Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism the newest book by Banu Subramaniam "explores the limitations of the universality of science to reveal how science in postcolonial contexts is always locally inflected and modulated. Evoking the rich mythology of comingled worlds, where humans, animals, and gods transform each other and ancient history, Subramaniam demonstrates how Hindu nationalism sutures an ideal past to technologies of the present by making bold claims about the scientific basis of Vedic civilization and deploying this narrative to consolidate caste, patriarchal, and Hindu power." 

Please join us as she discusses her research and writing in conversation with Sarah Pinto (Tufts University) and Jyoti Puri (Simmons University).

Banu Subramaniam is professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In addition to this newest title, she has also authored Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity (University of Illinois Press, 2014) and Decolonizing Botany: From the Herbarium to the Plantarium (University of Washington Press). 

This event is sponsored by the Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and the Harvard University Asia Center.