed his PhD in Religious Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara. He specializes in South Asian Religions, Animals and Religion, and Comparative Ethics. His current work focuses on Jainism and contemporary ecological issues, extending into Critical Animal Studies, Food Studies, and Diaspora Studies.
Professor Dickstein's recent course 1014 | Jainism, Veganism, and Engaged Religion, co-taught with Professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD is available now for self-study.
Check out all Vegan Studies Initiative courses here:
arihantainstitute.org/vegan-studies
Related articles by Professor Dickstein: