Webster: Historiography of Christianity in India

Webster, John C. B.:
Historiography of Christianity in India / John. C. B. Webster. - New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2012. - x, 273 S.
ISBN 978-0-19-808920-9
Rs. 725,00 (OUP India)
£ 25,00 (OUP UK)
DDC: 275.40072

Beschreibung
This book is as much about the history of Christianity in India, as it is about the writing of Indian Christian history. A first of its kind, John Webster analyses the themes and concerns that have informed the historiography of Christianity over the past three centuries.
     Moving away from mission histories and institutional Church histories, this book locates Christianity in the cultural context of the subcontinent by relating the development of historical writing on Christianity to political events, social changes, religious challenges, and intellectual trends in India. Webster's first-hand knowledge of the social dynamics of the region and familiarity with the source materials form the basis of his socio-cultural approach to the history of the Christians in India. Wide in its scope, his study reaches back to the early days of the Europeans in India, as well as strides forward to address issues like religious conversion and the identity of Indian Christians in contemporary society.
     With deft prose Webster brings into focus narratives from disparate regions like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, and the states of the North-east. From assessing the contribution of Christianity to the empowerment of women in Amritsar to reconstructing the history of the elusive Ditt through deconstruction of colonial accounts, to challenging popular assumptions about Dalit Christian history, he makes the case for seeing Christian history as a lens for gaining insight into Indian social history. [OUP India]

Inhalt
Preface
Introduction
1. The History of Christianity in India: Aims and Methods
2. The Contribution of the Historian to Theological Research in India
3. The Identity of Indian Christians
4. A Quest for the Historical Ditt
5. The Women of Amritsar through Missionary Eyes
6. Christian History as Indian Social History: A Review of the Literature
7. Dalit Christian History: Themes and Trends
Conclusion: Re-examining Basic Assumptions
Biblography
Index

Autor

John C.B. Webster is a trustee at Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York. He has previously taught at Baring Union Christian College, Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab, as well as at the United Theological College in Bangalore.

Quellen: Oxford University Press (India); WorldCat; Oxford University Press (UK); OpenISBN; Blackwell's Online Bookshop
Bildquellen: Oxford University Press (India). Bild John C. Webster: Church History Foundation of India, 2011.
Bibliographie: [1]

References