Professor: Catherine Prueitt

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Office: Cosby 433
Phone: 404-270-5519
Cell (for urgent contact only): 678-358-1186
cprueitt@spelman.edu

Hinduism: From the Vedas to Today

Overall Goals and Structure of the Class:

This course is an introduction to the diverse traditions that, since the British
institutionalized the category in the 1800s, we call Hinduism. We will focus on the
beginnings and evolution of sacred texts, stories, ideas, practices, and political identities
over a period spanning about 3,500 years, from the revelation of the Vedas to Hindu
politics in India today. Our class will proceed in six short units: 1) Vedas and Upaniads;
2) Epics and Puras; 3) Philosophy; 4) Ritual and Devotion; 5) Hinduism under the
Mughals and British; 6) Hindutva and Contemporary Politics. Our overall goal is to
develop a broad understanding of the content, evolution, and influence of Hindu
traditions.

Grading structure:

1) Weekly Presentations and Class Engagement: 60%
Each class, one of you will present the readings and serve as a discussion leader. Please
come prepared with a 20-30 minute presentation and 3 discussion questions.

2) Midterm Reflection Paper: 15%
1000-1500 words (approximately 3.5-5 pages). This take-home paper will be due on
Friday, March 21st. In it, you will reflect on our readings and discussions in the class up
to this point. Sit back, take a breath, think about what youve learned, and tell me about it.


3) Final Reflection Paper: 25%.
1000-1500 words (approximately 3.5-5 pages). This take-home paper will be due on our
exam date (~one week after the end of class). In it, you will reflect on the themes of the
class as a whole and your understanding of Hinduism. Sit back, take a breath, think about
what youve learned, and tell me about it.

The Honor Code is in effect at all times in this class, including for blog posts.

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 1pm or by appointment

Late Policy:
If you do not ask me for an extension, I will deduct 1% from your final grade on an essay
for each day it is late. This is a hard and fast policy. If you would like an extension,
please send me a ridiculous excuse. It can be a story about how an alien in a blue
telephone booth whisked you away to the far corners of the universe, an account of how
mutant dinosaurs devoured your computer, or anything else you fancy. It can be short and
you can ask for the extension on midnight the day the essay is due if you need to. Just
talk to me and try not to worry.

Required Texts:
Mittal and Thursby, eds, The Hindu World. New York: Routledge, 2004.

***Many of our readings will be selections from longer works. I will post these readings
on Moodle as PDFs.***


Course Schedule

January 16th: Introduction to our class and each other

Part I: Vedas and Upanishads: AAAAAHHHH CONFUSION AND SNOW!

Week 1: Rg Veda and context
J anuary 21st: Nicholson, Unifying Hinduism, Introduction: Contesting the
Unity of Hinduism, 1-5; Patton, Veda and Upaniad, from The Hindu World,
37-51, Holdredge, Dharma, from The Hindu World, 213-248
Blog Entry #1 due Wednesday, J anuary 22
nd

J anuary 23rd: selections from the g Veda

Week 2: Upaniads and context
J anuary 28th: Tull, Karma, from The Hindu World, 309-331; Ganeri, The
Concealed Art of the Soul, Hidden in the Cave: the Upaniadic Self, 13-38
Blog Entry #2 due Wednesday, J anuary 29
th

J anuary 30th: Selections from the Upaniads

Week 3: Getting back on track!
February 4th: go over Holderdge and Tull
February 6th: readings from the g Veda and Upaniads


Part II: Epics and Puras

Week 4: Rmyaa
February 11th: Film: Sita Sings the Blues (watch on your own; link on Moodle)
Goldman and Goldman, Rmyaa, from The Hindu World, 75-96; Selections
from the Vlmki Rmyana (ME!)

February 13th: A.K. Ramanujan, 300 Ramayanas; Shulman, Bhavabhti on
Cruelty and Compassion, 49-82. (TORI)

Week 5: Mahbhrata and Bhagavd Gt
February 18th:

February 20th: Fitzgerald, Mahbhrata, from The Hindu World, 52-74;
Selections from the Mahbhrata selections from the Bhagavd Gt (TAYLOR)

Week 6: Puras
February 25th: Narayana Rao, Purnas, from The Hindu World, 97-118,
Klostermaier, Itihsa Pura: The Heart of Hinduism, from A Survey of
Hinduism: Third Edition, 59-73.

