‘Extremely knowledgeable about the subject with a lot of first-hand experience to tell us about. She makes the subject matter very engaging and interesting.’
Student Comment, Hinduism REL 223
I am a scholar of religion and ethnographer of contemporary Hindu traditions with expertise in Bengali Hindu traditions as they are practiced in West Bengal, India and the Midwestern United States. In both my teaching and my research, I am propelled by a core question: How do people utilize religion and spirituality to affect their spiritual, mental, physical, and social wellbeing? My first book, Valuing Hindu Women’s Domestic Shrine Traditions as Reproductive Labor (Palgrave MacMillan, 2024) utilizes my years-long ethnography with Bengali American Hindu women regarding their domestic shrine traditions. Drawing from Marxist feminist Social Reproduction Theory, this book argues that domestic shrine traditions are reproductive labor that is essential to the transnational and transgenerational sustenance of Hindu traditions and subjectivities. My current book project, You Do Not Have To Walk on Your Knees utilizes both religious theory and personal memoir to posit a theory of grief and explore the intersections of joy, grief and community. In addition to my research, I enjoy teaching courses at the intersection of religion and wellbeing including courses like Yoga: Theory and Practice; Food and Religion; Joy and Suffering and Religion and Psychology.
Education
PhD, Indiana University
Areas of Academic Interest
Hindu Women’s Domestic Rituals
Hindu Traditions in the United States
Gendered Labor and Duties in Religion
Gender, Sexuality and Embodiment in Hindu Traditions
