Academic Construction of Hinduism: Call for Papers
That the Hindu American community has raised funds for this effort
speaks perhaps to a dawning realization - that what might be
termed "academic hinduphobia" is a layered artifact that requires an
archaeological approach to reveal how knowledge about hinduism is
created in western academia. As a starting point, it must be
recognized that in the postmodern era, the study of hinduism deploys
a seemingly unrelated mass of elements, making it easy to get lost in
the play of difference or be taken in by this apparent change in
direction. It is important that these discontinous elements be
grouped, made relevant, placed in relation to one another to form
totalities.
This scholarly call for papers is a useful first step in the effort.
Please circulate it to all who may be interested.
Sanjay
The Infinity Foundation Call For Grant Proposals: Research and
Education on Challenges Facing Hindus in America
Background:
The West's awareness and understanding of Hinduism is relatively
recent, the tenor of which was set during the British Empire. In the
United States, the conceptions and understanding of the religious
tradition have been colored, often inaccurately, by a variety of
factors that were actually peripheral to the tradition. Today, global
and domestic reasons make it important for Americans to have an
accurate understanding of Hinduism, a world religion centered in a
nation that is increasingly having an impact and with which America
must seriously engage.
Domestically, there are two million Americans of Indian ancestry, the
vast majority of whom are Hindus. This number is forecast to increase
significantly over the next several decades. The estimated number of
non-Indian Americans who have adopted Hinduism as their religion is
approximately one million. Additionally, nearly twenty million
Americans have incorporated Hindu-influenced practices in their
lifestyles, including yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, and other body-
mind-spirit practices. Most of these individuals are stakeholders in
an authentic portrayal and understanding of Hinduism. The portrayal
of Hinduism should no longer depict an alien society half a world
away, but reflect the fact that the tradition is a part of our very
own American multicultural tapestry.
Governmental policies in pluralistic America necessitate
policymakers, law enforcement, and think tanks to have a proper
understanding of its non-Christian religious traditions. Educators,
the media and institutions of higher education also would be well
served by access to textbooks and research that provide accurate and
relevant information consistent with the manner in which Judeo-
Christian religions are treated and respected.
Most Americans are open-minded and are curious to learn about other
religious and cultural traditions. However, the information
accessible by them needs to be fair and unbiased and must include the
indigenous and the practitioners' understanding to be complete and
truly informative. Seeing this, many minority diaspora communities in
the United States, assisted by various governmental agencies, have
been proactive in helping to facilitate such an understanding of
their respective cultural traditions rather than leaving this
important task to outsiders. Foundations such as the Japan
Foundation, China Institute, Korea Foundation, Tibet House, and
several Jewish and Islamic foundations have each successfully
operated for many years with the mission to participate proactively
in the interpretation of their respect native cultures. The Indian
Diaspora, however, has done very little in this regards and has no
equivalent foundation. This has left the job of explaining Hinduism
to a variety of external institutions and individuals, resulting in
uneven and often misleading portrayals.
Various sources that one would expect to be staunch defenders of
scholarly rigor and fairness towards an American minority have often
failed in this task. These include many intellectuals and journalists
who project India's complex domestic politics in their work.
Frameworks developed for the study of Biblical religions are often
uncritically applied. Some assume inter-religious relationships to be
a zero-sum game and this political correctness leads to antagonism
towards the majority to help the minority. They also ignore that the
majority in India is a minority in USA. When challenged by legitimate
criticism, their responses have often been to brand and defame their
critics and thus poison the well of innovative alternatives.
Leading institutions which are seen as authorities on Hinduism are
largely silent on this matter. The American Academy of Religion and
various South Asian Studies programs, departments and organizations
across USA have not acknowledged the existence of Hinduphobia as an
issue: these groups have no surveys of the American public's
attitudes on Hinduism, no ombudsmen to resolve issues of prejudiced
portrayals, no systematic reviews of school textbooks, no mechanisms
to complain about media misrepresentations, etc.
Furthermore, the Hindu clergy and teachers have mostly abandoned this
issue of public representation. Many of them have failed to
differentiate between teaching their followers and public education,
the latter of which must comply with established institutional
standards. By retreating into the former exclusively, they have
ignored the lack of quality and accurate information in the sphere of
public education and have not prepared their followers to face
mainstream non-Hindu society confidently. The situation has been
exacerbated by the lack of institutional stability and continuity
within most American Hindu groups. Thus, the American Hindu community
is currently underserved by its own leadership in a manner that
assumes greater significance after September 11, 2001.
Research Overall Goals:
To address this situation, the Hindu American community has come
together and donated 100% of the funds to create a new position with
the specific purpose of studying Hinduphobia as a sociological topic.
