Workshop Descriptions
Caste and Contemporary Politics
Presenter: Don Johnson
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This workshop will focus on caste in modern India and its relationship with democratic politics. We will briefly offer some background on the British strengthening of caste during colonial rule and Gandhi's and Ambedkar's policies on caste during the Nationalist movement. We will then focus on the Indian Constitution's attempt to use affirmative action as a way to provide more equality for the ex Untouchables. We will touch on the effects of the Mandall Commission Report and will than take up the relationship betweencaste and political mobilization with case studies on the Neo Buddhist movement, the rise of Dalit consciousness and the rise of such notables as Jagjivan Ram, the Bsandit Queen and Mayawati.
Presenter Bio:
Don Johnson is Professor Emeritus at New York University where he he served as Chair of Asian Studies for 20 years, and taught courses on Asian Studies, World History and Comparative Cultures. He is author of Multi-Culturalism: In the Curriculum, in the Disciplines and in the Society, co-author of Through Indian Eyes (five editions), Gods and God in Hinduism, Emperor Ashoka of India: What Makes a Ruler Legitimate, Gandhi and Mao: Alternate Paths to Nationalism and Development The Human Drama, a 4-volume world history text and Universal Religions in World History: Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. With his wife Jean, he was awarded the 2004 Association of Asian Studies Buchanan Prize for India: Contemporary and Historic Perspectives. He has also written many articles on Asia and teaching about Asia and was guest editor for two Education About Asia special issues on Asia in world history. In 2000 he served on the National Commission for Asia in the Schools, chaired by former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt. Don lives in Deering New Hampshire where he served on the New Hampshire Social Studies Standards Committee, serves as speaker for the New Hampshire Humanities Council and as consultant to school districts interested in globalizing their curricula and infusing Asian Studies into their curriculum and continues to work on several writing projects.