Review:
“An intricately choreographed dance across two scholarly minefields, Blackburn’s study reveals vigorous Theravada monastic communities in the crucible of colonial Sri Lanka. It is yet another thought-provoking, minutely observed contribution from this wonderful scholar of South Asian histories and religions.”—Indrani Chatterjee, Rutgers University --Indrani Chatterjee, Rutgers University
“This is the best study of Buddhism and colonialism in Sri Lanka to have appeared in more than twenty years. Where earlier studies stressed the innovations and invented traditions produced in response to the colonial encounter, Anne Blackburn finds significant and fascinating continuities with earlier Buddhism, in Sri Lanka and more widely in Southeast Asia, in the life and work of one of the most important and influential monks of the nineteenth century, Hikkaduve Sumangala. Well organized, well written, and deeply humane, this book makes a delightful as well as a very important contribution to what it calls ‘the problem of trying to understand the local social logic and intellectual creativity of lives fashioned in the context of colonialism.’”—Steve Collins, University of Chicago
--Steve Collins, University of Chicago
“"Locations of Buddhism "is an important and much-needed biography of the Sri Lankan monk Hikkaduve Sumangala. In it Anne Blackburn not only explores the interplay between Buddhist monk intellectuals and the colonial establishment during the heyday of British colonialism in the latter half of the nineteenth century but also examines in depth the interconnections of Sri Lankan Buddhism with other Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. This is a must-read for students of Buddhism and for those interested in colonialism in this region.”—Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University
--Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University
""Locations of Buddhism "is an important and much-needed biography of the Sri Lankan monk Hikkaduve Sumangala. In it Anne Blackburn not only explores the interplay between Buddhist monk intellectuals and the colonial establishment during the heyday of British colonialism in the latter half of the nineteenth century but also examines in depth the interconnections of Sri Lankan Buddhism with other Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. This is a must-read for students of Buddhism and for those interested in colonialism in this region."--Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University
--Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University
"An intricately choreographed dance across two scholarly minefields, Blackburn's study reveals vigorous Theravada monastic communities in the crucible of colonial Sri Lanka. It is yet another thought-provoking, minutely observed contribution from this wonderful scholar of South Asian histories and religions."--Indrani Chatterjee, Rutgers University
""Locations of Buddhism" is an important and much-needed biography of the Sri Lankan monk Hikkaduve Sumangala. In it Anne Blackburn not only explores the interplay between Buddhist monk intellectuals and the colonial establishment during the heyday of British colonialism in the latter half of the nineteenth century but also examines in depth the interconnections of Sri Lankan Buddhism with other Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. This is a must-read for students of Buddhism and for those interested in colonialism in this region."
--Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University
"This is the best study of Buddhism and colonialism in Sri Lanka to have appeared in more than twenty years. Where earlier studies stressed the innovations and invented traditions produced in response to the colonial encounter, Anne Blackburn finds significant and fascinating continuities with earlier Buddhism, in Sri Lanka and more widely in Southeast Asia, in the life and work of one of the most important and influential monks of the nineteenth century, Hikkaduve Sumangala. Well organized, well written, and deeply humane, this book makes a delightful as well as a very important contribution to what it calls 'the problem of trying to understand the local social logic and intellectual creativity of lives fashioned in the context of colonialism.'"
--Steve Collins, University of Chicago
An intricately choreographed dance across two scholarly minefields, Blackburn s study reveals vigorous Theravada monastic communities in the crucible of colonial Sri Lanka. It is yet another thought-provoking, minutely observed contribution from this wonderful scholar of South Asian histories and religions. --Indrani Chatterjee, Rutgers University"
"Locations of Buddhism" is an important and much-needed biography of the Sri Lankan monk Hikkaduve Sumangala. In it Anne Blackburn not only explores the interplay between Buddhist monk intellectuals and the colonial establishment during the heyday of British colonialism in the latter half of the nineteenth century but also examines in depth the interconnections of Sri Lankan Buddhism with other Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. This is a must-read for students of Buddhism and for those interested in colonialism in this region.
--Gananath Obeyesekere, Princeton University"
This is the best study of Buddhism and colonialism in Sri Lanka to have appeared in more than twenty years. Where earlier studies stressed the innovations and invented traditions produced in response to the colonial encounter, Anne Blackburn finds significant and fascinating continuities with earlier Buddhism, in Sri Lanka and more widely in Southeast Asia, in the life and work of one of the most important and influential monks of the nineteenth century, Hikkaduve Sumangala. Well organized, well written, and deeply humane, this book makes a delightful as well as a very important contribution to what it calls the problem of trying to understand the local social logic and intellectual creativity of lives fashioned in the context of colonialism.
--Steve Collins, University of Chicago"
About the Author:
Anne M. Blackburn is associate professor of South Asian and Buddhist studies at Cornell University and the author of Buddhist Learning and Textual Practice in Eighteenth-Century Lankan Monastic Culture.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.