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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
A Home Away From Home: Empathy, Exchange, And Hindu Festivals On An American University Campus, Sujata Bajracharya
A Home Away From Home: Empathy, Exchange, And Hindu Festivals On An American University Campus, Sujata Bajracharya
Theses - ALL
Every fall, the Syracuse University South Asian Student Society (SASA) hosts two major fall Hindu festival events: Navaratri and Diwali. SASA members understand their mission on campus to be providing a “home away from home” for South Asian students, particularly Indian international students. Through an ethnographic investigation of these events and the lives of SASA board members, this thesis explores the relationship between empathy, cycles of exchange, and transnational Indian identity. I investigate two types of exchange that occurred at SASA festival events: material exchange via food and charitable giving. Providing guests at events with food and working with non-profit …
The Power Of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, And Intimacy At A South Indian Temple, Julie Ann Edelstein
The Power Of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, And Intimacy At A South Indian Temple, Julie Ann Edelstein
Theses - ALL
This thesis is an ethnographic account of Pandi Koyil, a small temple located in the South Indian city of Madurai. The temple, its presiding deity Pandi Muneesvarar, and the devotees who worship there represent a diverse spectrum of narrative histories, ritual practices, and community identities. This thesis demonstrates how the multiplicity, ambiguity, and power of the deity Pandi fosters the multiple narratives, differentiated practices, and relationships of intimacy that surround him. First, this thesis presents the multiple origin stories people tell about the founding of Pandi Koyil and the mythological identity of its main deities, while also explaining the caste …
Hyphenated Hindus: A Study Of The Relationship Between The Formation Of A Indo-Caribbean Hindu Identity And The Development Of The West Indian Temple In Trinidad And In The United States, Prea Kamane Persaud
Hyphenated Hindus: A Study Of The Relationship Between The Formation Of A Indo-Caribbean Hindu Identity And The Development Of The West Indian Temple In Trinidad And In The United States, Prea Kamane Persaud
Religion - Theses
In this thesis, I argue that West Indian temples are a material articulation of an Indo-Caribbean Hindu identity that no longer claims India as home. The hyphenated identity of Indo-Caribbeans does not allow them to be fully represented by either South Asian or Caribbean cultures. Hence Caribbean temples, like the Indo-Caribbean identity, attempts to combine two different worlds. By tracing the political and social events that led to the development of a separate Hindu identity from that of East Indians, I demonstrate the ways in which Hinduism in Caribbean combines Hindu nationalism with features from Christianity into a unique form …
"She's An All-In-One Guru": Devotion To A 21st Century Mystic, Angela Carol Rudert
"She's An All-In-One Guru": Devotion To A 21st Century Mystic, Angela Carol Rudert
Religion - Dissertations
Anandmurti Gurumaa is a multi-lingual teacher of meditation and "spirituality" situated at the intersection of Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi and Sikh mystical traditions. This dissertation, employing inter-disciplinary methodology, provides an in-depth study of Gurumaa and her rapidly developing, disciple-driven transnational spiritual movement. I introduce Gurumaa and her circle of devotees within the cultural context of globetrotting Indian gurus and examine issues of tradition and innovation in her mission. Through ethnographic writing, I specifically turn to examples of Gurumaa's pluralism, gender activism and embrace of new media to discuss continuity and change within the tradition of guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). Because …