De-Essentializing the 'Eastern Wisdom'.

[Guest guest]

Rajiv Malhotra said:

 

<<Basically, what is selected to get appropriated is

de-contextualized from

Indic sources (as is now happening to Yoga) preparing it for

assimilation,

and eventually re-contextualized as western. >>

 

I'm not sure what would make Dr. Malhotra happy, but it strikes me

that in recent posts he simultaneously is asking that Indian

philosophical and religious ideas be taken seriously in philosophy

departments, as something that might be adopted or refuted by anyone

anywhere, which means that its Indianness is unimportant, and that it

be (at the same time, and by the same teachers and students?) viewed

as profoundly intertwined with all other aspects of Indian culture and

indeed with the Sanskrit language, which therefore must be studied

simultaneously. It strikes me there is at least a great tension

here, and possibly a complete inconsistency. Does he want a debate

about ideas or a sort of anthropology of the history of ideas?

 

In any case, it seems to me quite clear that what he is asking for is

quite a tall order in terms of time, especially since he seems to be

talking about what's appropriate for an undergraduate liberal arts

curriculum. And if the goal were an all-encompassingly global

curriculum, India would be totally swamped in another half-dozen

"great civilizations," if not with hundreds of "tribal" groups and

their thought and culture.

 

St. John's College, e.g. has an exceedingly demanding curriculum, as

helpfully posted on this list. It may indeed be that its faculty and

administration are ignorantly predjudiced against Indian and other

non-Western thought. But even if they weren't, they might respond

that they and the students only have time for so much; that an

Indocentric, or Sinocentric, or globalist Great Books program would be

an excellent thing, but that someone else should do it; or that it is

easier to deal with Great Ideas with the books they have chosen

because those books are dealing not only with many of the same ideas

but are in direct dialogue with each other.

 

I believe Columbia's great books program has had for a long time a

substantial non-Western component, by the way.

 

 

Allen Thrasher

 

 

 

 

 

Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.

 

Senior Reference Librarian 101 Independence Ave., SE

Southern Asia Section LJ-150

Asian Division Washington, DC 20540-4810

Library of Congress U.S.A.

tel. 202-707-3732 fax 202-707-1724

Email: athr

 

The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the

Library of Congress.