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.
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Yoga in Theory and Practice Unit
Call for Proposals
We invite proposals on the following topics. Please contact the organizing scholar 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 for organizers together):
- Christian-based yoga (Contact: Allyson Huval, allysonhuval@gmail.com)
- Vernacular yoga (Contact: Aalekhya Malladi, aalekhya.malladi@emory.edu)
- Early Modern yoga (Contact: Shaman Hatley, shaman.hatley@umb.edu and Alba Rodriguez, alba.rodriguez@email.ucr.edu)
- Contemporary Indian yoga (Contact: Patricia Sauthoff, sauthoff@ualberta.ca and Christopher Chapple, christopher.chapple@lmu.edu)
- South Asian and East Asian comparative bodily practices and/or yogic bodies more generally (Contact: Seth Ligo, sethligo@gmail.com)
We are also open to full-panel proposals on any other topic falling under the purview of Yoga Studies.
Statement of Purpose
Co-Sponsoring
Chairs
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Anya Foxen, California Polytechnic State University1/1/2019 - 12/31/2024
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Christopher Jain Miller, Arihanta Institute1/1/2022 - 12/31/2027
Steering Committee Members
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Suzanne Newcombe, Open University1/1/2022 - 12/31/2027
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Karen O'Brien-Kop, King's College London1/1/2019 - 12/31/2024
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Seth Powell, Harvard University1/1/2019 - 12/31/2024
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Patricia Sauthoff, University of Alberta, Edmonton1/1/2019 - 12/31/2024
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Ruth Westoby, SOAS University of London1/1/2022 - 12/31/2027
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Naomi Worth, University of Virginia1/1/2022 - 12/31/2027
Method
PAPERS
Review Process
Proposals are anonymous to chairs and steering committee members until after final acceptance/rejection