The first 3 weeks of William & Mary's summer abroad program in India will be based in Panjim, Goa, where students will participate in two classes. One class is a COLL 300 art history course (taught by Professor Vishvesh Kandolkar of the Goa College of Architecture) on Goan architecture and its reflection of/relationship to social, political, and cultural identity of Goa and its appropriation in the colonial, modern, and post-modern eras. The course intermixes lectures and class discussion with field visits to local sites.

The other class (taught by Professor McLaughlin, Director of the Goa Program) is a a COLL 200 ALV  that primarily focuses on the intersection of Hindu temple architecture & ritual with modern western conservation practices. In addition, the course considers environmentally sustainable solutions for the Hindu religious festivals of Ganesh Chaturthi and Holi.

Students will also briefly explore the historical and philosophical development of Hindu and Buddhist meditation/yoga traditions and the ramifications of the subsequent globalization and biomedicalization of their practices. Students will be introduced to these secularized evidenced-based meditation practices with the option of attending daily morning meditations on site in Panjim.

The last two weeks of the program carry students into the field to the ancient and medieval temple compounds of Hampi, Pattadakal, Badami, Mahakuta, Ellora, & Ajanta. Via these site visits, students conduct their culminating project exploring the ramifications of modern conservation practices on the intimate and tactile ritual engagement of Hindu temple traditions.