North American Hinduism Unit
While we accept paper proposals, we strongly encourage paper proposals to respond to our CFP to increase chance of acceptance. We welcome and encourage full panel (paper or roundtable) proposals with a coherent theme that respond to one of the topics listed in the CFP and/or proposals which speak to the unit's priorities and the AAR presidential theme. We believe strongly in collaboration and welcome the opportunity to host cosponsored sessions. If you have any additional questions and/or are interested in submitting to a particular session listed below please contact Rupa Pillai (rupillai@sas.upenn.edu) or Dheepa Sundaram (dheepa.sundaram@du.edu). Contact the Chairs advance of submitting proposals if you have any questions or need assistance.
North American Hinduism Unit 2026 CFP
The North American Hinduism Unit welcomes single paper, roundtable, or panel proposals that examine Hinduisms in North America and related diaspora contexts. We encourage interested individuals to contact the co-chairs, Rupa Pillai (rupillai@sas.upenn.edu) and Dheepa Sundaram (dheepa.sundaram@du.edu), in advance of submitting proposals with questions or tips on how to write a strong proposal.
In addition to any proposals for individual papers, roundtables, or panels, our unit is especially interested in the following topics in relation to the 2026 Presidential Theme “Future/s”:
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Future Directions in the Scholarship of North American Hinduism
Contact: Aarti Patel (abp6177@psu.edu) and Rupa Pillai (rupillai@sas.upenn.edu)
For decades, scholarship on North American Hinduism has captured the dynamic transformations of Hindu traditions within the United States and Canada. From rich ethnographies documenting the building of temples to studies exploring how devotional practices adapt and persist in new contexts, the scholarship in our field has utilized frameworks of diaspora and transnationalism to investigate the formations of North American Hinduism. While such scholarship is still necessary, the future of our field also lies in pursuing new questions and emerging theoretical frameworks.
To showcase future directions in North American Hinduism, we welcome individual paper or panel proposals that might engage, but are not limited to, questions such as:
- How do we study North American Hinduism as an American religion?
- How are the diverse lived experiences of North American Hinduism represented in novels, films, music, etc?
- How has Hinduism been adapted by North American legal apparatuses (i.e., immigration policies, legal definitions of religion, and the bureaucracy of non-profit)?
- How might we study North American Hinduism as an Asian American Religion?
- How are practices of Hinduism altering spatial and sonic notions of belonging within the North American context?
- What new frameworks does the study of North American Hinduisms offer to scholars of religious nationalism?
- How does the study of North American Hinduisms advance and/or complicate the study of Hinduism in and beyond the Americas?
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Discussing the Uncertain Futures of Teaching and Researching Hinduism in North America: A Lightning Roundtable
Contact: Rupa Pillai (rupillai@sas.upenn.edu) and Dheepa Sundaram (dheepa.sundaram@du.edu)
As scholars of Hinduism, either teaching in the North American Academy or researching Hinduisms in North America, we are witnessing and experiencing increased uncertainty. This uncertainty ranges from the closing of Religious Studies departments and the reduced funding to area studies to the targeted harassment of scholars. To learn more about our diverse experience while developing networks of support to dream better futures, we invited proposals for lightning talks (3-5 mins) for an experimental roundtable. This roundtable will feature 5-6 lightning talks with ample time to brainstorm strategies to navigate the issues introduced by the talks. To learn more about how to propose lightning talks, Rupa Pillai (rupillai@sas.upenn.edu) and Dheepa Sundaram (dheepa.sundaram@du.edu).
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Rethinking “Diaspora”
Contact: Gaurika Mehta (gmehta@scu.edu) and Tracy Pintchman (Tpintch@luc.edu)
Is North American Hinduism a “diasporic” tradition? This roundtable invites scholars of North American Hinduism to discuss how, why, and in what contexts we use (or choose not to use) the term “diaspora.” The panel aims to continue conversations and debates about terminology and place that emerged during the “Author Meets Critics” panel on Tracy Pintchman’s Goddess Beyond Boundaries at last year’s annual meeting in Boston. Participants will revisit the term “diaspora” and ask: Is the term useful for the study of Hinduism in North America? Does “diaspora” create new frontiers for thinking about Hinduism outside South Asia? What are some alternative ways of placing Hinduism in North America? Why and how might we rethink “diaspora?”
