Malory Nye Decolonizing the Study of Religion
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Slides of an introductory talk on decolonizing approaches in the study of religion
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Malory Nye Decolonizing the Study of Religion
- 1. Decolonizing the Study of Religion Dr Malory Nye University of Glasgow
- 2. Summary What is the study of religion about? Religion is not a thing The elephant in the room What is decolonization about? Decolonization of knowledge Why is my curriculum so white? Why is decolonization relevant to the study of religion? Colonial history of ‘religion’ & ‘world religions’ Intersectional approach: race, gender, religion
- 3. What is the study of religion about?
- 6. Religion Religion is not a thing the word ‘religion’ describes a range of human ideas and activities no clear indication (or definition) of what makes the context that we are looking at ‘religious’ a thing does something ‘religion’ is done by people (practised, thought about, talked about) – religioning?
- 7. Study of religion/s Study of people Human centred Not interested in reality (or otherwise) of divine/god Religion is simply what PEOPLE do And a term we use to describe/categorise what people do Studies how they do religious activities, and how they think and talk about such activities
- 8. Some examples… What is about each of these that makes us talk of them as ‘religion’? Rather than as ‘politics’, ‘culture’, ‘economics’, etc.?
- 13. ‘Religion’ / ‘Religions’ When talking about ‘religion’ what are we looking at? traditions cultures people beliefs / belief systems practices politics identities all of the above?
- 14. Religions easy to think of distinct religions as ‘natural specimens’ things that exist in the world for us to observe and get to know thus to think Hinduism is… or Sikhism is… BUT reality is more complex diversity and history very important
- 15. Kumbh Mela, Hindu festival, in Allahabad, India 2013 gathering of 120 million pilgrims during 2 months of festival e.g. … Hinduism
- 16. e.g. … Hinduism Hinduism – a term used from late nineteenth century before that British called it Hindooism also Brahmanism, Gentooism and… before European colonialism: did not have any particular name for wide range of traditions
- 17. Hindus
- 18. Hindus
- 19. e.g. … Sikhis m
- 20. e.g. … Sikhism Similarly Sikhism often dated from time of Guru Nanak (1500) and/or Guru Gobind Singh founding the khalsa (1699) but the idea of a distinct Sikh religion is much more recent 19th century India – Sikhs became an important part of British colonial rule (particularly as soldiers)
- 22. So how do we put this together? How do we study religion as religion (and why)? Parable of the blind men and the elephant…
- 23. ‘Blind men and elephant’
- 24. Blind men and elephant We assume there is a whole Some thing that exists beyond the sum of the parts An elephant – not legs, trunk, tail, head, etc. And that this whole thing is knowable and the blind men can find this out (‘oh, it’s an elephant!’) But what if what we are looking at has no whole picture – e.g., if there is no elephant, just the
- 25. That is, we are sure there is an elephant (in the room) but what do we do when naming it as a thing makes it a thing? more precisely, saying a bunch of diverse traditions, cultures, worldviews… amount to being ‘religion’ (in general) and ‘a religion’ (e.g. Hinduism)
- 26. we squint carefully to put very complex patterns of places, regions, people, cultures, religions into a singular narrative? Does the whole sum of it really make up an elephant? No simple answer to it, but….
- 27. Always think about the lens you are looking through … It’s never neutral
- 28. You are learning about the lens(es) as well as what you are trying to see.
- 30. Decolonization process of end of imperial/colonial rule (e.g. in India/Pakistan, across Africa, SE Asia, Hong Kong) also much wider concept recognition that colonial power did not end in mid-twentieth century colonialism (global power structures) still working on various levels
- 31. Decolonization current world order set up on principles of colonialism nation states and borders world trade system land ownership (particularly in settler colonial nations such as US, Canada, Australia, NZ etc.) decolonization is not a metaphor (Tuck &Yang)
- 32. Decolonization a lot of focus in decolonization activism on the symbols and memories of colonialism: Rhodes Must Fall Nelson’s Column memorials of slave ownership Confederate symbols in US
- 35. Decolonization but also decolonization of knowledge how we think and talk is the product of the colonial era the disciplinary formations of the university largely emerged in nineteenth century time of high colonialism in Britain and dominance of scientific racism
- 36. Decolonization examples: philosophy and the enlightenment how much was the bedrock of the liberal arts rooted in the then contemporary assumptions of race and white supremacy? distinction between anthropology and sociology exotic ‘other cultures’ v home (white Christian) society
- 37. Decolonization more widely, how is our knowledge and understanding taught, by whom, and using what sources? #WhyIsMyCurriculumSoWhite?
- 38. Part of wide debate… Nov 2017 Lola Olufemi, women’s officer of Cambridge University Students’
- 39. But the next day…
- 40. From a Cambridge academic in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/com mentisfree/2017/oct/27/decolonise- elite-white-men-decolonising- cambridge-university-english- curriculum-literature
- 41. Why is decolonization relevant to the study of religion?
- 42. Decolonizing the study of religion? Religious studies rooted in nineteenth century colonialism Study of Indian religions, African religions, etc came out of the experience and necessities of empire Tomoko Masuzawa –Invention of (the idea of) world religions
- 43. Decolonizing the study of religion? How religions are understood are product of this system of knowledge Religions as ‘specimens’ to be catalogued and observed The way scholars and practitioners talk about religions (e.g. Hinduism, Sikhism, etc.) a result of this
- 44. Decolonizing the study of religion? Decolonizing not a matter of trying to reverse this or set the clock back to pre-colonial but this history needs to be recognized and understood also find ways of conducting research and framing arguments that listen to many voices
- 45. Decolonizing the study of religion? this would involve study of religion that is: intersectional studies from a perspective that explores genders, race, sexualities, class, dis/abilities, and postcolonial history queering and historicising the concepts that we take for granted
- 46. Decolonizing the study of religion? concept of religion/s = decolonized and queered religion as separate sphere religion-secular constructions religion as belief/ritual religious exclusivity (distinct/exclusive religions) Southern Theory/ies of religion?
- 48. Decolonizing the study of religion? how do people use the term religion? what work does the term do? what lens does the concept create for us to ‘see’ the world?
- 50. Thanks for listening! Any questions? medium.com/religion-bites