Subaltern Speaks: Decolonizing Spirituality

Join host, Yasamin Jameh and guest, Dr. Jeff Wilson, as they explore the popularity of mindfulness in the West and how this trend contributes to appropriation of Asian Buddhist cultures. This episode unpacks how mindfulness was introduced in the West and how it gradually became detached from Buddhism to make it more appealing and marketable to Westerners of non-Buddhist backgrounds, particularly in North America. Furthermore, this episode problematizes the commodification of mindfulness, and highlights how it not only marginalizes Asian Buddhists from popular perceptions of Buddhism, but also leads to their economic dispossession.

Dr. Jeff Wilson is a Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo. He has published numerous books and articles about the interaction of Buddhism and various aspects of North American culture, most notably Mindful America: The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture, which deals heavily with topics discussed in this episode, as well as Dixie Dharma: Inside a Buddhist Temple in the American South. Dr. Wilson plays an active role in the wider academy with frequent media appearances and interviews that provide an informed perspective on issues of religion and culture in contemporary society.

In this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh and guest Kalpesh Bhatt as they unpack the discourses on the origins of Hinduism, and the use of the term Hinduism to denote identity and religion. Furthermore, they explore how these ideas are tied to discussions of colonialism and national identity.

Kalpesh Bhatt is a PhD candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion, Center for South Asian Studies, and Center for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. His doctoral study explores the theoretical challenges that everyday ethical reflections and actions of religious people pose to secular liberal understandings of agency and autonomy. Focusing on the Bhagavad Gītā, Kalpesh examines how modern receptions of premodern sacred texts shape, and are shaped by, secular conditions, everyday concerns, and the ethical subjectivation of its practitioners. He also holds a  Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Harvard University and has directed several films, including an IMAX film on India named Mystic India and Sat-Chit-Anand, a state-of-the-art multimedia show that highlights the dynamics between religion and technology, tradition and modernity.

Transcripts available https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/Subaltern-Speaks-S2-E1-Transcript.pdf

Join hosts Yasamin Jameh and Christina Shivtahal for Season 2 of University of Toronto's Multi-Faith Centre podcast, Subaltern Speaks: Decolonizing Spirituality.

This season Christina and Yasamin are talking with guests including scholars and activists to unpack meanings of religion, the impact of the British rule on South Asian spiritualities and Indigenous spiritualities.

For transcripts, please visit https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/service/subaltern-speaks-podcast/

Join Yasamin and Emilie as they discuss Emilie's experiences as Black woman growing up with Haitian and Catholic roots and her experiences of the limits of Christianity in her exploration of social justice for Black women. Our conversation today will cover revival of spirituality in Black communities and for Black women that include both institutionalized religions like Christianity and Indigenous spirituality.

Join Manvinder and guest, Dr. Colorado from the University of Winnipeg whose work focuses on secularism, colonialism, race and the politics of identity. In this episode we chat about what secularity means in the Canadian context and how Indigenous Spiritualities are engaged in this framework. And more broadly, what Canadian conceptions of religion mean.

In this episode, we continue the conversation with Dr. Rivas about the influence of Maria Lionza on Venezuela's post colonial, national and spiritual identity in the 20th century. 

Join our guest, Dr. V. Rivas, the Associate Chair for the Latin American Studies Program at the University of Toronto. He specializes in the critical and theoretical study of alternative texts, creative non-fiction, narratives of resistance, and the politics of culture. In this episode, we discuss the syncretic spirituality of the cult of Maria Lionza, in Venezuela. Maria Lionza represents a part of an Indigenous myth that has revived a sense of time before the conquest in Latin America, in particular to the area of Venezuela. It is referred to and explained as a syncretized, religion or cult, because it brings in elements of not only the Indigenous myth, but also brings in elements of Christianity in particular Catholicism brought in by the Spanish conquistadors and colonizers of the area, and then eventually brings elements of Western African spirituality when people from this region were brought by the Europeans for the slave trade. These three cultures contribute to the current understanding of Maria Lionza that feeds into post-colonial movements in Venezuela.  

Welcome to Subaltern Speaks, the official podcast of the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Toronto. In this podcast we explore the legacies of colonialism and the religions and spiritualities of colonized peoples, otherwise known as Subaltern in post-colonial studies.

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Transcript

Welcome to Subaltern Speaks, the official podcast of the University of Toronto’s multi-faith centre. Subaltern speaks is for spiritual study and practice. In this podcast, we explore the legacies of colonialism, the religion and spiritualities of colonized peoples, otherwise known as subaltern in post-colonial studies. I'm Yasamin, I'm Manvinder, and I'm Savroop. We’re students at U of T and we are your hosts for the first season. Together with leading thinkers, academics, activists, artists, and spiritual leaders in our communities and beyond we seek to dismantle how colonialism and decolonization are understood and how they continue to be practiced today. We'll cover themes such as resistance, the evolution of culture and spirituality, migration, and decolonization. Head to Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts to tune in to our first episode where we chat with holistic wellness educator Navi Gill about Ayurvedic and yoga practice in the West, Sikh spiritual identity, and immigrant complicity in settler colonialism. We hope you'll tune in.