Andrea Pinkney

Academic title(s):

Associate Professor of South Asian Religions; Associate Member, History and Classical Studies

Advising

Minor Concentration in South Asian Studies

Major and Minor Concentration in World Religions; Advising sheets

Contact Information

Address:

Ferrier Building, Room 458
840 rue du Dr. Penfield
Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0G2, Canada

Phone:

514-398-7357

Fax number:

514-398-6665

Email address:

andrea.pinkney [at] mcgill.ca

Degree(s):

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

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 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
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year
RELG 348 Classical Hinduism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: Surveys classical Hinduism through Sanskrit learning traditions. Topics include: Vedic literature, fables, ethics, statecraft, erotics, liberation, and epic literature.

Offered by: Religious Studies
- All texts are read in English translation; no prior knowledge is assumed.
- Terms
  
  Winter 2021
- Instructors
  
  Arvind Sharma
RELG 378 Pilgrimage, Heritage, &Tourism 3 Credits
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Religious Studies: Explores the history of pilgrimage and emergence of religious tourism in global contexts. Introduces the religious heritage of Montreal and its history as a Roman Catholic pilgrimage centre (St. Joseph’s Oratory) and adopts thematic approaches to pilgrimage and tourism in interreligious perspectives (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish).

Offered by: Religious Studies
- Class work includes a local field visit
- Terms
  
  Winter 2021
- Instructors
  
  Andrea Marion Pinkney
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
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year
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
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year
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
  
  This course is not scheduled for the 2020 academic year
- Instructors
  
  There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020 academic year

Current research:

Religious Journeys in India https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6406-religious-journeys-in-india.aspx

Selected publications:

Publications online

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Andrea Pinkney

Advising

Department and University Information

School of Religious Studies