[Air-L] previous research on dalits online?

[Mia Lövheim]

Greetings to all list-members,

I am a lecturer in sociologi of religion and media, religion and 
culture at Uppsala university, Sweden. I will this semester be 
supervising a master thesis on
"Ambedkar as an icon of dalit-assertion: Post-Ambedkar discourses and 
representations on the Internet". The focus is to study how the 
dalit-movement (a marginalised social group in India) construct and 
strengthen their identity through relating themselves and their claims 
to the central figure of the movement Dr Amdebkar. The intention of my 
student is further to study both iconic representations of Amdebkar and 
transformations of his symbolic meaning in the process.

I would be very grateful for any information of previous research in 
this area, that is the dalit-movement and uses of the internet. Also 
other studies of the role of the internet in hindu minority movements 
with political and religious claims would be helpful of course, or on 
the construction of religious leaders as icons for such groups through 
the internet.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to what you may have 
to share on this subject!

sincerely,

Mia Lövheim, TD
Sociology of Religion
Theological Faculty, Uppsala University
P.O. Box 511
S-751 20 Uppsala
work: (int + 46) 18-471 21 68
fax: (int + 46) 18-71 01 70
home: (int + 46) 8-640 0702
mobile: (int + 46) 702-23 49 33
mail: mia.lovheim at teol.uu.se
http://www.teol.uu.se/staff/lovheim