- Academic Freedom, Equity Practices, and the Study of Asian Religions in North America (roundtable session)
Contact: Dheepa Sundaram (dheepa.sundaram@du.edu)
In a time when we see the academic freedom under serious threat both within and outside of the United States, especially scholarship on non-majoritarian and/or minority communities, traditions, beliefs, this panel explores the state of academic freedom of scholars of Asian religions training and/or employed in North America. We are particularly interested in how nonprofit-designated organizations and practitioner-focused groups can impact, shape, and direct how Asian religions such as Hinduism are critically engaged in academic settings as well as scholarship and teaching within public-facing venues. Some questions that shape our thinking for this session: How does the proliferation of endowed positions impact the academic freedom of the scholars who hold them and the departments that house them? How do the composition of South Asian/Asian Studies and Religion departments impact and shape graduate admissions and thereby shape the field at large? What are the possibilities of pursuing public scholarship and how should scholars of Asian religions become public scholars?
Overview:
This Unit was established in 2006 for the purpose of drawing greater scholarly attention to Hinduisms outside of South Asia. Though it will focus on North America, the Unit also welcomes relevant research on Hinduisms and related South Asian traditions and cultures in other non-Indian contexts. The Unit has three main goals: • To study and describe Hinduisms in North America and related diaspora contexts • To develop a more sophisticated understanding of what distinguishes these Hinduisms from those in South Asia • To nurture thoughtful debate on the methodologies unique to and appropriate for their study.
Call for Proposals:
The Steering Committee composes the Call for Proposals for NAH sessions for the AAR Annual Meeting; Steering Committee chairs facilitate proposals for the emerging scholars panel, all other proposals in the CFP are overseen by a point person, Steering Committee reviews, shapes and accepts proposals for submitted sessions; reviews and reports on sessions; and communicates with the NAH constituency.
Composition:
The Steering Committee is made up of 4-7 members, two of whom are elected or determined by consensus by the steering committee to serve as co-chairs. A Steering Committee term is three years, renewable for a second three years if everyone is amenable. The terms are staggered, so that there are continuity and change on the committee. During a total of six possible years, a member might serve a co-chair term, which is three years. A member elected to serve as co-chair has at least one full year’s experience on the Steering Committee. The co-chair elections are staggered as well, so that each new co-chair serves with an experienced co-chair.
Responsibilities:
The co-chairs are responsible for conducting the business meeting of NAH, completing the post-AAR Annual Meeting survey, initiating review of proposals, working with steering committee members and submitters to put together sessions, and moderate communication of the Steering Committee. All members of the Steering Committee make decisions on substantive matters. All attend the Annual Meeting. All attend the NAH Business Meeting.
Succession:
Members of the Steering Committee are replaced by the following procedure: when there is a vacancy, after the Annual Meeting the co-chairs ask the NAH constituency for nominations. From among the nominees, the Steering Committee votes to elect a new member.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dheepa Sundaram, University of Denver | dheepa.sundaram@du.edu | - | View |
| Rupa Pillai | rupillai@sas.upenn.edu | - | View |
| Steering Member | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aarti Patel, Pennsylvania State University | aartipatel16@gmail.com | - | View |
| Gaurika Mehta | gmehta@scu.edu | - | View |
| Shreena Gandhi | shreenaniketa@gmail.com | - | View |
| TBD TBD, TBD | tbdpresent@aarweb.org | - | View |
Pre-arranged panels should reflect gender, caste, and racial/ethnic diversity as well as diversity of field, method, and scholarly rank as appropriate.
• To diversity session presenters’ composition, we combine anonymous review with other review practices, such as making proposer names visible to chairs but anonymous to steering committee members. Co-chairs also work with potential session proposers to assist them creating sessions that reflect diversity of the field and are inclusive in their approach to proposed panelists.
• Assign presiders and respondents with an eye to diversity and bridges with new constituencies.
• Co-Chairs will try to put together an "Emerging Scholars in North American Hinduism" which will include a mentor from the steering committee, a chance to workshop their paper with this mentor, and an opportunity to present new research for feedback. We see this panel as establishing our commitment to supporting early career scholars in the field and providing a space for this research at the Annual Meeting.
• All session reviews are conducted by the co-chairs and steering committee with an eye towards representation of diverse voices with attention to providing a platform for marginalized and minoritized groups within the Academy at large and within North American Hindu spaces in particular