The lecture is dedicated to the epistemic violence of classical Orientalism and its response to the colonial past by problematizing the way in which Indian religion has been represented within Western scholarship. While analyzing the contribution of Western colonization to the construction of the notion of ‘Hinduism’ the re-evaluation of the conception of Orientalism within the context of postcolonial discourse shall be provided. We will review the ‘Orientalist debate’ implemented by Edward Said and explore later responses to Said's ideas by trying to answer some relevant questions: How colonization has contributed to the westernization and modern construction of ‘Hinduism’? What is relation between the theories and discourses of postcolonialism, poststructuralism and postmodernism? How postcolonial discourse changes our understanding of the nature of religion?
These events have been financed by the University of Tartu ASTRA Project PER ASPERA (European Regional Development Fund).