Sohini Sarah Pillai
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sohinipillai.bsky.social
Sohini Sarah Pillai
@sohinipillai.bsky.social
650 followers 290 following 47 posts
Assistant Professor of Religion & Director of Film and Media Studies at Kalamazoo College. Mahabharata & Bollywood & Star Wars Fan. Dog Mom. she/her/hers
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sohinipillai.bsky.social
Sohini Sarah Pillai @sohinipillai.bsky.social · Nov 23
Obligatory book at exhibit hall photo at AAR/SBL! PS Krishna’s Mahabharatas is 40% off at the Oxford University Press website with the code EXAAR24! #AARSBL24 #SBLAAR24 #SBLAAR #AARSBL
sohinipillai.bsky.social
The fall term starts today. I’m excited to teach Epic Epics again and my new Religion, Representation, and Avatar course! I’ll be using Avatar to teach about Asian and Indigenous American religious traditions, cultural appropriation, Orientalism, imperialism, racism, and more.
September 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
mpgphd.bsky.social
I hope everybody is noticing that public and private universities all over the country are dismantling religious studies programs as white christian nationalists are ascendant in all levels of our government
returnstosender.bsky.social Sasha Senderovich 🌻 @returnstosender.bsky.social · Aug 18
A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.
I've now been allowed and asked to share more details about what's going down at the University of Oregon, which involves imminent announcement of firings, among others, of tenure-track and tenured faculty. Given the units impacted (see below), please share this with your professional networks in related disciplines and start getting ready to put pressure (or begin putting pressure already) on the University of Oregon upper admin to abandon this alleged plan before they finalize it. It appears that, with no prior consultations, the departments of Religion and Classics (two separate units), and the programs in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, German & Scandinavian, Judaic Studies, Arabic Studies, and Holocaust Studies (the latter five all parts of a previously-consolidated mega unit called the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages) are facing imminent announcement of elimination (expected the week of Sept 7), with layoffs of pre-tenure, tenured, and career faculty in these units. The reason given is "financial exigency" -- upper administrations of several universities across the country (and in blue states like Oregon also) appear to be giddy to use the context of Trump attacks on higher ed to dismantle the humanities. Faculty at OU won a faculty union not long ago; this may be, in part, a retaliation for that, I've been told. The union is working with AAUP, etc.; my understanding is that the maximum spotlight is needed at this point.
August 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Ep 328: Dr. Tess Starman joins me to discuss “A Corrupted Faith” — exploring Christian disaffiliation, power, and the rise of #ReligiousNones.

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas
@sacredwrites.bsky.social @tessstarman.bsky.social
July 21, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Episode 329 with Dr. Swasti Bhattacharya discusses the Brahma Vidya Mandir ashram, a spiritually-focused women’s community in rural central India!

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas

@swastib.bsky.social @sacredwrites.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Episode 327 of Classical Ideas features Dr. Rebecca Wolfe discussing dieting and religious shame!

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas

Thank you to @rebeccathewolfe.bsky.social and @sacredwrites.bsky.social!
July 9, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
audreytruschke.bsky.social
One of Urdu’s Greatest Scholars, C.M. Naim, Passes Away

thewire.in/culture/cm-n...
One of Urdu’s Greatest Scholars, C.M. Naim, Passes Away
The UP-born professor was said to be among the finest and authoritative voices on Urdu.
thewire.in
July 10, 2025 at 11:57 AM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
Very grateful to @mpgphd.bsky.social for giving me the opportunity to publish this piece on the absence of caste and casteism in American TV for @religiondispatches.org! And to @sacredwrites.bsky.social for training me to be a public scholar! religiondispatches.org/erasing-cast...
Erasing Caste on American Television: 'We Were Liars' Shows that Representation Isn’t Enough
We Were Liars is the latest in a series of television shows about obscenely wealthy people’s lavish holiday accommodations and shenanigans, a genre Americans apparently can’t get enough of these days....
religiondispatches.org
July 8, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
religiondispatches.org
the latest from RD: @sohinipillai.bsky.social on why American TV needs to be talking more about caste

religiondispatches.org/erasing-cast...
Erasing Caste on American Television: 'We Were Liars' Shows that Representation Isn’t Enough
We Were Liars is the latest in a series of television shows about obscenely wealthy people’s lavish holiday accommodations and shenanigans, a genre Americans apparently can’t get enough of these days....
religiondispatches.org
July 7, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Ep 326 of Classical Ideas features a conversation with Dr. Celene Ibrahim about fertility, abortion, reproductive care and its relation to Islam!

