Amanda Lucia Lecture

Romanticizing the Premodern: Charting Indices of Indigenous and Asian Religions in Contemporary American Spirituality

In this talk, Dr. Lucia analyzes the intersections between indigenous and Asian religions in contemporary American yoga practices. Casting metaphysical spirituality as the romantic orientalist turn toward the premodern, she reveals the continued influence of the Christian category of the ‘heathen’ and the continued American preoccupation with the ‘exotic.’ This research is based on six years of ethnographic research in the yogic explorations within transformational festivals (i.e Lightning in a Bottle, Burning Man, Shakti Fest, Bhakti Fest, Wanderlust), wherein spirituality is reified in classes and workshops and constructed in altars and temples.