ASIAN 4466 - Religious Nationalism and Political Violence in South and Southeast Asia

(crosslisted) RELST 4466
(GB) (CA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

Prerequisite: one course in ANTHR, ASIAN, HIST, RELST, at the 3000-level or above or permission of instructor. Co-meets with ASIAN 6666/RELST 6666.

E. White.

This course examines how religious ideologies, practices and institutions have been politically mobilized in the public spheres of modern South and Southeast Asia. Divisive social conflict and communal violence have resulted from this mobilization, challenging conventional secular notions of national identity and political community. How have nationalist, developmental and democratic agendas in the post-colonial era contributed to the emergence of assertive, contentious religious identities? How have religious beliefs, communities, and historical memories been transformed by this mobilization? In what ways have these visions of religious nationalism transformed the political, economic and social dynamics of the post-colonial states of South and Southeast Asia? We will examine a variety of cases including Hindutva and communal violence in India, ethno-religious chauvinism and civil war in Sri Lanka, the Saffron Revolution and anti-Muslim campaigns in Burma, and religious insurgency in Thailand. (SC)