98963 - Religions of India (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students acquire higher level knowledge on the texts and sources and religious thought of the cultures of South Asia. They critically know the socio-cultural matrix of the major religious traditions and history of at least one of the major world religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) and contemporary religions. They know the historical-critical methods and socio-anthropological contributions to analyze the texts and cultural products of the major religious traditions. They develop the ability to formulate valid judgments in the historical-religious fields. They are able to research and critically examine materials, bibliographic and documentary sources of different types, in order to conduct historical-religious investigations. They know the socio-political implications of interaction among groups in complex societies and apply research methodologies to address issues related to contexts characterized by cultural, linguistic, and religious pluralism. They can communicate the acquired knowledge in written and oral form, documenting accurately the information on which they base their conclusions and giving an account of the methodologies of investigation used and are able to give form to the results of their own research in the field of Religions of India. They know how to collect, also thanks to the use of specific databases, a relevant bibliography to document and adequately deepen their own competences both in the field of research and in the working environment.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with the notions (in the fields of Indology, History, Religious Studies and  Anthropology) indispensable for critically analyzing the processes of construction and representation of collective identities in colonial and post-colonial South Asia.

PROGRAM: [Please note that Indian terms are written without the usual diacritical].

The course is divided into two parts.

First part: Discourse on religion and religious conflicts in colonial and postcolonial India.

Dharma and religion in colonial India. The paradigm of religious and social reform. Centrality of the discourse on religion. New canonizations of ancient texts: the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Puranas and the Bhagavadgita. From religious modernization to the assertion of cultural superiority of Hinduism: Bankim, Tilak, Vivekananda, Aurobindo. Universalism, tolerance, inclusivism in the representation of Neo-hinduism. Religious truth and secularism in the thought of Gandhi. Savarkar and the ideology of Hindutva. Religions in the Constitution of the Indian Union. Exit from Hinduism: the case of Ambedkar. Communal clashes and religious fundamentalism in contemporary India.

Second Part: Representations of social marginality in contemporary South Asia: Anthropology, History, Fiction.

Tribals, Dalits, peasants, "subalterns" in contemporary India. The Subaltern Studies and the debate on historiography. The criticism of "secularism". Tales of marginalization and oppression: the ethical and political stories of Mahasweta Devi.

Readings/Bibliography

Please note:
Students who are not familiar with Indology should read the text of Giorgio R. Franci, Induismo (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2000), which provides a good introduction.

Reading List for attending students:
1) Torri, Michelguglielmo, Storia dell'India, Roma-Bari: Laterza, 2000 (chapters X through XVII included and "Conclusion")

or, alternatively,

Kulke-Rothermund, Storia dell'India, tr. it. Milano: Garzanti, 1991 (chapters 6 through 8 included)

or, alternatively,

Rothermund, D., Storia dell'India, tr. it. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2007.

2) Marchignoli, S., Indagine sul dharma. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay e il discorso sulla religione dell'India colonizzata, Bologna: Bonomo, 2015.

3) Marchignoli, S., Materiali per lo studio della controversistica religiosa nell'India coloniale. 1. Haracandra Tarkapancanana, Matapariksottaram: replica all'esame delle dottrine religiose, Bologna: Bonomo, 2015.

4) Halbfass, W., India and Europe. An Essay in Philosophical Understanding, Albany: S.U.N.Y. Press, 1988(only chapters 13 and 18).

5) Chakrabarty, D., Provincializzare l'Europa, Roma: Meltemi, 2004 [tr. it. di Provincializing Europe. Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference] (only chapter 4).

6) One paper at choice to be selected from:

Berti, Daniela - Tarabout, Gilles (a cura di), Terra, territorio e società nel mondo indiano, numero monografico di «Etnosistemi», anno X, n. 10 (genn. 2003).

 

Reading list for non-attending students:

1) Torri, Michelguglielmo, Storia dell'India, Roma-Bari: Laterza, 2000 (chapters X through XVII included and "Conclusion")

or, alternatively,

Kulke-Rothermund, Storia dell'India, tr. it. Milano: Garzanti, 1991 (chapters 6 through 8 included)

or, alternatively,

Rothermund, D., Storia dell'India, tr. it. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2007.


2) Marchignoli, S., Indagine sul dharma. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay e il discorso sulla religione dell'India colonizzata, Bologna: Bonomo, 2015.

3) Franci, G. R., Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, il ribelle indiano "nemico" di Gandhi, in Atti dell'Accademia delle scienze dell'istituto di Bologna. Classe di scienze morali. Rendicontim LXXIX, 1990-91, pp. 81-103.

4) Halbfass, W., India and Europe. An Essay in Philosophical Understanding, Albany: S.U.N.Y. Press, 1988(only chapters 13 and 18).

5) Chakrabarty, D., Provincializzare l'Europa, Roma: Meltemi, 2004 [tr. it. di Provincializing Europe. Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference] (only chapter 4).

6) One paper at choice to be selected from:

Natali, C. (a cura di), Contesti etnografici dell'Asia meridionale, (vol. 5 di Molimo. Quaderni di Antropologia culturale ed Etnomusicologia), Milano: Cuem, 2010.

or, alternatively,

Berti, Daniela - Tarabout, Gilles (a cura di), Terra, territorio e società nel mondo indiano, numero monografico di «Etnosistemi», anno X, n. 10 (genn. 2003).

 

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Oral examination, with a simultaneous discussion of a short paper (max. 10,000 characters) produced by the student on a topic selected in agreement with the teacher.

The exam interview starts from a brief discussion of the short essay. Two questions follow: a general one on colonial or posto-colonial history of South Asia, and a question relating to intellectual history.

Grading is based primarily on an assessment of the student's preparation, but will also take into account her/his ability of analysis and synthesis, clarity in both written and oral exposition, and use of an appropriate language and terminology.

More specifically:

• An comprehensive vision of the topics dealt with in the course, the capacity for their critical analysis, and the use of a precise and appropriate terminology, will be evaluated with excellent to good marks;
• A good / acceptable, but not in-depth knowledge of the subject, a limited ability in elaborating a synthesis and in producing an analysis, a use of an acceptable but not always accurate language, will be evaluated with marks ranging form mere pass level to average;
• The lack of knowledge of the topics dealt with, the lack of preparation in elaborating analysis and synthesis, the use of inaccurate terminology and the lack of familiarity with the course bibliography, will lead to the failure to pass the examination.

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course “Indian Civilization (C.I.) (LM)".

If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts (“Intellectual History of Modern and Contemporary India(1) (LM)" and “Religions and Philosophies of India (1) (LM) “)

Office hours

See the website of Saverio Marchignoli