Neilesh Bose, "Chips from a Calcutta Workshop: Comparative Religion in Nineteenth Century India" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Neilesh Bose, "Chips from a Calcutta Workshop: Comparative Religion in Nineteenth Century India" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Author: Marshall Poe February 19, 2026 Duration: 35:52
Chips from a Calcutta Workshop: Comparative Religion in Nineteenth Century India (Cambridge University Press, 2025) explores the development and nature of comparative religion in nineteenth-century India. It focuses on the ideas and intellectual currents behind a range of thinkers who explored comparative religion in India, drawing on a variety of inspirations from Indian religions. Rather than emanate out of a European Christian set of politics as in the Western world, comparative religion emerged out of religious reform movements, including the Brāhmo Samaj in Bengal and the Arya Samaj in the Punjab. With chapters on Rammohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen, and Swami Vivekananda, the book includes a re-evaluation of familiar figures alongside lesser-known thinkers within an intellectual history of modern Indian comparative religion. Neilesh Bose is Professor of History at the University of Victoria. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Dive into the vibrant and complex world of South Asian spiritual traditions with New Books in Indian Religions. Hosted by Marshall Poe, this series is part of the broader New Books Network, an initiative that functions as a sprawling, conversational audio library. Each episode brings you directly into a dialogue between academics, where authors detail the arguments and discoveries found within their latest publications. The conversations span a rich terrain, from philosophical debates within Hinduism and the histories of Sikhism to contemporary practices in Buddhism and Jainism, all under the broad umbrella of Indian religions. You’ll hear experts unpack dense material with clarity, making recent scholarship accessible and engaging. This podcast serves as a front-row seat to the evolving academic discourse, offering depth and context you won't find in summaries or reviews. It’s for the curious mind eager to move beyond surface-level understanding, whether you're a student, a practitioner, or simply someone fascinated by the enduring questions of faith, culture, and spirituality. Tune in to discover the people and ideas currently shaping our understanding of these ancient yet dynamically living traditions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

New Books in Indian Religions
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