Peter Gottschalk
Department of Religion
Wesleyan University
171 Church Street
Middletown, Connecticut 06459
office – (860) 685-2293
home – (860) 434-7012
pgottschalk@wesleyan.edu
Education
Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1997 (History of Religions).
M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1989 (South Asian Studies).
B.A. College of the Holy Cross, 1985 (History) – cum laude with Honors.
Relevant Employment Experience
Associate Professor: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (2004-present).
Assistant Professor: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (2003-2004).
Visiting Assistant Professor: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (2002-2003).
Assistant Professor: Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas (1997 to 2003).
Adjunct Assistant Professor: Asian Studies Department, University of Texas at Austin (1999 to 2002).
Adjunct Lecturer: St. Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois (spring 1997).
Adjunct Lecturer: Calumet College of St. Joseph, Whiting, Indiana (summer 1996).
Publications
Published books
Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, Co-authored with Gabriel Greenberg (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007).
Beyond Hindu and Muslim: Multiple Identity in Narratives from Village India (Oxford University Press, New York and Delhi, 2000 and 2001).
Books in press
Engaging South Asian Religions: Boundaries, Appropriations, and Resistance. Volume with ten contributors co-edited with Mathew N. Schmalz (SUNY Press).
Books under contract
Classifying Religion: British Scientism and the Discovery of Hindu and Muslim Indias (Oxford University Press).
Published essays and entries in books
“Teaching Bihari Rural Life through ‘The Virtual Village’ on the World Wide Web” co-written with Mathew Schmalz and submitted for Speaking of Peasants: Essays on Agrarian History in India in Honor of Walter Hauser, Vijay Pinch, ed. (Manohar, 2007).
“A Categorical Difference: Communal Identity in British Epistemologies” for Religion, Violence and Globalization: The South Asian Experience, John Hinnells and Richard King, eds. (Routledge Curzon, 2006).
“Muslim Traditions” in Religions of South Asia, Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, eds. (Routledge, 2006).
“Visions of Incompatibility: Categorizing Islam and Hinduism in Scholarship” in Incompatible Visions: South Asian Religion in History and Culture, James Blumenthal, ed. (Center for South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006).
“Foreword” for Building Communities in Gujarat: Architecture and Society during the Twelfth through Fourteenth Centuries, Alka Patel (E.J. Brill, 2004).
“Mapping Muslims: Categories of Evolutionary Difference and Interaction in South Asia” in Lived Islam: Liminality, Accommodation, and Adaptation, Imtiaz Ahmad and Helmut Reifeld, eds. (Social Science Press, 2004).
“Introduction” for Surprising Bedfellows: Hindus and Muslims in Medieval India, Sushil Mittal, ed. (Lexington Books, 2003).
“Dead Healers and Living Identities: Narratives of a Hindu Ghost and a Muslim Sufi in a Shared Village” in The Living and the Dead: The Social Dimensions of Death in South Asian Religions, Elizabeth Wilson, ed. (SUNY Press, 2003).
Entries for The (Oxford) Dictionary of Islam, John Esposito, ed. (Oxford University Press, 2003). Including: Hinduism & Islam, Zorastrianism & Islam, Abu al-Fath Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar I, Delhi Sultans, Ghaznavids, Jahangir, Nadwat al-Ulama, Nizaris, Nur Jahan, and Ashraf Ali Thanawi.
“It Is My Privilege to Say…” in Justice for All, Jake B. Schrum, ed. (Southwestern University, 2001). pp. 20-28.
Other published articles and essays
“A Mahatma for Mourners and Militants: The Social Memories of Mohandas Gandhi in Arampur, ” in “Mourning and Memory,” a special issue of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (Vol. 25, No. 1, 2005).
“Political Hindu Nationalism: Riptides in the Saffron Wave” in Sightings, a twice-weekly on-line publication of the Martin Marty Center of the University of Chicago Divinity School (August 25, 2005): http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2005/0825.shtml.
“Being an ‘Other’ Other than Myself: ‘Take It to the Bridge’” in Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, vol. 13 (2001).
“The Problem of Defining Islam in Arampur,” International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World Newsletter (August 2001).
Essays and entries in press
“A Village as Hermeneutical Lens: Spaces of Rural Hindu-Muslim Interactions” submitted for Do Villages Matter? Diane Mines and Nicolas Yazgi, eds. (Oxford University Press, New Delhi).
“A Science of Defining Boundaries: Classification, Categorization, and the Census of India” in Engaging South Asian Religions: Boundaries, Appropriations, and Resistance, Mathew N. Schmalz and Peter Gottschalk, eds. (SUNY Press).
