TRS Staff
DR MAYA WARRIER, BA, MA, MPhil (Delhi), PhD (Cambridge)
Senior Lecturer, Religious Studies
Email: m.warrier@lamp.ac.uk
Research Profile
Much of my research relies on empirical methods of (qualitative) data collection and analysis, and draws upon my background in sociology and anthropology. My main interest lies in the area of popular transnational Hindu belief and practice, and I am particularly interested in themes relating to modernity, globalization, representations of Hindu traditions in the West, and the construction of Hindu identities in contemporary transnational contexts. I am also interested in methodological issues in the study of religion.
Current research projects:
Ayurveda in Britain: The Globalisation of an Ancient Indian Medical Tradition
This project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, examines the development in the UK of Ayurveda, an ancient system of Indian medicine rooted in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies. This research uses Ayurveda as a case study to explore the contrasting pulls of ‘tradition’, ‘science’ and ‘spirituality’ as legitimising principles for holistic health traditions in Britain. The findings will be published in the form of a monograph as well as articles in peer-reviewed journals.
The Public Representation of a Religion Called Hinduism
I am currently serving on the steering group of a two-year AHRC-funded network project which explores the construction and representation of ‘Hinduism’ in India, the US and the UK. The papers presented at a series of events in the UK, USA and India will be published in the form of a special edition of the International Journal of Hindu Studies, as well as an edited volume. See www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/hinduism/
Editorial activities:
Section Editor, ‘Indian Traditions’ – Religion Compass
www.blackwell-compass.com/subject/religion/
Associate Editor, International Journal of Hindu Studies
www.springer.com/humanities/religious+studies/journal/11407
Publications
Books
(forthcoming) Cosmopolitan Spirituality and Holistic Health: Ayurveda in Britain.
2008. Theology and Religious Studies: Exploring Disciplinary Boundaries, (co-edited with Simon Oliver) London: T&T Clark
2005. Hindu Selves in the Modern World: The Mata Amritanandamayi Mission. South Asian Religion Series. London and New York: Routledge-Curzon. (Also published by Foundation Books, New Delhi)
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
(forthcoming) ‘Seekership, Spirituality and Self-Discovery: Ayurveda Trainees in Britain’. Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity
(forthcoming) ‘The Temple Bull Controversy at Skanda Vale and the Construction of Hindu Identity in Britain’. International Journal of Hindu Studies.
2008. ‘The Disciplines and Their Boundaries: An Introduction’ in Warrier, M and Oliver, S (eds) Theology and Religious Studies: Exploring Disciplinary Boundaries, London: T&T Clark
2007. “Hindu Diaspora” in Mittal, Sushil and Thursby, Gene (eds) Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods. London and New York: Routledge
2007. ‘Indian Bodies, Human and Divine, in Western Representations of the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries’ The Nature and Culture of the Human Body: Lampeter Multidisciplinary Essays. Trivium 37: 139-59.
2006. “Modernity and its imbalances: Constructing modern selfhood in the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission”. Religion. 36: 179-195.
2003. “Guru Choice and Spiritual Seeking in Contemporary India”. International Journal of Hindu Studies. 7, 1-3: 31-54.
2003. “Processes of Secularisation in Contemporary India: Guru Faith in the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission”. Modern Asian Studies. 37(1): 213-253.
2003. “The Seva Ethic and the Spirit of Institution Building in the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission” in Antony Copley (ed.) Hinduism in Public and Private. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Click here for a list of other publications
Areas of Postgraduate Supervision
I am particularly interested in supervising projects in the following areas:
• Popular Hinduism, modernity and globalization
• Immigrant Hindu populations in Britain and the construction of religious identity
• Modern transnational Hindu guru organisations
• South Asian traditions of ‘alternative spirituality’ and ‘holistic health’ in contemporary Britain, especially Ayurveda and Yoga
Recent Invited Lectures and Conference papers
‘Bovine Slaughter, Media Representations, and the Construction of Hindu Identity in Britain’
Majewski Lecture, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, February 2009.
‘The Transmission of Tradition: Ayurvedic Training in the UK’
20th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, University of Manchester, July 2008.
‘The Temple Bull Controversy at Skanda Vale: Media Representations and the Construction of Hindu Identity’, 20th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, University of Manchester, July 2008.
‘The Spiritualisation of Ayurveda in Britain: Revisiting the ‘Easternisation’ Thesis’
‘Inner Life Spirituality’ publication workshop organised by professor Paul Heelas (University of Lancaster) and Professory Dick Houtman (University of Rotterdam), June 2008
‘Representations of Ayurveda in Britain: The Politics of ‘Authenticity’ and Legitimacy’.
32nd Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Oxford, March 2008.
