Dinner is served! And it’s a big ol’ slice of Indian culture.

Jeremy Rinker, visiting assistant peace and conflict studies professor, will venture to Banaras, India in the spring to teach and conduct research at Banaras Hindu University.

This life-changing opportunity is funded by a grant from the U.S. government exchange program, the Fulbright Program. Rinker is one of 1,100 professors accepted into this highly competitive program.

During the four to six months he is abroad, Rinker will learn more about the relationship between religion, marginalized groups and communal tensions in the area.

“Banaras is a very holy city for Hindus,” said Rinker. “Part of my research while I’m there is going to be around religion in a place that’s thought of as a Hindu city, but is actually 20-25% Muslim … (and) looking at how (Banaras) has maintained a relative zone of peace between these Hindus and Muslims, when other cities with similar demographics haven’t.”

Rinker’s former student Ben Heide ’12, thinks that Rinker’s work while abroad could help create more peaceful ways of dealing with conflict in that area.

“In India, you have direct conflict between Hindus and Muslims,” said Heide. “Peace between these two cultures is really important, and the more you understand why the other person is doing something, the better you can approach them. So his work is very much needed.”

Another of Rinker’s students, senior Abdulrahman Al-Turki, thinks Rinker’s extensive knowledge and passion for this part of the world will be an important part of the journey.

“(Rinker) is very familiar with and has a great deal of interest in the region,” said Al-Turki. “I think he is a great teacher and a very active learner.”

Fellow Peace and Conflict Studies Professor Amal Khoury is excited for how this experience will enhance the Peace and Conflict Studies program and Guilford as a whole.

“I am sure that (Rinker) can bring a lot back to Guilford — both to the larger Guilford community as well as to his classes — from his experience in India next semester,” Khoury said in an email interview. “(He) will incorporate aspects of his experience into his courses, share his research and cultural experiences with the Guilford community, and will definitely make new connections that will benefit Guilford.”

Rinker’s classes will focus on religion and conflict. He also plans to lead conflict resolution trainings and workshops.

“I’m hoping these workshops will kind of legitimize the work of peace and conflict studies, where in a traditional education system … it is not always seen as a core discipline,” Rinker said.

This will be his fifth time to India and second time to Banaras.

In the spring, he plans to work with a number of nonprofit organizations and nongovernmental organizations  to better understand how globalization has affected marginalized communities, and the role of religion in keeping a relative peace.

“I use the term ‘relative peace’ because it isn’t as if Banaras has been immune from bomb blasts and communal violence … but they haven’t risen to the level of being a trigger event for larger communal disorder and riots,” said Rinker. “In other parts of India, when these things happen, it tends to have more shock waves of repercussion. That’s what I’m interested in. Why is it that Banaras has been a relative zone of peace and those ripples of communal violence haven’t happened?”

Rinker hopes that his experience and abroad experiences like this can help lead to a more cross-culturally understanding society.

“I think bringing back the geographical literacy that our students — and Americans in general lack  — is a really positive outcome if we can get people to realize that people’s lives in different parts of the world are a whole lot different than ours,” Rinker said. “That’s part of what liberal arts education is about I guess, but I’m not sure that Guilford, or anywhere else in this country, does that very well. … A lot of people don’t ever really think outside the box of the United States.”

While some Americans might feel trapped in this so-called box, Rinker is certainly not one of them.

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