The Neighborhood of Gods by William Elison

The Neighborhood of Gods by William Elison

There are many holy cities in India, but Mumbai is not usually considered one of them. More popular images of the city capture the world’s collective imagination—as a Bollywood fantasia or a slumland dystopia. Yet for many, if not most, people who live in the city, the neighborhood streets are indeed shared with local gods and guardian spirits. In The Neighborhood of Gods, William Elison examines the link between territory and divinity in India’s most self-consciously modern city. In this densely settled environment, space is scarce, and anxiety about housing is pervasive. Consecrating space—first with impromptu displays and then, eventually, with full-blown temples and official recognition—is one way of staking a claim. But how can a marginalized community make its gods visible, and therefore powerful, in the eyes of others?   The Neighborhood of Gods explores this question, bringing an ethnographic lens to a range of visual and spatial practices: from the shrine construction that encroaches on downtown streets, to the “tribal art” practices of an indigenous group facing displacement, to the work of image production at two Bollywood film studios. A pioneering ethnography, this book offers a creative intervention in debates on postcolonial citizenship, urban geography, and visuality in the religions of India.

Elison, William: - William Elison is assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780226494906
ISBN 10	022649490X
Title	The Neighborhood of Gods
Author	William Elison
Series	South Asia Across The Disciplines
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The University of Chicago Press
Year published	2018-12-10
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.