“Mapping Boundaries: The Science of Knowing Communal Identity in British Cartography” in Lines in the Water: Religious Boundaries in South Asia. Tazim R. Kassam and Liza Kent, eds. (SUNY Press).
“Jam‘îyatul ‘Ulamâ’-i Hind” entry in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, revised edition. John L. Esposito, ed. (Oxford University Press).
“On Method and Narrative – OR, How A Textualist Gave Birth to Two Ethnographers” co-authored with Mathew Schmalz in Notes from a Mandala: Essays in Honor of Wendy Doniger (University of Delaware Press).
Published reviews
Vasudha Damlia, The Nationalization of Hindu Traditions: Bharatendu Harischandra and Nineteenth-century Banaras in History of Religions (vol. 39, no. 4; May 2000).
Lise McKean, Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement in South Asia Newsletter (Autumn 1996).
Unpublished works submitted for publication
“Promoting Scientism: Institutions for Gathering and Disseminating Knowledge in British Bihar” submitted for Knowledge Production and Pedagogy in Colonial India. Daud Ali and Indra Sengupta, eds. (Manuscript to be submitted to Palgrave).
“Religion, Evolution, and Scientism.” (Under consideration by the journal Man in India).
Electronic and visual productions
“A Virtual Village” version 2.0: http://virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu (2004).
“A Virtual Village. ” A virtual Indian village on the world wide web: (2001).
“History of Religion Timeline.” Encyclopedia Britannica CD-ROM (1998).
“Living Together and Apart: Hindus and Muslims in South Asia.” Script-writer, photographer, and narrator for still-image video produced by the University of Wisconsin-Madison South Asian Outreach Center (1993).
“Living with Geography: Everyday Life in Pakistan.” Script-writer, photographer, and narrator for still-image video produced by the University of Wisconsin-Madison South Asian Outreach Center (1992).
Professional Presentations
Forthcoming
“The Village on the March: Defying and Reinforcing Religious Boundaries in Rural India.” International Society for the Study of Religion – Santiago de Compostela, Spain (July 2009).
“A Co-Dependent Relationship: Science, Secularism, and Religion.” Rethinking Religion in India 2 conference – Delhi (January 2009).
Invited Lectures
“It Takes Two to Tango: Religion and Science in the Imperial Ballroom” and “Picturing Islam: 50 years of Making Muslims the Enemy.” Wickenden Lectures – Miami University (September 2008).
“Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy” at Deconstructing Islamophobia workshop, University of California, Berkeley (April 2008).
“Fear and Loathing: Extremism, the Norm, and the Limits of Religious Tolerance.” Hartford Seminary (April 2008).
“Foiled Again: Muslims and Mainstream America.” Trinity College, Hartford (March 2008).
“Issues and Trends in the Study of South Asian Religions.” Symposium on South Asia: Issues and Trends in Research at Missouri State University, Springfield (March 2008).
“Images of the Enemy: from Caricature to Stereotype.” Islamophobia workshop, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center of Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University (September 2007).
“The Problem with Religion in India.” The University of Connecticut (April 2007).
“Putting Bihar on the Map: British Efforts to Know Biharis.” Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, India (January 2007).
“Classified Information: The Science of Religion in British India.” Center for the Humanities, Wesleyan University (December 2006).
“The Science of Communalism: Epistemologies of Difference in British India.” Yale University (November 2006).
“Questioning How Things Are (in South Asia) through a Liberal Arts Education.” University of the Liberal Arts, Bangladesh (March 2005).
“Between Imagination and Experience: Muslims in American Political Cartoons.” Bath Spa University College, England (November 2004).
“The type of difference and the difference of the type: British categories of religion and society in an Indian village.” South Asia History seminar, School of Oriental and African Studies, England (October 2004).
“Knowing the Difference: Indian Religious Identity in Popular and State Discourse.” “Comparative Perspectives on Religious Coexistence: The State and the Everyday” seminar, Duke University (April 2004).
“Mapping Muslims: Categories of Evolutionary Difference and Interaction in South Asia.” “Lived Islam: Liminality, Accommodation, and Adaptation” workshop, Goa, India (December 2002).
“Making Place with Religion in a Village and Making a Place for a Religion in Taxonomy.” Department of Asian Studies Seminar, University of Austin at Texas (September 2002).
“Globalization and A Virtual Village.” Colloquium on Transnational Religion, Washington & Lee University (July 2002).
