Rethinking Religion in India: The Colonial Construction of Hinduism by Esther Bl

Description: Rethinking Religion in India by Esther Bloch, Marianne Keppens, Rajaram Hegde Critically assesses recent debates about the colonial construction of Hinduism. Written by experts in their field, the chapters present historical and empirical arguments as well as theoretical reflections on the topic, offering new insights into the nature of the construction of religion in India. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description This book critically assesses recent debates about the colonial construction of Hinduism. Increasingly scholars have come to realise that the dominant understanding of Indian culture and its traditions is unsatisfactory. According to the classical paradigm, Hindu traditions are conceptualized as features of a religion with distinct beliefs, doctrines, sacred laws and holy texts. Today, however, many academics consider this conception to be a colonial construction. This book focuses on the different versions, arguments and counter-arguments of the thesis that the Hindu religion is a construct of colonialism. Bringing together the different positions in the debate, it provides necessary historical data, arguments and conceptual tools to examine the argument. Organized in two parts, the first half of the book provides new analyses of historical and empirical data; the second presents some of the theoretical questions that have emerged from the debate on the construction of Hinduism. Where some of the contributors argue that Hinduism was created as a result of a western Christian notion of religion and the imperatives of British colonialism, others show that this religion already existed in pre-colonial India; and as an alternative to these standpoints, other writers argue that Hinduism only exists in the European experience and does not correspond to any empirical reality in India. This volume offers new insights into the nature of the construction of religion in India and will be of interest to scholars of the History of Religion, Asian Religion, Postcolonial and South Asian Studies. Author Biography Esther Bloch and Marianne Keppens are Doctoral Researchers at the Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap, Ghent University, Belgium. Rajaram Hegde is Professor in History and Archaeology at Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India. He is also the Director of the Centre for the Study of Local Cultures - a research collaboration between Ghent University and Kuvempu University. Table of Contents Part 1: Historical and Empirical Arguments 1. Hindus and Others 2. Hindu Religious Identity with Special Reference to the Origin and Significance of the Term Hinduism, c. 1787-1947 3. Representing Religion in Colonial India 4. Colonialism and Religion 5. Women, the Freedom Movement, and Sanskrit: Notes on Religion and Colonialism from the Ethnographic Present Part 2: Theoretical Reflections 6. Colonialism, Hinduism and the Discourse of Religion 7. Who Invented Hinduism? Rethinking Religion in India 8. Orientalism, Postcolonialism and the Construction of Religion 9. The Colonial Construction of What? Review "[T]hese essays have the merit of making clear the residual Christian theological categories still used in our discipline."- Andrew O. Fort, Texas Christian University (USA); RELIGION, Volume 41, Issue 4 Details ISBN0415500028 Author Rajaram Hegde Short Title RETHINKING RELIGION IN INDIA Language English ISBN-10 0415500028 ISBN-13 9780415500029 Media Book Format Paperback Year 2011 Publication Date 2011-09-16 Imprint Routledge Subtitle The Colonial Construction of Hinduism Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom Edited by Rajaram Hegde Pages 208 Series Routledge South Asian Religion Series Affiliation Kuvempu University, India UK Release Date 2011-09-16 AU Release Date 2011-09-16 NZ Release Date 2011-09-16 Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd Alternative 9780415548908 DEWEY 294.50954 Audience Tertiary & Higher Education We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:139884059;

Price: 128.51 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2025-02-03T03:15:23.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 AUD