Colonialism
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Something must be done, my friend: Reflecting on “I’m Still Here” from a Buddhist view
Mas não vou ficar calado No conforto, acomodado Como tantos por aí É preciso dar um jeito, meu amigo É preciso dar um jeito, meu amigo[1] (Erasmo Carlos – É preciso dar um jeito, meu amigo) Flowing through my mind, these are the words of Erasmo Carlos’ 1971 song “É preciso dar um jeito, meu amigo.”[2] This song is also part of the “I’m Still Here” soundtrack—a Brazilian masterpiece that evokes resistance against military coups and authoritarian regimes. MPB (Música popular brasileira, or Brazilian popular music in English) was an incredible driving force not only in denouncing the horrors of the military dictatorship in Brazil, but also in giving hope…
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The Place of Colonial Terminology within Religious Studies – Sikhi, “Sikhism,” Sikhism, or Sikhi(sm)
[…] what I’ve often discovered, you know, plenty of the studies or books or courses and what-not will pay lip-service [emphasis mine] to the [project of decolonising] . . . they’ll say “Religion is a constructed category, bound up in colonial history and referring to Protestant Christianity.” And then, “Let’s just get on with using it, just like we would normally do.” That’s something that we should try and avoid! Malory Nye and Christopher R. Cotter, “Decolonizing the Study of Religion,” The Religious Studies Project (29/06/2020). This essay will focus on debates into whether the term “Sikhism” is sufficient and whether it is necessary, appropriate, and realistic to change the…
