Contextualising Caste: Post-Dumontian Approaches

ISBN-13: 9780631192831 / Angielski / Miękka / 1995 / 192 str.

Mary Searle-Chatterjee; Ursula M. Sharma

Opis

Much anthropological and sociological work on South Asia (especially work done by western academics) takes for granted the centrality of caste in Hindu society. The aim of the present volume is to take a critical look at this assumption, contextualising caste in relation to other dimensions of modern Indian society. The contribution of the volume will be both theoretical and ethnographic.

Spis treści

Introduction.

1. Is a Theory of Caste still Possible?: D. Quigley (Queen′s University of Belfast).

2. Caste, Democracy and the Politics of Community in India: S. Mitra (University of Hull).

3. Berreman Revisited; Caste and the Comparative Method: U. M. Sharma (University of Keele).

4. Girasias and the Politics of Difference in Rajasthan: Caste, Kinship and Gender in a Marginalised Society: M. Unnithan (University of Sussex).

5. Caste without a System; a Study of South Indian Harijans: R. Deliege (University of Louvain/FNRS).

6. Religion, Caste and other identities: Mary Searle–Chatterjee (Manchester Metropolitan University).

7. Caste – A Personal Perspective: A. Shukra.

Notes on Contributors.

Index

O autorze

Mary Searle–Chatterjee is Senior Lecturer in Applied Community Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Ursula M. Sharma is Reader in Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Keele.

Blurb

Much anthropological and sociological work on South Asia (especially that of western academics) takes for granted the centrality of caste in Hindu society. Anthropologists in particular have been fascinated by the ritual aspects of caste. This tendency has been intensified by the influence of Louis Dumont on recent theorisations of caste. Some would argue that the attention paid to caste has tended to orientalism, emphasizing those features of Indian society that make it "exotic" from a western point of view.
The purpose of the present volume would be to question these approaches, offering a consideration of caste in relation to some other key dimensions of Indian society. Some contributions are predominantly theoretical or comparative, while others are based on local ethnography, but the overall aim is to provide an up–to–date review of the theorisation of caste which, while drawing on anthropological insights, is accessible to non–specialists.