Academic Construction of Hinduism: Call for Papers

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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