A Cultural History of Hinduism,
vols. 1-6, edited by Karen Pechilis. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.
How has Hinduism been shaped over time? What are continuities and changes in its cultural history of textual, social, ritual, visual, political, philosophical, and theological perspectives and practices?
Spanning over 4,000 years, A Cultural History of Hinduism provides an authoritative survey of one of the world's oldest religious traditions in its social and cultural contexts, from ancient times to the present. With 55 experts from academic disciplines such as history, religion studies, art history, anthropology and philosophy, the work represents inclusive narratives and aims to generate new cultural history questions.
Chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six.
The six volumes cover: 1 – Antiquity (2000 – 200 BCE); 2 – Classical Age (200 BCE – 800 CE); 3 – Post-Classical Age (800 – 1500); 4 – Age of Empires (1500 – 1857); 5 –Age of Late Colonialism (1857 – 1947); 6 – Age of Independence (1947 – 2017).
Themes (and chapter titles are): sources of authority; defining body and mind; social organization and everyday norms; identity, difference and dialogue; politics and power; visual Culture; lineages and emerging exemplars and movements; and hinduism in global context.
The page extent for the pack is approximately 1632pp. Each volume opens with an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, Notes on Contributors, and an Index.
Volume 6: A Cultural History of Hinduism in the Age of Independence
Edited by Amanda Lucia, University of California, Riverside, USA and Maya Warrier, Late of University of Winchester, UK
Introduction: A Cultural History of Hinduism in the Age of Independence Amanda Lucia (University of California, Riverside, USA)
1. Sources of Authority: Historical Roots and Contemporary Conflicts, Brian A. Hatcher (Tufts University, USA)
2. Defining Body and Mind: Medicine, Modernity and Moral Self-development in Post-colonial Hinduism, Joseph S. Alter (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
3. Social Organization and Everyday Norms: Dharma and Hindu Women, Tracy Pintchman (Loyola University, USA)
4. Identity, Difference, Dialogue: Hinduism and the Politics of Caste, Maya Warrier (University of Winchester, UK)
5. Politics and Power, Pralay Kanungo (Nehru University, India)
6. Visual Culture: Darshan in the Modern World, Karline McLain (Bucknell University, USA)
7. Lineages, Emerging Exemplars, and Movements, Amanda Lucia (University of California, Riverside, USA)
8 Hinduism in Global Context: Negotiating Identity in the Diaspora, Priya Swamy (Stichting Nationaal Museum van
Wereldculturen, The Netherlands)
Bibliography
Index