Description
The course, in the beginning, introduces writings of the western authors who claim that there is something called “neo-Hinduism,” which is significantly and characteristically different from “traditional Hinduism.” Once those claims are situated, the evidence of those claims will be critically examined and will lead naturally to insight into the agendas, motivations, and general ignorance of these writers who are behind the creation of the “neo-Hinduism” theory. The course will then veer into showing how contemporary Hinduism transcends the binary divide of traditional and neo, and that even when it has innovated and answered the contingencies of the colonial context, it has always maintained its continuity with the past and that it has not compromised with its core cosmology.
In this course, the student will
- be able to learn about the coordinates on which the divide between traditional and neo-Hinduism has been created;
- be able to critically examine the evidence on which the divide has been created;
- be able to learn that binaries like traditional and neo do not apply to Hinduism, for Hinduism transcends and exceeds the traditional and contemporary divide.
Area of Study: Postcolonial Hindu Studies.
Required/Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Admission into a Program of Study
Instructor: Dr. Kundan Singh
