Converting Cultures ─ Religion, Ideology, and Transformations of Modernity

As the 19 essays of this collection show, conversion to another religion or way of belief--as occurs when non-western societies adopt western norms--brings about grave changes within societies and raises questions regarding belief and modernity. The essays examine specific historical cases, among them secular conversion in 1930s Turkey, the Tolstoian religion in Meiji Japan, and mass conversion in 1930s India. The remaining essays are also centered on issues in Turkey, Japan, India, and China. In addition, two articles related to the Ottoman world discuss crypto-Jews and crypto-Christians in the Middle East and the Bulgarian women's movement. Washburn teaches Japanese and comparative literature and Reinhart teaches religion; both are at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dennis C. Washburn, Ph.D (1991) in Japanese Literature, Yale University, is Professor of Japanese and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College. He is the author of several studies and translations including Translating Mount Fuji: Modern Japanese Fiction and the Ethics of Identity (Columbia, 2006).A. Kevin Reinhart, Ph.D (1986) from the Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University, is Associate Professor in the Religion Department, Dartmouth College. He has published on Islamic law, theology and ethics, and on late Ottoman-period Islam.