Andrea Pinkney

Degree(s):

B.A. (McGill)
Adv. Diploma in Hindi (Banaras Hindu University)
M.A. (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa)
Ph.D. (Columbia University)

Curriculum vitae:

andrea_pinkney_2016_online_cv1.pdf

Biography:

I discovered my interests in both religious studies and South Asian civilisation as an undergraduate at McGill in the Faculty of Religious Studies (B.A., Joint Honours). As a Commonwealth scholar, I then pursued postgraduate studies in Hindi language and literature (Banaras Hindu University, Adv. Diploma in Hindi) and in South Asian Religions (M.A., University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Ph.D., Columbia University). I have taught in the United States, India, and Singapore; my research languages are Hindi-Urdu and Sanskrit and I have studied French and Japanese for pleasure.

Courses:

RELG 252 Hinduism & Buddhism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: The interaction of Hinduism and Buddhism in India with special reference to the law of Karma, caste, women, ritual, death, yoga, and liberation. Determination of interpretative principles for understanding the religious psychology of Hindus and Buddhists.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Fall
- Terms
  
  Fall 2019
- Instructors
  
  Lara E Braitstein, Hamsa M Stainton
RELG 366 Rivers,Religion,&Enviro S-Asia 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: This class explores the significance of major South Asian river systems, including Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, and Yamuna, in classical and contemporary terms. In Hindu scriptures, rivers may be incarnate, emplaced goddesses; in contemporary South Asia, rivers are central to Hindu pilgrimage while facing environmental pressures from pollution, overuse, flooding, and drought. Finally, rivers of the Indian subcontinent cross and delineate international boundaries, creating friction between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. As key lifelines shared in multi-religious South Asia, are rivers vulnerable wards of the state—or valuable ‘citizens’ who must be recruited to do their part?

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite(s): RELG 252 or Permission of Instructor
- Terms
  
  Winter 2020
- Instructors
  
  Andrea Marion Pinkney
RELG 348 Classical Hinduism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: The study of classical Hindu values in historical context with reference to the goals and stages of life, traditional Hindu laws, ethics (including biomedical ethics), axiology and moral dilemmas in the Epics, gender differences, notions of orthodoxy, and the expansion of Hinduism.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite: RELG 252 or permission of the instructor
- Terms
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2019 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2019 academic year
RELG 378 Pilgrim&Relig Tourism in SAsia 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: An exploration of the relationship of pilgrimage and tourism in contemporary South Asia. Beginning with the classical foundations of Hindu pilgrimage in Indic civilization, the coursework puts pilgrimage in South Asia in critical perspective by exploring new motivations for religious travel in Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist contexts.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite: RELG 252
- Terms
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2019 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2019 academic year
RELG 388 Introduction to Sikhism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: An introduction to the historical and religious context in which the Sikh religion developed, its principal doctrines, practices and institutions and its evolution from its origins to the present, both inside and outside India.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite(s): RELG 252 or the permission of the instructor.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken RELG 254.
- 1.Fall
- Terms
  
  Fall 2019
- Instructors
  
  Andrea Marion Pinkney
RELG 444 Indian Ocean Relig Networks 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: This seminar class explores cultural exchanges among maritime networks of Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims in South Asia and Southeast Asia, in classical, pre-modern, and contemporary terms. Key themes to be considered include: sovereignty, society, and religion, within the context of historically evolving cultural relations around the Bay of Bengal. Taking an inter-religious approach to understanding maritime cultural interactions, class readings and discussion include: foundational theories of “Indianization,” reflection on “localization,” the “Sanskrit cosmpolis,” and emerging theoretical contributions based on current archaeological, epigraphic, and art historical discoveries in India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Deptl. approval: Nov.17, 2015.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite(s): RELG 252 or permission of instructor
- Terms
  
  Fall 2019
- Instructors
  
  Andrea Marion Pinkney
RELG 544 Ethnography as Method in RelSt 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: Ethnography as method informs disciplines from Area Studies and anthropology to linguistics and religious studies. Students will acquire a critical perspective on emic/etic subjectivity in Religious Studies, and a framework to apply ethnography in their research. Coursework covers classic ethnographies, new interventions, and ethnographies of particular relevance for religious traditions in a given year.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Prerequisite(s): A minimum of six credits in 300 level RELG courses and/or permission of the instructor.
- Terms
  
  Winter 2020
- Instructors
  
  Andrea Marion Pinkney
RELG 547 Special Topics in Hinduism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: A research-oriented seminar dealing with topics in Hindu studies.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisites: 6 credits in Indian religions, philosophy of religion, philosophy, or permission of the instructor
- Terms
  
  Fall 2019
- Instructors
  
  Hamsa M Stainton

Current research:

My primary research is on one of the most basic aspects of Hindu ritual: the giving, receiving and distribution of prasāda, a karmically blessed substance “tasted” by divinities and other extraordinary beings. In Hindu South Asia, restrictions on commensality (food sharing) typically reflect hierarchical norms between people; however, these norms may be superseded by unique norms of gift economics in prasāda-exchanges. Combining insights from textual research in Sanskrit literature (Purāṇa, Tantra, Āgama) and ethnographic work among Hindi-speaking pilgrims (at Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath), my monograph, “The Sacred Share: Prasāda and the Hindu Gods”, explores the concept of prasāda in both classical and contemporary terms.

Selected publications:

List of publications

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Andrea Pinkney

Department and University Information

School of Religious Studies