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Dr Amber Moore (University of Toronto Department for the Study of Religion) awarded BNAC PhD Dissertation Prize 2025

The Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC)’s PhD Dissertation Prize 2025 has been awarded to Dr Amber Moore (University of Toronto Department for the Study of Religion).

The committee met to review the twelve submissions to the competition, and came to a unanimous decision to award the chapter submitted by Dr Moore titled ‘‘Sūtra Pūjā, Sūtra Pāṭha: Worshipping, Reading and Listening to Avadānas in Newar Buddhism’ from her PhD titled: ‘The Legend of Ugratārā Vajrayoginī: A Study of the Newar Buddhist Maṇiśailamahāvadāna.‘

The committee was unanimous in choosing the chapter submitted by Amber Moore for the prize. It provides a story-telling context to the literature and teaching of avadanas among Vajracharya lineages, in the village of Sankhu at the eastern side of Kathmandu Valley. The work is technically impressive linguistically, and shows a deep curiosity in the culture of transmission practices.

Dr Moore examines specifically “oral and written literary cultures and the materiality of the text” in order to understand and make an argument that “the recitation and reception of dharma stories relates to a realm of concrete, embodied and communal relationships and emotions that includes modes of artistic expression, it is not through reasoning or memorization that understanding comes about, but through experience” (p.1)

Through consideration of the stories, Dr Moore writes that “[d]espite the  Buddhist emphasis on the development of equanimity and the pacification of the afflictive emotions and even though the message may be one of renunciation of the world, wrath, romance and grief are seen as skillful means for conveying dharma stories and Buddhist teachings in a relatable and compelling manner. (p.11)

Overall, the panel found the work to consist of insightful and critically engaged scholarship, concerning the local role of literary and narrative tradition.”

The committee also commended the chapters submitted by Sudha Ghimire of Tribhuvan University ‘Multilayered transformation through participating activities: Building agency and awareness for menstruation hygiene management’ and Richard Bell of the University of Queensland ‘Governance quality means fewer protests and riots, but doesn’t impact political violence’

Our hearty congratulations to the winner.

BNAC Dissertation Prize Committee 2025