William Buckingham (University of Durham)

submitted: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 08:44:34 +0000 (GMT)

Mr. William Buckingham. 
c/o Department of Anthropology
University of Durham
43 Old Elvet
Durham, DH1 3HN  UK

phones: 191-384-6213 (residence)
        191-374-2000 ext. 2859 (office)
email:  W.H.Buckingham@Durham.ac.uk

description of work:

My main area of interest is in the anthropology of religion and social
change. I am in the early stages of preparation for graduate research into
Ambedkarite Buddhism in India, mainly in Maharashtra, studying the use of
Buddhism as a vehicle for social change particularly among the so called
ex-untouchable castes. Initially my research will focus on identity
construction within TBMSG, the Indian wing of the worldwide Buddhist
movement the FWBO, but in the future I may look at the wider perspective
considering how the "new Buddhists" of India, followers of Ambedkar,
construct their identities in opposition to caste Hinduism.  Thus my
interests are both anthropological and historical, both in the sense of
the history of Buddhist revivalism in India, and in the sense of the use
of history by the ex-untouchable Buddhist communities in the present.