Workshop: How to teach about the Indian traditions II? : as a panel at the conference Rethinking Religion in India III: European representations and Indian responses.
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| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Workshop |
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| Description | This workshop picks up several issues that arised during the first workshop on this topic (Rethinking Religion in India II, New Delhi, 2009): the problematic category "religion" in the context of India, the importance of teaching about contemporary and living traditions rather than focusing on texts and also how to implement critical evaluation of Orientalism into the curricula. The conductors of the workshop will briefly summarise their experience of teaching about Indian traditions/religions. From their teaching experience and discussions with other colleagues and students three main areas were selected. These will be discussed by the participants of workshop: 1. What is the goal of teaching about religion in India (such as the problematic concept of "Hinduism")? What issues are relevant and important and how to implement them in the teaching? Here it is clear that a focus on contemporary living traditions is crucial rather than to perpetuate the traditional focus on texts. 2. Can we identify any specific characteristics of the space of communication and interactions between traditions that we see in India? If yes, how to teach about them? If not, what are the implications for teaching? For example, can dharma, or the special social organisation based on jati be selected as such specific pan-Indian characteristics? 3. What kind of experts shall the education about Indian traditions or religions form? What should students of Indian traditions know in the 21st century? Should they be able to critically reflect on the heritage of previous generations' Orientalism and if so, how to teach them to do so? What other knowledge and competences should future experts develop? This question is especially relevant to the contemporary discussions about the role of classical and modern languages in South Asian studies or about methodology of field research in the area. |