The Department of Religious Studies & Classics presents the 2018 Robert A. Burns Lecture, "From Angkor to Arizona: Global Hindu Traditions."
Featured guest Vasudha Narayanan, Distinguished Professor of Religion at the University of Florida, will deliver the lecture at 7 p.m., with a performance led by renowned dancer Kalashri Asha Gopal to follow at 8 p.m.
From Emerson’s fascination with Hindu texts and Thoreau’s admiration of the Bhagavad Gita to the enthusiastic welcome that Americans have given to Yoga, there have been farreaching and enduring connections between the United States and the Hindu traditions. Vasudha Narayanan’s talk will look at three theaters: Southeast Asia at the turn of the first millennium CE, the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries, and briefly at the Caribbean. Focusing on temple architecture and performing arts, Narayanan will discuss Angkor Wat and other key sites in Southeast Asia; how temples are put together in the United States; and the significant ways in which North American Hindus “perform” their religious traditions. Hinduism is thriving in Arizona and is one of the state’s largest religious groups. A classical Indian dance performance will follow the lecture, led by the Arizonabased Arathi School of Dance founder Kalashri Asha Gopal, an internationally recognized dancer and teacher.
