Module THEO3821: Sacred India: Land, Politics and Identity

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3821: Sacred India: Land, Politics and Identity

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To explore the complex range of landscapes of worship that exists in contemporary South Asia.
• To understand the entanglement of distinct religious practices in this region.
• To critically examine essentialised and orientalist accounts of complex religious phenomena.
• To encourage reflection on the issues involved with conducting ethnographic research in this region.
• To enable critical work with the ethnographic record of regional religious practice.
• To develop a spatial approach to the study of South Asian religious practice

Content

• This course thematically explores key ethnographic accounts of contemporary religious practice in various regions of India. Although the focus is on the present day the course does use historical ethnographies (and one reacting to history exercise) to look back in time to both classic accounts from the colonial period and the key issues surrounding independence, which have shaped both contemporary worship and the analysis of contemporary religious practice. This material is explored in a way that carefully highlights the socio-historical background of its construction and undermines both orientalist approaches and presentist accounts.
• The course also introduces key theoretical texts and enables students to trace the development of schools of thought. The lecturer’s own research and fieldwork experience in this region forms a third resource. The course follows the recent trend for the spatialisation of the exploration of religious worship in South Asia and acts as a case study for the application of a spatial approach to religious practice. It therefore also organically introduces and develops key spatial theories for the analysis of religion. These act as a set of guiding principles and approaches that flow through the module.
• Along the way we will grapple with several key questions that surround this topic: How has the colonial legacy impacted upon both religious practice in this region and our understanding of religious practice? How do ethnographic accounts of religious practice differ from the many popular and orientalist accounts? Why has the study of Hinduism been so obsessed with the issue of caste? Why is the study of religion in India so often assumed to be the study of Hinduism? What role has the western academy played in the creation of the notion of a Hindustan? Why is the Himalayas traditionally viewed as such a separate zone? And why does the academic study of the Himalayas concentrate so much on Tibetan Buddhism? When and how do polytropic landscapes of religious harmony transform into divisive landscapes of religious conflict? Why are recent studies questioning if India can be considered a religious country at all?

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and critical understanding of the wide range and variety of religious practices in India, and of the main issues and debates surrounding these practices.

• Skills in the critical evaluation and use of ethnographic research methodologies and data appropriate to study of the region, including the spatial analysis of religious groups.

• The acquisition and analysis of information through reading and research,
• The structured presentation of information in both written and oral form.
• The generation of insight through both individual reflection and group discussion.
• The development of key research skills.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
• Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the subject and to improve their skills in listening and in evaluating information.
• Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches. • This module includes a “reacting exercise” developed in the USA as part of the Reacting to the Past project: this helps to develop skills in both research and presentation through an immersive engagement with historical documents and data.
• Examinations assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the structured presentation of information in written form under time constraints.
• Presentations assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the structured presentation of information in oral form under time constraints.
• Summative essays assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form. Teaching Methods and Contact Hours

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One class exercise (RTTP)

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University