George Pati, Assistant Professor of Theology & Surjit S. Patheja Chair in World Religions and Ethics

Huegli Hall - Room 204
(219) 464-6110
George.Pati@valpo.edu

Education

Ph.D. - Boston University 
M.T.S. - Southern Methodist University 

Areas of Specialization

Courses Taught

Research Interests

Teaching and Research Interests
George Pati received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies and South Asian Languages and Cultures from Boston University. His primary research and teaching interests lie in historical study of south Asian religions, with special emphasis on Kerala, south India. His current research focuses specifically on the mediation of religion in modern Kerala through texts, traditions, and theatrical performances. More generally, he has strong interest in theoretical issues in the History of Religions, and is also working on a manuscript exploring articulations of religion and identity through poetry in Kerala during colonial period.

Publications

• Temple and Human Bodies: Representing Hinduism , International Journal of Hindu Studies, 2011, Volume 15, Issue 2: 191-207 
• "Kalari and Kalarippayattu of Kerala, South India; Nexus of the Celestial, the Corporeal, and the Terrestrial", Contemporary South Asia, 2010, 18 (2): 175-189 
• "Mohiniyattam: An Embodiment of the Aesthetics and the Religious", Journal of Hindu Studies, 2010, 3:91-113 
• "Body as Sacred Space in Kalaricikitsa of Kerala, South India", Religions of South Asia., 2009, Volume 3, Issue 2: pp. 235-50. 
• "Kerala,", Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism: Regions, Pilgrimage, and Deities., 2009, Volume 1. Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 221-232. 

Professional Affiliations

• American Academy of Religion
  
• Association for Asian Studies
  
• Society for Hindu-Christian Studies
  
• Kerala Council for Historical Research