Yoga in Theory and Practice Unit
We invite proposals on the following topics. Please contact the organizing scholar(s) listed next to each topic for more information (if you feel your work might fit into more than one category, please feel free to contact organizers together):
"Kundalini"
Ruth Westoby ruthwestoby@gmail.com
Marleen Thaler marleen.thaler@univie.ac.at
"Yoga, Asceticism, and Bodily Discipline"
Stuart Sarbacker Stuart.Sarbacker@oregonstate.edu
Alba Rodriguez alba.rodriguezjuan@email.ucr.edu
"Authenticity Discourses in Yoga"
Patton Burchett peburchett@wm.edu
“Yoga, Yogis, and the Boundaries of Science”
Patton Burchett peburchett@wm.edu
"Trans Spaces / Queer Spaces in Yoga"
Laurah Klepinger leklepin@utica.edu
"The Scholar-Practitioner in Yoga"
Christa Kuberry christakuberry@gmail.com
"Transformations of Yoga"
Diana Dimitrova diana.dimitrova@umontreal.ca
"Defining Transnational Yoga"
Samantha Griggs samantha.griggs@email.ucr.edu
"Yoga Texts"
Christopher Chapple cchapple@lmu.edu
"Multipolar/Vulnerable Spaces in Yoga"
Allyson Huval allysonhuval@gmail.com
“Reflections/ interpretations of yoga philosophies and practices through creative arts in contemporary global societies”
Sowmya Ayyar sowmyaayyar.bhuphd@gmail.com
Roundtable Book Review Discussion: Yogic Traditions and Sacred Sound Practices in the United States (SUNY 2025)
Brita Heimarck britaheimarck@gmail.com
We are also open to other full-panel proposals on any other topic falling under the purview of Yoga Studies.
This Unit seeks to elucidate the religious and sectarian representations of yoga in South Asian history and the profoundly fascinating contemporary yoga culture that has emerged in the past century. Among other topics that are addressed in our Unit is the emergence of modern yoga out of the encounter between Indian and European cultures in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In connection with this, it examines the relative pervasiveness of spiritual and religious ideologies in manifest or latent forms within the contemporary yoga scene, and the overarching sociological relevance of yoga within global culture. We also examine changing paradigms with respect to the nature and function of yoga in the larger South Asian religious context. Our goal is to provide a venue in which the body of scholars working in this area can collectively evaluate this extremely timely material. We actively pursue scholars from Europe, Asia, and other areas that have worked at length on these issues, so as to bring an important international component to the Unit.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alba Rodriguez Juan | alba.rodriguez.juan… | - | View |
| Christopher Patrick Miller | christopher.miller… | - | View |