Spring Break
Author Tackles Indian Stereotypes
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: News
When the average American thinks of an Indian, they may imagine Ben Kingsley in the film "Ghandi" or Hank Azaria's character Apu on "The Simpsons." Others still will imagine an overwhelmingly Hindu state constantly at odds with its Muslim opponents.
Peter Gottschalk, an associate professor of religion at Wesleyan College and author of two books on Muslim and Hindu culture, strove to correct those stereotypes during a presentation yesterday in the Class of 1947 Room at the Homer Babbidge Library.
In a speech titled "The Problem of Religion in India," Gottschalk said that the biggest problem with religion in India is how others perceive it. Gottschalk, who has spent three non-consecutive years in India, said he believes many Americans have a perception that India is a country where religion overshadows all aspects of life, and that the Hindu and Muslim sects of the country are constantly fighting.
"Very often when we look at South Asia, Americans tend to see the area as a giant category of Indians broken down into Hindu or Muslim, and then those are broken down into castes," Gottschalk said. "What we're trying to do to address the religion problem is to recognize that there isn't just a single plane of identity to which these people belong."
In an effort to portray Indians as more than just a religious people, Gottschalk and his colleague, associate professor Matthew Schmalz, created a high-tech Web site focusing on Indian culture in the village of Arampur. The Web site highlights the larger set of dynamics involved in the lives of Indian people and contextualizes the Indian religions.
This Web site, dubbed the "Virtual Village," is located at virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu, and served as an aid through Gottschalk's presentation. Through the site, Gottschalk outlined the diversity of the population in Indian villages and explained how each village's different cultures complement each other. He also outlined each village's technological development, emerging globalization and cultural exchange.
Peter Gottschalk, an associate professor of religion at Wesleyan College and author of two books on Muslim and Hindu culture, strove to correct those stereotypes during a presentation yesterday in the Class of 1947 Room at the Homer Babbidge Library.
In a speech titled "The Problem of Religion in India," Gottschalk said that the biggest problem with religion in India is how others perceive it. Gottschalk, who has spent three non-consecutive years in India, said he believes many Americans have a perception that India is a country where religion overshadows all aspects of life, and that the Hindu and Muslim sects of the country are constantly fighting.
"Very often when we look at South Asia, Americans tend to see the area as a giant category of Indians broken down into Hindu or Muslim, and then those are broken down into castes," Gottschalk said. "What we're trying to do to address the religion problem is to recognize that there isn't just a single plane of identity to which these people belong."
In an effort to portray Indians as more than just a religious people, Gottschalk and his colleague, associate professor Matthew Schmalz, created a high-tech Web site focusing on Indian culture in the village of Arampur. The Web site highlights the larger set of dynamics involved in the lives of Indian people and contextualizes the Indian religions.
This Web site, dubbed the "Virtual Village," is located at virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu, and served as an aid through Gottschalk's presentation. Through the site, Gottschalk outlined the diversity of the population in Indian villages and explained how each village's different cultures complement each other. He also outlined each village's technological development, emerging globalization and cultural exchange.
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