Religion 282 - VIOLENCE & NON-VIOLENCE/S ASIA

How is violence legitimized and what is its legacy for both perpetrator and victim? When are war and sacrifice not murder? What are the political implications of a nonviolent morality? This course considers the rhetoric and phenomena of violence and non-violence in a variety of religious traditions in South Asia, both modern and premodern. Particular emphasis is placed on the ethical and social consequences of these practices, and the politics of the discourse that surrounds them. Texts and films concerning Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam.