Reviews
Think we've moved beyond multiple colonial contaminations in our globalizing world? Think again! Read Jennifer Reid's invaluable record of how philosophical and vehement religiosity, the long events and tentacles of colonial domination infiltrate our dreams of globalizations and new agendas. Read of the many directions, writers and cultures from which come the justifications for and critical insights against the trauma of frontiers, cosmic cities, hearts and bodies., The Religion, Postcolonialism and Globalization sourcebook is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a better understanding of relationships between religion and the development of the modern world. For teachers this sourcebook clearly directs students attention to the 'Doctrine of Christian Discovery' as the basis of globalization. The consequences of this Doctrine to communities around the world after 1492 gives students a deeper and more profound appreciation of the world that they currently inhabit. It is already a required textbook in my religion and colonialism classes., "The Religion, Postcolonialism and Globalization sourcebook is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a better understanding of relationships between religion and the development of the modern world. For teachers this sourcebook clearly directs students attention to the 'Doctrine of Christian Discovery' as the basis of globalization. The consequences of this Doctrine to communities around the world after 1492 gives students a deeper and more profound appreciation of the world that they currently inhabit. It is already a required textbook in my religion and colonialism classes." -- Philip P. Arnold, Associate Professor of Religion, Syracuse University, USA "This sourcebook edited by Jennifer Reid lays the groundwork for a serious historical and religious discussion of the practical and discursive meanings of globalization. Her narratives and the informative articles move the meaning of globalization beyond the limited economic focus and reveals the wide range of implications evoked by the terms of the title. The sourcebook opens the concepts and practices of all the Human Sciences for radical interrogation and critique. This is an important and needed addition to an important cultural inquiry." -- Charles H. Long, Professor Emeritus, History of Religions, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA "While books about globalization are abundant, one that considers the dynamics of trans-cultural interactions and global relationships of exchange as "a fundamentally religious phenomenon" cuts new ground. In that sense-and others-Jennifer Reid's sourcebook both alerts us of a gap in conventional ways of thinking about the reciprocal if invariably asymmetrical relations among persons and communities from different parts of the world, and then works to fill that gap. Providing a long and wide view of globalization and religion, both of which are broadly but very carefully conceived, the reading selections are ample and strategically made; and the associated commentary on those readings is provocative and well formulated in ways that holds open a range of different conclusions. To be sure, this sourcebook is a very welcome addition to the landscape of both globalization studies and, even more, religious studies." -- Lindsay Jones, Professor, Department of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University, USA "Jennifer Reid's sourcebook is an important project, worthy of a wide and mixed readership: it is sophisticated in conceptualization; creative in organization and categorizations; and smart and strategic in selection of sources. It provides for the student interested in the construction of the modern world a fascinating window onto the profound and complex representations, functions, and effects of "religion." I recommend this book with enthusiasm, and predict that it will for some time be a focal point in serious discussions about a wide range of topics and issues deemed compelling." -- Vincent L. Wimbush, Director, Institute for Signifying Scriptures, USA, While books about globalization are abundant, one that considers the dynamics of trans-cultural interactions and global relationships of exchange as "a fundamentally religious phenomenon" cuts new ground. In that sense-and others-Jennifer Reid's sourcebook both alerts us of a gap in conventional ways of thinking about the reciprocal if invariably asymmetrical relations among persons and communities from different parts of the world, and then works to fill that gap. Providing a long and wide view of globalization and religion, both of which are broadly but very carefully conceived, the reading selections are ample and strategically made; and the associated commentary on those readings is provocative and well formulated in ways that holds open a range of different conclusions. To be sure, this sourcebook is a very welcome addition to the landscape of both globalization studies and, even more, religious studies., Jennifer Reid's sourcebook is an important project, worthy of a wide and mixed readership: it is sophisticated in conceptualization; creative in organization and categorizations; and smart and strategic in selection of sources. It provides for the student interested in the construction of the modern world a fascinating window onto the profound and complex representations, functions, and effects of "religion." I recommend this book with enthusiasm, and predict that it will for some time be a focal point in serious discussions about a wide range of topics and issues deemed compelling.
Table of Content
Acknowledgments Introduction Section I: Contextualizing Globalization Section I Part 1 (i) Inter Caetera [Papal Bull, 1493] (ii) First Letters Patent Granted by Henry VI to John Cabot (March 5, 1496) (iii) An Act for Continuing in The East India Company, 1813 Section I Part 2 (iv) Tarak Barkawi 'Military Globalisation is Nothing New' (v) 'The Modern World System' Emmanuel Wallerstein (vi) 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism' Max Weber Section II: Religion and Globalization: A Dialogue With Prevailing Wisdom Section II Part 1 (i) 'The Clash of Civilizations' Samuel P. Huntington (ii) 'Jihad vs. McWorld' Benjamin Barber (iii) 'Ethics Must be Global, Not Local' Bill George Section II Part 2 (iv) 'The Clash of Ignorance' Edward W. Said (v) 'Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy' Arjun Appadurai (vi) 'What Clash of Civilization? Why Religious Identity Isn't Destiny' Amartya Sen (vii) 'Global Religion' David Chidester Section III: Cosmopolitanism Section III Part 1 (i) 'Perpetual Peace' Emmanuel Kant Section III Part 2 (ii) 'The Kantian Project of the Constitutionalization of International Law: Does it Still Have a Chance?' Jürgen Habermas (iii) 'Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism' Martha Nussbaum (iv) 'Cosmopolitan Democracy and the Global Order: A New Agenda' David Held (v) 'The Case for Contamination' Kwame Anthony Appiah Section III Part 3 (vi) 'Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism' Craig Calhoun (vii) 'Defining a New Cosmopolitanism: Towards a Dialogue of Asian Civilizations' Ashis Nandy (viii) 'Guru English: South Asian Religion in a Cosmopolitan Language' Srinivas Aravamudan Section IV: Before and Beyond the Discourse of Globalization Section IV Part 1 (i) 'Excerpts from Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru' Garcilaso de la Vega (ii) Manifesto of the Second Pan-African Congress, 1921. (iii) 'The Fourth World: Nations Without a State' Bernard O. Nietschmann (iv) United League of Indigenous Nations Treaty, 2007 (v) 'Economic Globalization, Indigenous Peoples, and the Role of Indigenous Women' Makere Harawira (vi) 'In Living Memory' Pedro Pérez Sarduy Section IV Part 2 (vii) 'EarthChild' Kofi Anyidoho (viii) 'My Kind of Exile' Tenzin Tsundue References
