Hindu studies
Hindu studies is the study of the traditions and practices of the
Philological era
Between the period 1789 and 1832, British perceptions of Indian culture were completely reversed. Before that time, the British viewed Indians as disorganized and lacking a coherent philosophy. After the mid-19th century, however, the term "Hinduism" became acceptable in English use to refer to an overarching religious structure that spanned India. This was not a one-sided fabrication, since self-identified Hindus met the British challenge with a reappropriation of "Hinduism" and defense of their own culture.[2]
The early study of Hinduism chiefly constituted translations of and commentaries on Sanskrit texts, rather than observation of present-day Hindu life. This historical emphasis on philology has had a strong influence on present day Hindu studies, which often emphasizes medieval and classical period Hinduism.
Later researchers
By the time
Doctoral programs in Hinduism studies
Since the mid nineteen nineties, some universities have started to offer doctoral programs in Hindu Theology. One of the universities is Hindu University of America, accredited by the National Public Schools Alliance which is not recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education.[4]
Criticism
Beginning in the 1990s, North American Hindu groups began protesting the academic portrayal of their culture.
In 2002, Rajiv Malhotra founder of Infinity foundation rekindled the debate with a blog post called "RISA Lila - 1: Wendy's Child Syndrome".[10] In the article, Malhotra questioned the application of Freudian psychoanalytical approach in the study of Hinduism and argued that this has been discredited among Western Psychologists and the scholars were not trained psychoanalysts and the approach was not applicable to non-Western subjects.[11] Published on Sulekha.com, the article was widely read.[11][12]
In 2007
Insider/outsider problem
The Hindu criticism of Western Hindu studies relies on the terms
Russell T. McCutcheon, the author of Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion, has used the controversy as a means to present his own perspective on the insider/outsider problem. In his article "It's a Lie. There's No Truth in It! It's a Sin!", McCutcheon focuses on the attitude of the scholars, who he thinks are going too far in trying to unify the concerns of the Hindus with their own interests. McCutcheon himself believes that rejecting the worldviews of the insiders is essential if religious scholars aim to be something other than "dedicated disciples to one set of voices."[16] He believes that Hindu scholars should make it clear that they are presenting a view that is critical of Hinduism, because presenting a non-critical view means "the end of the human sciences as we know them."[17]
Addressing specific Hindu scholars, McCutcheon sides with Courtright et al. by holding the view that "as scholars we have an intellectual and institution imperative to, at times, study people precisely in ways unwelcome by them."
McCutcheon places himself in opposition to Wilfred Cantwell Smith, one of the leading figures of 20th century religious studies, who wrote that religious traditions must always be taught in a way acceptable to insiders.[20] S. N. Balagangadhara also points out that "some of these 'dialogues' exacerbate violence; they do not reduce it".[7]
Defining Hinduism
Malhotra's conclusion, however, was that Wendy Doniger was using her authority as a scholar to overrule the culture's self-identity: "Rights of individual scholars must be balanced against rights of cultures and communities they portray, especially minorities that often face intimidation. Scholars should criticize but not define another's religion." Doniger denies that she is defining Hinduism.[9]
See also
References
- ISBN 9780415397438– via Google Books.
- ^ Brian Kemble Pennington, Was Hinduism Invented?. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 3-4
- Wilson Quarterly15.3 (1991).
- ^ "Institutions that may be operating illegally in South Carolina Or operating illegally elsewhere and enrolling residents of South Carolina (updated 03/04/2014)" (PDF). South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Arti Dhand. "Hinduism to Hindus in the Western Diaspora." Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 17.3 (2005).
- ^ "Kali's Child".
- ^ a b Balagangadhara, S.N.; Sarah Claerhout (Spring 2008). "Are Dialogues Antidotes to Violence? Two Recent Examples From Hinduism Studies" (PDF). Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies. 7 (19): 118–143. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ Paul B. Courtright. "The Self-Serving Humility of Disciplining Liberal Humanist Scholars". Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74.3 (2006), 752-755
- ^ a b Amy M. Braverman. "The interpretation of gods" Archived 31 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. University of Chicago Magazine, 97.2 (December 2004).
- ^ a b Sharma, Arvind (Spring 2004). "Hindus and Scholars". Religion in the News. 7 (1). Trinity College. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ ISBN 9780813540566.
- ^ Martha C. Nussbaum, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), p. 248
- ^ "About the Contributors". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- .
- ^ Shrinivas Tilak. "Taking Back Hindu Studies" Archived 21 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. In John Stratton Hawley and Vasudha Narayanan, eds., The Life of Hinduism. University of California Press, 2006.
- ^ Russell T. McCutcheon. "It's a Lie. There's No Truth in It! It's a Sin!": On the Limits of the Humanistic Study of Religion and the Costs of Saving Others from Themselves. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74.3 (2006), 747
- ^ McCutcheon 2006, 736
- ^ McCutcheon 2006, 729-730
- ^ "Invading The Sacred".
- ^ WC Smith. "Comparative religion: whither--and why?" In Eliade and Kitagawa, The History of Religions. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1959.
External links
- Media related to Hindu studies at Wikimedia Commons
- DEFAMATION/ANTI/DEFAMATION: Hindus in Dialogue with the Western Academy: A panel discussion held at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Denver on 17 November 2001