[Buddha-l] Dallas Hindu conference

[Andrew Fort]

Curt's email about the conference and Rajiv Malhotra prompted me to stop
lurking and write.  His post touches on a major issue in Hindu Studies over
at least the last decade, including book bannings, death threats, and
attempts to de-tenure professors.  Much can be, and has been, said about
this.  My contribution can be found in ³Teaching Liberal Arts Undergraduates
About Hinduism amid Theoretical and Political Contestation Today,² Teaching
Theology and Religion 9:3 (July 2006).  The abstract follows.
As the number of people of South Asian
heritage in America has greatly increased over recent
decades, the study and teaching of Hinduism has come
under ever greater scrutiny. During this time, the
number of students of Indian background has vastly
increased in some schools in some parts of the United
States. This increased presence and scrutiny has had
some salutary effects, including greater attention to and
accountability in our field, but has also led to some
unwelcome conflict and feelings of misrepresentation by
both academics and adherents. Some of us are in the
perplexing position of being keenly aware of and in conversation
about tensions elsewhere, yet still having few
(or no) Hindu students in our own classrooms. This
essay will discuss two matters given this background:
first, I will describe how I present Hindu religious traditions
in my local context, and then I will offer some
more general reflections on teaching and researching
Hinduism in the United States today.

Andy Fort

Andrew O. Fort, Professor of Religion
TCU Box 298100, Fort Worth TX 76129
a.fort at tcu.edu, 817-257-6448
http://personal.tcu.edu/afort