Many community members have expressed the hope that this initiative
may eventually evolve into a field similar to postcolonial studies,
gender studies, whiteness studies, the study of Islamophobia /
Christianophobia, etc., and make its way into human rights discourse
and laws.
The broad objective of this project is to research the social,
political, cultural and economic contexts which help shape the works
of US academics who specialize in Hinduism, and others who write on
the subject and distribute knowledge and information in contemporary
US society. Its primary benefit would be to foster a broader and
richer understanding among intellectuals, media, teachers, research
scholars, community leaders, policymakers and the general public
about the range of issues involved.
The successful candidate is expected to be an independent, creative
thinker and to use the highest standards of rigor and professional
integrity. He/she should objectively evaluate the premises stated in
this CFP and may choose to disagree with many aspects of the
background presented here. It is also expected that the researcher
will use the same critical eye in examining the academic and popular
discourse and also the system in which these discourses are
generated.
The candidate may be of any race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or
gender, and must have a PhD in a directly relevant discipline. The
successful candidate must be comfortable and capable to discuss in
public and professional venues the topics discussed herein.
The following is an illustrative list of topics of research and is
not intended to be definitive:
1. Survey of how Hinduism has been researched and studied in the US
in the last 40 years.
a. This might involve examining at least four influential
approaches used in the US:
i. Premodern: Christian theology approach (Hindu-Christian
Studies at AAR, for example, and various evangelical
scholarship);
ii. Modern: Anthropology and colonial discourse (which focuses
on caste, sati, dowry based research etc);
iii. Postmodern: Freudian and other trendy theories for
deconstructions of Hindu texts, symbols and communities; new
age appropriation is the pop culture's equivalent of this
discourse;
iv. Geopolitical: South Asianism (top-down) and Sub-Nationalism
(bottom-up) lenses feeding the subcontinent's geopolitics
and the cleavages among its fragments.
b. Identification of major sources of funding and sponsorship in
the study of Hinduism, their goals and an analysis of key
trends.
c. Comparisons between the state of Hinduism and other minority
American religions (most notably Islam, Judaism and Buddhism)
in terms of how they are represented in the academy, and in K-12
schools and media.
d. Compilation of a research archive of printed and electronic
Hinduphobic materials.
2. Survey of views on biases, including views of Indians, non-Indian
Hindus, and quasi-Hindus (these being Americans who engage in various
Hindu practices without adopting the Hindu identity). This also
includes data from other sources, including two other Infinity
Foundation projects - (i) the Dotbusters research project and (ii)
the survey of attitudes towards Indian culture in America. It would
be desirable to develop a bibliography on various criticisms of
Hinduphobia.
3. Learning from other minority communities.
a. Survey of the intellectual discourses known as anti-Semitism,
Christianophobia and Islamophobia, each of which is a well-
defined term and part of the UN discourse on Human Rights. Analysis
of whether Hinduphobia has received comparable attention in UN
and US federal bodies such as the US Commission on International
Religious Freedom.
b. Historical research into previous instances of atrocities such
as those against Jews, Blacks, Roma, Native Americans, Japanese
Americans and Chinese Americans to identify possible linkages with
prejudices resulting from asymmetric intellectual and popular
discourse.
c. What lessons could be learned from this research? Explore
conceptual exploration of early warning indicators of potential
hate crimes against a minority today and a system to monitor
Hinduphobia today. (For instance, since it has become
respectable in certain academic, journalistic and literary circles to
display Hinduphobic attitudes and behaviors, and to attack
those who point out such biases, is this a danger signal?)
4. Engagement with potential users of the research produced,
including community, education, research, policymakers and
media.
Terms:
The previous section is not intended as a definitive list of topics,
nor is such an ambitious research project feasible by one scholar in
a short time. The first set of reports should scope the broad field
and establish a framework and terms of reference. The proposal should
be realistic about the topics to be researched, methodologies to be
used, and deliverables anticipated in the first 18 months.
The grant will be for up to $50,000/year for an initial period of 18
months, payable in monthly installments. The grant will be subject to
a written agreement signed by both parties. The grantee will not be
an employee of the Foundation, and will be an independent scholar
responsible for his/her health insurance and other benefits. There
will be a quarterly report submitted by the grantee summarizing all
the accomplishments and the plans for the following quarter. A team
of advisors will be created to serve as a sounding board for the
researcher and to evaluate the work.
Interested persons should apply via an email attachment, including
curriculum vitae, personal statement of purpose, location
preferences/restrictions, and a proposal of approximately 5 pages.
All materials submitted by applicants will become property of The
Infinity Foundation. The deadline to apply is March 15th 2005. The
proposal should be sent to:
Ms. Anjani Gharpure, Vice President ? Legal and Administration
The Infinity Foundation
66 Witherspoon Street, Suite 400
Princeton, NJ 08542.
Email: anjani@xxxxxxxxxxx
azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam
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