2018-2019 University Catalogue 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 University Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

RELG 321 - Religion in Modern India


What does Mahatma Gandhi’s reading of the Bhagavad Gita have to do with shamanic healing practices in the Himalayas or statues of Jesus painted blue in South India? They are some examples of the diverse sets of beliefs, practices, institutions, and communities that constitute religious life in modern India and that students will encounter in this course. Rather than view religion as an unchanging, closed, and monolithic assemblage of texts and concepts, students shall focus on how religious traditions are lived, practiced, and reconfigured by individuals and communities across this region. In so doing, we will explore how religion in India continues to engage, in vital ways, changing historical realities since the decline of the Mughal empire through the advent of British colonialism into the postcolonial present. Students will read historical and ethnographic writings not only about Hinduism but also Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity, while becoming familiar with significant theoretical and methodological currents within the broader academic study of religion.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Recommended: Familiarity with the religions of India through courses such as CORE 166, RELG 281 , ARTS 244 , or HIST 362  is advised.
Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
Liberal Arts CORE: None


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