 2016 - 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 0687-2424-01 | Goddesses and Identity in Modern India: Religion, Society, Politics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 2.0
Course description
“From the Vedas to the present, Hindu goddesses have traveled a long way. While barely mentioned in the ancient Vedic texts, their presence in India has grown significantly throughout History. In the Modern age and up to our own time, Hindu goddesses have been integrated into all realms of life and participated in shaping the religious and political identities of communities and individuals in India and beyond. This course will tell the story of the Modern avatars of Indian goddesses and look into the various ways in which they are weaved into the lives of millions. After a brief historical introduction we will explore the rise into fame of Bharat Mata (“Mother India”) and her great influence on the Indian national movement. We will then examine how Indian goddesses have been influenced by processes of urbanization and the rise of the Middle Classes and how they themselves participate in shaping the identity of groups and individuals in India, as well as in the West. We will discuss issues such as the taming of wild and bloodthirsty female deities; the rise of “media” goddesses; and the immigration of “feminist” goddesses to the West. We will explore the place of such processes in the construction of religious, political, gender and class identities in Modern and contemporary India.