Lecturer Will Speak at WSSU on Impact of Yoga on India
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dr. Christian Lee Novetzke will lecture on “The Revolutions of Yoga:
The Cosmic, Cultural and Political Power of Yoga in India” on September 13 at 9:30 a.m. in
Room 228 of the Hall Patterson Building on the campus of Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU).
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will explore the history and philosophy of
yoga in classical India and its impact on the construction of Hindu temples. Novetzke, who
teaches and writes about religion, history and culture in South Asia, will also highlight how the
central ideas and practices of yoga empowered Gandhian politics in the early 20 th Century and
its current renaissance in the modern West.
An associate professor of South Asia studies and comparative religion at The Jackson School of
International Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, Novetzke will be a visiting
scholar at WSSU September 13-14 as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities funded
project on integrating India into the liberal arts curriculum. In addition to his public lecture,
Novetzke will also conduct a workshop for WSSU faculty on “Teaching the Religions of India.”
Novetzke earned his Ph.D. in religious studies from Columbia University, a master’s degree in
religious studies from Harvard University and a B.A. degree from Macalester College. He also
holds a certificate in Marathi language and culture from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth in Pune,
India. Before joining the University of Washington in 2007, Novetzke was assistant professor of
media performance and cultural studies of South Asia at the University of Pennsylvania.
Novetzke received the “Most Inspirational Professor” award from the Pan-Hellenic Association
in 2011. He also has received several fellowships, including the American Council of Learned
Societies Fellowship and the American Institute of Indian Studies Senior Fellowship. Novetzke is
the author of Religion and Public Memory (Columbia University Press 2008) that won the
American Academy of Religion’s award for “The Best First Book in the History of Religions.”