Faculty Profile

George Pati, Assistant Professor of Theology

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


Education

Ph.D. - Boston University 

Areas of Specialization

History of South Asian Religions; Hinduism; Kerala History; Malayalam Language and Literature; Sanskrit; Hindi; Religion and Aesthetics; Comparative Religion; Theories & Methods in the Study of Religion.

Courses Taught

Religions of South Asia; Hinduism; Devotional Traditions of Hinduism; Indian Religions and Cultures; Rituals and Performances; Perspectives on Religious Quest; Religions of China and Japan; Passage to Contemporary India; Goddess, Saints, and Women of India; History of South Asian Civilzation; Elementary Hindi

Fall 2010

  • Topic: Hindu Sacred Texts and Motifs (THEO 367)

  • Indian Religions and Cultures (THEO 361/561 A&B)

  • Religions of China and Japan (THEO 363/563)

Research Interests

Teaching and Research Interests
George Pati’s 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, identity, tradition and modernity in Kerala during colonial period. His doctoral dissertation entitled, "Experience, Expression,and Emancipation: Encountering Bhakti in Kumaran Asan's Malayalam Poem," examined Hindu devotional aspects (bhakti) in Malayalam poetry and poetic imagination with reference to Kumaran Asan's (1873-1924) poems.

Publications

  • "Body as Sacred Space in Kalaricikitsa of Kerala, South India", Religions of South Asia., 2009, Volume 3, Issue 2: pp. 235-50. 
  • "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 
  • "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
  • Kerala Council for Historical Research
  • Modern Language Association
Valparaiso University 1700 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46383