Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction

by Knott, Kim

• ISBN13: 9780192853875
• ISBN10: 0192853872
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects -- from Islam to Sociology, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides trenchant and provocative -- yet always balanced and complete -- discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject developed and how it influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all readers an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever area of study one deems important or appealing, whatever topic fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner focuses on three major works, The Prince, the Discourses, and The History of Florence, and distills from them an introduction to Machiavelli of exemplary clarity.

Author Biography

Kim Knott is Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds and the President of the British Association for the Study of Religions. She has written on modern Hinduism, religions in Britain, and gender and religion.

Table of Contents

The scholar and the devotee

Knowledge and revelation

Understanding the self

Divine heroes: the epic tradition

The divine presence

Hinduism, colonialism, and modernity

Challenges to Hinduism: Women and Dalits

Crossing the black waters: Hinduism beyond India

Conclusion: Hind dharma, Hinduism, and Hinduisms

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.