“Planet of the Ocean of the Streams of Story: Narrative Strands and Multiple Identity in North India.” University of Wisconsin-Madison (April 1997).
Conference Papers
“Promoting Scientism: Institutions for Gathering and Disseminating Knowledge in British Bihar.” Conference on Knowledge Production and Pedagogy in Colonial India: Missionaries, Orientalists, and Reformers in Institutional Contexts - School of Oriental and African Studies and German Historical Institute, London (November 2008).
“Picture Perfect: Religion, Representation, and Categories of Comparison.” American Academy of Religions Conference – Chicago (November 2008).
“De-centering Muslim Studies.” Annual Conference on South Asia – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2007).
“Between Memory and Science: Local and State Views of Bakhtiyar’s Rauza.” Annual Conference on South Asia – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2007).
“In a Class of Their Own: Categorizing Difference in the Processions of a North Indian Village.” ‘Drawing a line in water’: Religious Boundaries in South Asia conference – Syracuse University (April 2004).
“Through the Historiographic Lens: Religion in Arampur.” American Academy of Religions Conference – Atlanta (November 2003).
“Roots vs. Routes in the Study of South Asian Religions.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2003).
“Knowing Arampur: Western Epistemologies in Colonial Knowledge of Village Religions.” Association of Asian Studies Conference – New York City (March 2003).
“Representation, Reciprocity and Concealment in the Virtual Village.” Co-presented with Mathew Schmalz at Association of Asian Studies Conference – Washington, D.C. (March 2002).
“Hinduism and Islam in the Virtual Village.” Co-presented with Mathew Schmalz at American Academy of Religion Conference – Denver (November 2001).
“The Raj that Memory Forgot: Local Forgetting During National Remembering.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2001).
“Mahatma in Memory: Gandhi in Myth, History, and Group Memory.” American Academy of Religion Conference – Nashville, Tennessee (November 2000).
“Challenging Identities: Muslims and Hindus in ‘A Virtual Village.’” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2000).
“As Brothers and Others: Multiple Identities among Hindus and Muslims in India.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 1999).
“Reluctant to Leave the Beach.” Going Native: Recruitment, Conversion and Identification in Cultural Research conference at The Ohio State University (May 1999).
“Being an Other Other than Myself: Religious Identity among Multiple Identities.” American Academy of Religion Conference – Orlando, Florida (November 1998).
“Who Will Write Our History?” South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 1998).
“Powers of Association: Narratives of Healing among a Sufi, Shahid, and Brahm in Rural Bihar.” American Academy of Religion Conference – San Francisco (November 1997).
“Multiple Narratives and Multiple Identities among Hindus and Muslims in Bihar.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 1996).
“An Historian of Religions as Other.” Wednesday Lunch Lecture – University of Chicago (October 1996).
“The Mahâvamsa as Memory.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (November 1992).
Fellowships, Grants, and Awards
Faculty Fellow – Center for the Humanities, Wesleyan University (fall 2006).
Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship Grant - (2004-2005).
Mellon New Initiative Grant – (2004-2006).
Project Grant - Wesleyan University (2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009).
Visiting Fellow – Divinity School, Cambridge University (summer 2001).
Group Project Grant – Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion (2000-2001).
Brown Fellowship – Southwestern University (2000-2001).
Cullen Faculty Development stipend - Southwestern University (1998-1999, 1999-2000).
Dissertation Fellowship – Committee on South Asian Studies, University of Chicago (1994-1997).
Advanced Overseas Dissertation Research Fellowship – University of Chicago (1994).
Ross Fellowship – University of Chicago (1993-1994, 1996-1997).
Century Scholarship – University of Chicago (1990-1994).
Title VI Language Fellowship – University of Chicago (1991 -1993, summer 1994).
Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan Fellowship (1989-1990).
Title VI Language Fellowship – University of Wisconsin-Madison (summer 1988, 1988-1989).
Teaching
Regular courses
Islam and Muslim Cultures (RELI 221), Constructing Hinduism and Islam (RELI 278), Religions Resist Modernity (RELI 381), Introduction to the Study of Religion (RELI 101), Colloquium for Majors (RELI 398).
Senior thesis and essay advising
Thesis – Keith Trudeau (2003-2004), Gabriel F. Greenberg (2003-2004), Chet Devaskar (co-advisor fall 2003), Rose Tisdall (2005-2006), Justin Shaeffer-Duffy (co-advisor spring 2007), Kate Zyskowski (2007-2008).
