Society of Scholars
The Society of Scholars is an intellectual community of humanists of diverse generations, academic ranks, and departmental affiliations who contribute to and learn from one another’s work. Each year, approximately eight faculty and three dissertation research fellowships support members of the Society of Scholars. Scholars in year-long residence at the University of Washington may be invited to participate as well. The group meets biweekly throughout the year to discuss their research in progress.
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2024 - 2025 Society of Scholars
2017 - 2018 Society of Scholars Fellow
Christian Novetzke (he/him/his)
The Political Theology of Yoga
Yoga originated in ancient India’s warrior culture as a way to hold fast to one’s courage in battle; Gandhi used yoga as a political force in his challenge to British colonialism; and now India’s current prime minister proposes yoga as a solution to the international political dilemma of climate change. I will explore the idea that yoga’s long intellectual history evinces a political theology in the present, a project that is part of a book entitled The Politics of Yoga, co-authored with Sunila S. Kale (Jackson School of International Studies).