The Center for Religious Studies and the School of Public Policy at CEU are co-sponsoring “Religious Violence in Comparative Perspective” during CEU’s Summer University this year. This new course, which has a strong South Asia focus, has attracted 26 students from many countries. “The students are a combination of academics, graduate students from diverse backgrounds, and individuals who work in public policy fields such as development, so it's an interesting blend,” says Course Co-Director Brett Wilson.
Wilson and Co-Director Matthias Riedl, who taught a course on “Religion in the Public Sphere” at SPP last year , have recruited a distinguished faculty: Anna Bigelow (North Carolina State University), Mark Juergensmeyer (University of California, Santa Barbara), Shruti Kapila (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge), and documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. “They are all experts in this field,” says Wilson.
The course has been structured to encourage students to explore the historical, political, and theological contexts in which religious violence – and peacemaking – take place. In addition to debating concrete case studies from different regions, students will also watch a film screening by Anand Patwardhan, India's leading documentary filmmaker, and attend lectures by prominent scholars in the field.
The film screening and public lectures will take place between Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27 and are open to the public. You can find out more here.