Religion 171 - Contemporary Hinduism

This course is an introduction to the ideas and practices of contemporary Hinduism in India, with an emphasis on how these traditions have shaped—and been shaped by—culture and politics. The class discusses various gods and goddesses, saints and shrines, rituals and ceremonies, radicals and reformers, as well as the ways Hinduism has engaged with inequality, caste and nationalism. Students consider philosophical writings, ritual texts, devotional poetry, comic books, legal treatises, feminist manifestos and personal memoirs, as well as ethnographic and popular films. This course has no prerequisites.