Description: This course concerns Hindu traditions in the modern world, beginning with the period of colonial British rule in South Asia. Students examine the writings and historical contexts of influential Hindu reformers, intellectuals, and activists, including Ram Mohun Roy, Dayananda Sarasvati, Swamy Vivekananda, the Tagores, V.D. Savarkar, and especially Mahatma Gandhi. Issues of focus include the history of the modern idea of Hinduism, responses to European thought and institutions (including Christianity), Hindu understandings of modernity, social change and reform, religious nationalism, contemporary gurus and their transnational movements, and Hinduism in the diaspora.
Component(s): Lecture