Essay – Wes Petersen (spring 2004), Mira Davé (spring 2008).
Teaching Workshops
Speaker: “Muslim Voices from South Asia” and “A Virtual Village.” Islam in Asia workshop, United States and China Institute, University of Southern California (May 2007).
Speaker: “South Asia: One of the Largest Communities of Muslims Defy the Stereotypes.” Symposium on Asia in the Curriculum, University of California, Los Angeles (November 2006).
Speaker: “Islamic Diversity in South Asia.” “Islam in Asia” workshop at University of California, Los Angeles Asia Institute (May 2006).
Speaker: “Muslims and Islam in A Virtual Village” at teachers’ workshop sponsored by the Islamic Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin (March 2002).
Consultant: On teaching Islam, Hendrix College Global Intellectual Traditions program (February 2002).
Panel moderator: World 2000, teacher’s conference conducted by the World History Association and the National Council for Geographic Education – Austin (February 2000).
Presenter and discussion facilitator: “Religious Asian Others in American Cinema,” teachers’ workshop conducted by the Asia Studies Center, The University of Texas at Austin (June 1999).
Facilitator: Associated Colleges of the South Teachers’ Workshop: Rollins College (June 2002).
Speaker: “Hinduism: Teaching Religion or Culture?” 2000 Summer Teachers Institute at the University of Texas at Austin (June 2000).
Participant: Associated Colleges of the South Teachers’ Workshop: Rollins College (June 1998).
University Service
Wesleyan University
Member: Advisory Committee on tenure and promotion (2006-2008).
Coordinator: South Asia Studies Cluster (2003-2004, 2005-2009).
Faculty marshal: University commencement (2004, 2006-2008).
Assessor: Reviewed the study abroad programs of seven universities in Australia (August 2007).
Member: Committee on International Studies (2005-2006).
Chair: Search committee for tenure-track faculty position in Department of Religion (2005-2006).
WESeminar: “Muslims in a Post 9/11 America: Perceptions and Realities” with Imam Sohaib Sultan (May 2008).
WESeminar: “The Scimitar and the Veil” in New York (May 2008).
WESeminar: “Religion in Film” co-presented with Jeremy Zwelling (May 2006).
Alumni lecturer: “Medieval Muslims of Mayhem and Modernity” in Boston (December 2006).
Presenter: Panel on the film “Contact” at request of organizer Bob Lane (April 2006).
Alumni lecturer: “Medieval Muslims of Mayhem and Modernity” in Los Angeles (March 2006).
Presenter: Panel on Danish cartoon controversy at request of Muslim Student Association (February 2006).
Invited participant: Faculty discussion regarding open curricula at Wesleyan (February 2006).
Member: Working group on key capabilities (December 2005).
Presenter: “A Virtual Village” website demonstrated and explained, Academic (Technology) Roundtable (September 2005).
Representative: Social Sciences Computing Committee (2002-2004).
WESeminar: “The Scimitar and the Veil in American Political Cartoons,” co-presented with Gabriel Greenberg (‘04)
Participant: Islam and Politics seminar (2003-2004).
Teach-in: “Collapsed Identities: American Myopia Regarding Ethnic, Religious, and Racial Differences in the Middle East”-presentation for student-organized lunchtime lectures (April 2003).
Teach-in: “The Good, the Bad, and the Exotic: Westerners View Muslim Men and Women” – presentation for “People’s Awareness Month” (February 2003).
Lecture: “Myths about Muslims of Mayhem and Misogyny” – lecture for the CSS Lunch (March 2003)
Workshop: Non-violent conflict resolution (February 2003).
Southwestern University
Teach-in: Co-presented “From Banyan to Burmingham: Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebrations (2000, 2002).
Teach-ins: “Islam” (September) and “Afghanistan” (November), Southwestern University.
Lecturer: “Nature, Religion, and Science” for Homecoming (2002).
Member: Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee (1998-2002).
Chair: Committee on International Programs and Experiences (2002).
Faculty advisor: Indian Students Association (2001-2002).
Member: Student Organizations Committee (1998-2002).
Faculty advisor: Southwestern Association of Disc Sports (1999-2001).
Member: Search committee, Department of Philosophy and Religion (1997-1998, 1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002).
Member: Core Purpose Committee for Inauguration (2001).
Member: SACS committee on Instructional Support (2000-2001).
Representative: Student Affairs Council (1999-2001).
Member: Search committee, Department of English (2000-2001).
Member: Faculty Advisory Career Team @ Southwestern (FACTS) (2000-2001).
