Hindu-Christian Studies Book Award

Nominations Invited

The Society for Hindu-Christian Studies invites nominations for the "Best Book in Hindu-Christian Studies, 2006-2008."

At its 2009 annual meeting, which will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of American Academy of Religion,the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies will present an award to the best book in Hindu-Christian  studies published  between 2006-2008. To celebrate this work, the society will also sponsor a panel discussion of the book to which  the author will be invited to respond. 

The society invites nominations for the award. The book must be published in 2006, 2007, or 2008 and be a distinguished contribution to the field of Hindu-Christian studies.  Such a work may be: (1) a comparative study of a theme(s) in Hindu and Christian traditions or of two (or more)  thinkers from those traditions;  (2) a work which traces  some aspect of the cultural, historical, political, social, or theological interaction  between Hindus and Christians (e.g., in early South Asian history, in the colonial period, in a contemporary setting, in a missionary context, in the diaspora, etc.); and/or (3) a study in which an author, belonging (religiously and/or culturally) to either the Hindu or the Christian tradition, reflexively undertakes a study of a concept, image, ritual, author, text, etc., from the other tradition, and thus bring it into dialogue with his or her own.

Nominations should be sent to:

Eliza F. Kent
Department of Religion
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13210
ekent@colgate.edu

Authors are welcome to nominate their own books.  Publishers are urged to send a copy of the book itself.  The committee will make its decision by February 15th, 2009. 

Past Winners

Winners of the "Best Book in Hindu Studies" award in past years include the following.  The society extends its ongoing appreciation to the authors for their extraordinary contribution to scholarship in this field.

1991-1993, Diana L. Eck, Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey From Bozeman to Banaras (Beacon Press, 1993)
1994-1996, Francis X. Clooney, Seeing Through Texts: Doing Theology among the Srivaisnavas of South India (SUNY, 1996)
1997-1999, Julius J. Lipner, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: The Life and Thought of a Revolutionary (Oxford, 1999)
2000-2002, Corinne Dempsey, Kerala Christian Sainthood: Collisions of Culture and Worldview in South India (Oxford, 2000).
2003-2005, Eliza F. Kent, Converting Women: Gender and Conversion to Christianity in Colonial South India  (Oxford, 2004).