Goddess figures are central to South Asian religions. This course will introduce students to a variety of Hindu goddesses-- their myths, iconography, representations, powers and roles-- along with their worship in India, their significance for the South Asian diaspora, and the goddess's complex links to sacred ecology. Interrogating several methodological controversies in the understanding of the goddess in her roles as divine mother, wife, lover, victim, and partner, the class will explore the gendered traumas that makes goddesses into ghosts. Close reading of translations of Sanskrit epic poetry, critical analyses and ethnographies of encounters with the goddess we will explore questions of worship, illness and pilgrimage. Together, we will come to an understanding of the divine feminine in South Asia, illuminating questions about the changing roles of women in religious communities and beyond, to examine the sources of cultural beliefs about female leadership, authority, and gendered power, and offers resources to consider a critical feminist Hindu theology. In sum, the course considers the increasingly vital task of self-understanding through the social and cultural implications of the divine feminine.

The brief Yoga Sutras (only 195 sutras) of Patanjali (c 100 BCE-100 CE) is a vastly influential and fundamental text of yoga. It is the focus of the course, along with its primary commentary (Vyasa’s Bhasya), notes on other commentaries, and with some attention to BKS Iyengar’s famous Light on the Yoga Sutras. What was Patanjali up to? What are the Sutras for? What do the Sutras tell us about the meaning and purpose of yoga then and now? Though not a course about the practice of yoga or yoga in the modern world, it is always attentive to the implications for practice. Thus potentially of great use for practitioners and teachers today. Apt comparisons will be made with ancient Hindu and Buddhist parallels, Al-Biruni’s 11th c. Arabic translation, and modern Christian interpretations of the Sutras. Given our stressful situation, possibly some optional yoga practice together at start or end of class. Weekly written responses, plus two twelve-page course papers.