February 27th: Selections from the Puras.


Part III: Ritual and Devotion

Week 7: Theism and Devotionalism
March 4th: Flood, aiva, Erndl, kta, and Clooney, Vaiava, The Hindu
World, 119-184.

March 6th: Lorenzen, Bhakti, The Hindu World, 185-210; Smith, Impact of
God Posters on Hindus and Their Devotional Traditions, in Media and the
Transformation of Religion in South Asia



SPRING BREAK MARCH 10
TH
-14
TH



Week 8: Ritual
March 18th: McGee, Saskra, from The Hindu World, 332-356, McGee,
Ritual Rights: The Gender Implications of Adhikra, Jewels of Authority, 32-50.

March 20th: Bharati, Pilgrimage in the Indian Tradition, 135-167; Sanderson,
Meaning in Tantric Ritual, (selections: 24-29, 36-53, 76-87).

(Midterm Reflection Paper due Friday, March 21st by 11:59pm via Moodle)


Part IV: Philosophy

Week 9: Nyya/Vaieika; Skhya/Yoga
March 25th: Bartley, Chapter 8: Nyya and Vaieika, Introduction to Indian
Philosophy, 92-119; Ganeri, The Motive and Method of Rational Inquiry,
Philosophy in Classical India, 7-41.

March 27th: Bartley, Chapter 7: Skhya and Yoga, 82-91; Selections from
the Yoga Stra; Nicholson, Chapter 7: Vednta and Skhya in the Orientalist
Imagination, Unifying Hinduism, 124-143.

Week 10: Mms; Vednta
April 1st: Bartley, Chapter 9: The Mms Vision, Introduction to Indian
Philosophy, 119-135; Ram-Prasad, Knowledge and Action: On How to Attain
the Highest Good, Indian Philosophy and the Consequences of Knowledge, 101-
132.

April 3rd: Bartley, Chapter 10: Vednta, and Chapter 11: Advaita Vednta,
Introduction to Indian Philosophy, 134-168; Nicholson, Unifying Hinduism,
Chapter 3: Vijnabhikus Difference and Non-difference Vednta, 39-66.


Part V: Mughals and British

Week 11: Mughals
April 8th: Talbot, Inscribing the Other, Inscribing the Self: Hindu-Muslim
Identities in Pre-colonial India, Indias Islamic Traditions, 83-117; Stein, Early
Modern India, A History of India, 155-176. Smith, Islam and Hinduism,
Hinduism and Modernity, 49-64

April 10th:; NO CLASS

Week 12: British Raj
April 15th: Rocher, The Creation of Anglo-Hindu Law, in Hinduism and Law,
78-88; Khilani, Who is an Indian?, from The Idea of India, 150-195;

April 17th: Killingley, Modernity, Reform, and Revival, The Blackwell
Companion to Hinduism, 509-525; Faulk, By What Authority? Hindu Women
and the Legitimization of Reform in the Nineteenth Century, Jewels of Authority,
139-156.


Part VI: Hindutva and Contemporary Politics

Week 13: Hindutva
April 22nd: Ram-Prasad, Contemporary Political Hinduism, The Blackwell
Companion to Hinduism, 526-550; Savarkar, Who is a Hindu?, from Hindutva:
The Essence of Hinduism, 102-116.

April 24th: Narula, Law and Hindu Nationalist Movements, Hinduism and
Law, 234-251. Bacchetta, Hindu Nationalist Women: On the Use of the
Feminine Symbolic to (Temporarily) Displace Male Authority, Jewels of
Authority, 157-176.

Week 14: Hindu Politics Today
April 29th: Davis, Temples, dieties, and the law; Malik, In the divine court of
appeals: vows before the gods,; and Contemporary caste discrimination and
affirmative action, Hinduism and Law, 193-251.
May 1st: ***Contemporary news items and context***


(reflection paper due on our exam date)