Lecturer: “Nature, Religion, and Science” for Homecoming (2000).
Lecturer: “Religion, Modernity, and Star Trek” for Family Weekend (Spring 2000).
Member: Search Committee, Department of Communications (2000).
Secretary: Humanities Division (1998-2000).
Other Professional Experience
Related experience
Manuscript evaluator: Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Indiana University Press, State University of New York Press, Longman Publishers, Journal of Asian Studies, Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion, and International Journal for Hindu Studies.
Interviews: Various news programs and talk shows on radio, television, and the internet, including National Public Radio, Voice of America, and Air America (2007-present).
Board member: South Asian Muslim Studies Association (2000-present).
Proposal evaluator: Harris Faculty Fellowship, Grinnell College (fall 2008).
Panel discussant: “Legacies of Partition” panel at Association of Asian Studies conference, Boston (March 2007).
Panel presiding: “Teaching Religion and Violence: Approaches and Traditions” panel at American Academy of Religion conference, Philadelphia (November 2005).
Lecture respondent: P. Misra, “American Views of India.” Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, India (April 2005).
Panel respondent: “Rooting Religions Abroad: Case Studies on Sri Lankan Hinduism in Europe.” International Association of the History of Religions Congress, Tokyo (March 2005).
Tenure case recommendation: University of Vermont (2004).
Panel organizer: “South Asian Religions through Western Lenses.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2003).
Panel organizer: “Knowing South Asian Religions: Western Constructions.” Association of Asian Studies Conference – New York City (March 2003).
Member: Islamic Studies Program, University of Texas at Austin (Fall 2000 to Spring 2002).
Panel organizer: “Accounting for Islam in Hindu Experience.” American Academy of Religion Conference – Denver (November 2001).
Panel organizer: “Teaching about Muslims.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2000).
Panel discussant: “Hindu and Muslim in Pre-Colonial South Asia.” Symposium in Center for Asian Studies at University of Texas, Austin (November 1998).
Panel organizer: “Religion, Healing, and Discourse in India: Ethnographic Approaches.” American Academy of Religion Conference – San Francisco (November 1997).
Panel organizer: “Narrative and Identity in South Asian Religions.” Annual Conference on South Asia Conference – University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 1996).
Freelance editorial assistant: Criterion magazine (1994, 1996).
Research Assistant to Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago (Summer 1996).
Symposium organizer: “What Is the Role of Faith in the Secular Classroom for the Study of Religions?” University of Chicago (April 1994).
Symposium organizer and moderator: “What Is the Role of the Historian of Religions’ Faith in Research and the Classroom?” University of Chicago (February 1994).
Panel respondent: “Who Is Represented? Issues in Indigenous Buddhist, Jain and Sikh ‘Texts.’” Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs – University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (October 1992).
Research Assistant to Robert Frykenberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987-88).
Financial Aid Officer: PSI Institute, Silver Springs, Maryland (1986-87).
Research Assistant to Greg Dening, University of Melbourne, Australia (1983).
Intern: Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus, Washington, D.C. (1986).
Community Service
Lecture: “Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy.” Beyond Stereotypes: Islamophobia and the War on Terror panels at Ohio State University, Columbus and Xavier University, Cincinnati. Sponsored by Council on Islamic-American Relations (February 2008).
Lecture: “Making Muslims the Enemy” at Old Avon Farms School, Avon, Connecticut (May 2007).
Lecture: “Islam and the West: Sensationalized Conflict” for Georgetown Senior University (Southwestern University, June 2002).
Lectures and discussions in Georgetown area schools and organizations with regard to the September 11 attacks, Islam, and American responses (2001-2002).
Lecture: “Introduction to Islam” at Christ of the Hills Methodist Church (Hot Springs Village, February 2002).
Workshop: Non-violent conflict resolution for Operation Achievement (October 2001).
Lecture: “Religion, Modernity, and Star Trek” for Georgetown Senior University (Southwestern University, June 2000).
Overseas Experience
Archival research, India (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008); England (2001, 2004, 2007, 2008).
Field research, Bihar, India (1994-1995, 2000, & 2005).
Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan (1989-1990).
Volunteer, Damien Social Welfare Center, India (1985-1986).
University of Melbourne, Australia (1983): college junior year abroad.
Languages
Speaking, reading, and writing fluency: Urdu, Hindi.
Reading ability: Sanskrit, German, French.
Professional Societies
American Academy of Religion
American Anthropological Association
Association for Asian Studies
South Asian Muslim Studies Association
