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Anne Murphy offers a groundbreaking exploration of material representations of the Sikh past, showing how objects, as well as historical sites, and texts, have played a vital role in the production of the Sikh community as an evolving historical and social formation from the eighteenth century to the present. Drawing together work in religious studies, postcolonial studies, and history, Murphy explores how 'relic' objects such as garments and weaponry have, like sites, played dramatically different roles across political and social contexts-signifiers of authority and even sovereignty in one; collected, revered, and displayed with religious significance in another-and are connected to a broa...
The International Bibliography of Sikh Studies brings together all books, composite works, journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, project reports, and electronic resources produced in the field of Sikh Studies until June 2004, making it the most complete and up-to-date reference work in the field today. One of the youngest religions of the world, Sikhism has progressively attracted attention on a global scale in recent decades. An increasing number of scholars is exploring the culture, history, politics, and religion of the Sikhs. The growing interest in Sikh Studies has resulted in an avalanche of literature, which is now for the first time brought together in the ...
Ranjit Singh, 1780-1839, Maharaja of the Punjab.
"Religions in Focus" engages with the religious lives of members of some of the most significant religions today. It presents religions as contemporary ways of life that motivate and inspire people. Because religious people refer to sacred texts, honour the founders of their religions, learn from elders, or mould their lives according to authoritative teachings, "Religions in Focus" explains the relationship between tradition and contemporary practice. It offers an introduction to religions that is rooted in the best scholarship of the Study of Religions and provides a secure foundation for further study.A team of Religious Studies scholars from many countries, all skilled communicators abou...
This basic guide and resource book targets four fields—religious studies, history, world literature, and ethnic or migration studies—in which Sikhism is now receiving greater attention. The authors explain the problems of studying and interpreting Sikhism, and opportunities for integrating Sikh studies into a broader curriculum in each field. They also provide a sense of the Sikh community's own approach to education, and evaluate materials and approaches at the North American university level. Included are a sample syllabus with an explanatory essay, a bibliographical guide, a glossary, and a general bibliography. Gurinder Singh Mann's review of his course on Sikhism is an effective mini-guide to the field as a whole.
From the late seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, the Sikh community transformed from a relatively insignificant religious minority to an elevated position of kingship and empire. Under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh (1661–1708), Sikh elites and peasants began to align themselves with discourses of power and authority, and within a few decades Khalsa Sikh warriors conquered some of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal and Afghan empires. In this book, Satnam Singh argues that the Sikhs’ increasing self-assertion was not simply a reaction to Mughal persecution but also a result of an active program initiated by the Guru to pursue larger visions of scholarship, conquest, and political sovereignty. Using a vast trove of understudied court literature, Singh shows how Sikhs grappled with Indo-Islamic traditions to forge their own unique ideas of governance and kingship with the aim to establish an independent Sikh polity. The Road to Empire offers an impressive intellectual history of the early modern Sikh world.
Contrary to popular opinion, there is more to Sikhism than the distinctive dress. First of all, there is the emergence of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the long line of his successors. There are the precepts, many related to liberation through the divine name or nam. There is a particularly turbulent history in which the Sikhs have fought to affirm their beliefs and resist external domination that continues to this day. There is also, more recently, the dispersion from the Punjab throughout the rest of India and on to Europe and the Americas. With this emigration Sikhism has become considerably less exotic, but hardly better known to outsiders. This reference is an excellent place ...
This new introduction to Sikhism aims to introduce this increasingly studied religion through the lens of contemporary issues. Illustrated throughout with examples and case studies taken from lived religion, each chapter attempts to interpret the teachings of Sikhism in a modern context and apply them to modern day scenarios. After an initial chapter providing an overview of the Sikh religion, its history and basic theological tenets, Jagbir Jhutti-Johal moves through key contemporary themes, often overlooked in other introductions: Sikhism and women, science and bioethics, and ethics and morality. She concludes with a final section looking at the future for Sikhism, and whether modern issues that are confronting the Sikhs, such as gender inequality, advances in science and technology, family life and homosexuality can be addressed and understood through a critical engagement with the Guru Granth Sahib. She will also consider whether the process of interpretation and reinterpretation has lead to an abandonment, changing or impoverishment of the religious teachings from their original form.