{"product_id":"9789819201037","title":"Contesting Hindu Representations in Media and Popular Culture From Cinema and Comedy to Social Media and Sacred Art","description":"\u003ch1\u003eContesting Hindu Representations in Media and Popular Culture\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFrom Cinema and Comedy to Social Media and Sacred Art\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRamesh N Rao | Nidhi Shendurnikar\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eSocial Science \/ Anthropology \/ Cultural \u0026amp; Social\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis edited volume explores how Hindus and Hinduism are represented in popular media—from films (Hindi and other Indian language films) and news media (Indian and Western) to stand-up comedy, as well as from devotional music to political art. Featuring contributions from scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and media studies, it examines portrayals—both representative and distorted—of Hindu beliefs, symbols, and practices. It includes a first-of-its-kind analysis of Indian stand-up comedy’s engagement with religion, as well as critical studies of films like \u003cem\u003ePadmaavat \u003c\/em\u003eand the exoticization and demonization of \u003cem\u003etantric \u003c\/em\u003erituals. This collection offers valuable insights for academics and general readers interested in global perceptions of the world’s third-largest religion, Hinduism, and how Hindus are presented, represented, characterized, and misrepresented. Given the lack of research on these issues, this anthology will provide the energy and direction for studies on identity, religion, and media literacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHow do the media represent Hindus and Hinduism? Asking this question is itself contested, as the conflicts among and between Hindus, and among Hindus and others in India, are spiral-bound by the presence, challenges, and successes of Hindus abroad. The essays in this anthology offer a range of “experiences, voices, and disciplines of expertise and authority”. Some chapters are grounded in empirically rigorous primary data collection projects, while some are based on equally rigorous historical research. Other chapters rely on observations and case studies of recent trends and themes in social media and mainstream media representations of Hinduism. As the editors point out, “The media are global, and communicating to the ‘masses’ does not just involve offering facts but influencing the readers’\/viewers’\/listeners’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It is no longer ‘big media’ targeting ‘mass audiences,’ but a variety of media platforms available to influential institutions and individuals alike, who offer material to anyone who has access to the world, which is now in everyone’s pockets through their smartphones.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNidhi Shendurnikar\u003c\/strong\u003e has a doctoral degree in Political Science from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat. She has a decade of teaching and research experience in media and communication studies, having supervised over sixty postgraduate theses\/dissertations. She has been a fellow of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India, for her doctoral work on ‘Conflict Mediation between India and Pakistan and Media’s Role’ from 2011-2015. She has worked on research projects with institutions like the National Commission for Women (NCW), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Anaadi Foundation, and others. As an academic, she has taught modules on Communication Research, Social Science Research Design and Methods, Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation, Research Writing, New Media, Gender Studies, Political Communication, and Indian Knowledge Systems to undergraduate and postgraduate students.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRamesh Rao\u003c\/strong\u003e, who earned his PhD from Michigan State University, has taught in the US since 1987, across four states – Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Georgia. Over the course of forty years, he has taught more than two dozen communication courses, ranging from public speaking to interpersonal communication, and from media literacy to communication theory. He is, at present, a professor in the Department of Strategic Communication, Media and Film, at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. He is the author\/co-author of more than half a dozen books, ranging from intercultural communication and Indian communication theory to Indian politics and society. He has authored more than one hundred opinion pieces that have been published across Indian, American, and British newspapers and magazines. In his spare time, he enjoys reading both fiction and non-fiction, watching tennis and golf, and listening to Carnatic music. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e02 August 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer Nature Singapore\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9789819201037\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e239\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Springer Nature Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46921118056588,"sku":"9789819201037","price":179.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9789819201037.jpg?v=1780605028","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9789819201037","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}