RELG 230 - Religion, Wellness, and the Commodification of Yoga

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
Focusing on yoga and meditation, this course explores how religious practices with South Asian roots have been adapted, appropriated, and commodified during the 20th and 21st centuries as part of American and European “wellness” industries. Through readings, viewings, and field trips, we will consider whether cultural appropriation “naturally” applies to religious borrowings/adaptations; discourses on how yoga/meditation might be understood as religious, philosophical, or something different; how and to which demographics–namely, white, affluent, able-bodied, cisgender women–such practices have been marketed; and what harms are engendered by wellness industries, especially as such harms intersect with racism, heterosexism, and religious intolerance. Field trip(s) required.

This course is appropriate for new students.
This course is cross-listed with GSFS-230