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas

@sacredwrites.bsky.social
June 24, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Ep 325 of Classical Ideas features Dr. Amanda Hernandez on her academic journey and her 2024 book Intersectional Identities of Christian Women in the United States: Faith, Race, and Feminism.
📢 @sacredwrites.bsky.social
👤 Follow: @uhmanduhdawn.bsky.social
🎧 Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas
June 19, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
andrewmarkhenry.bsky.social
Are you a scholar of religion with a passion for public scholarship? Want to share your work with an enthusiastic, global audience hungry for deeper learning? We’re inviting scholars to give lectures in a live Zoom series hosted by Religion for Breakfast. More here! docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Guest Lecture Open Call
Be a Guest Lecturer for Religion for Breakfast Are you a scholar of religion with a passion for public engagement? Want to share your work with an enthusiastic, globally diverse audience that’s hungry...
docs.google.com
June 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai joined me on episode 324 to discuss her project "Epic Bollywood: Religion and Representation in Modern Indian Cinema." Thanks so much to @sohinipillai.bsky.social and @sacredwrites.bsky.social!

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas
June 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
New episode about about cinematic adaptations of Indian epics with @sohinipillai.bsky.social this Thursday, June 12 at Classical Ideas Podcast! We had a lot of fun with this episode!

Follow along: linktr.ee/classicalideas
June 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
gregsoden.bsky.social
EP 323 of Classical Ideas Podcast features a chat with Dr. Lucas Wilson @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.social about the new book "Shame-Sex Attraction: : Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy" from Jessica Kingsley Publishers! Thank you to @sacredwrites.bsky.social

Listen: linktr.ee/classicalideas
June 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
Celebrated Star Wars Day today by hosting a dinner for my 2021 Epic Epics first year seminar, which was the first @kalamazoocollege.bsky.social class I ever taught. 9/15 students came, including one who transferred! I’m going to ugly crying HARD during their graduation in June #MayTheFourthBeWithYou
May 5, 2025 at 12:51 AM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
We’ve had some good @kalamazoocollege.bsky.social Religion Department sweatshirts before, but this one is my favorite.
April 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Sohini Sarah Pillai
mpgphd.bsky.social
what a lineup!! honored to be included with so many brilliant thinkers

(also if y'all don't know, you need to pick up *Lifeblood of the Parish*, which we just featured on #KeepingIt101, and *Vodou in Vogue*, written by @xroadproj.bsky.social 2025-6 fellow Dr. Eziaku Atuama Nwokocha!!)
sohinipillai.bsky.social Sohini Sarah Pillai @sohinipillai.bsky.social · Mar 31
First day of the @kalamazoocollege.bsky.social spring term! This term I’m teaching Princesses, Demonesses, and Warriors: The Women of the South Asian Epics and the Junior Seminar in Religion. Super excited to read these books with our juniors! @profirmf.bsky.social @mpgphd.bsky.social
March 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
First day of the @kalamazoocollege.bsky.social spring term! This term I’m teaching Princesses, Demonesses, and Warriors: The Women of the South Asian Epics and the Junior Seminar in Religion. Super excited to read these books with our juniors! @profirmf.bsky.social @mpgphd.bsky.social
March 31, 2025 at 3:21 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
Looking forward to returning to my beloved alma mater today and giving a talk on my new book project for members of the @wellesley.edu community!
March 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
The Religion and Computer Science departments hosted an Iftar dinner for Ramadan for K’s Muslim students last night and we had a wonderful time. I love our K College community! @taylorpetrey.bsky.social
March 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
One of my favorite Kalamazoo College events was last night: the Religion Senior Integrated Project (SIP) Symposium! So proud of all our Religion seniors, especially our three SIP students 🧡 @taylorpetrey.bsky.social
February 28, 2025 at 12:33 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
So excited to be part of the 2025 @sacredwrites.bsky.social spring public scholarship cohort for scholars of religion, gender, and sexuality!
February 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
Happy Major Declaration Day to all the new Religion majors and minors and Film and Media Studies concentrators at K! And to my adorable godson Zephyr who looks a bit scared of his godmother. @taylorpetrey.bsky.social @trisfaulkner.bsky.social
February 5, 2025 at 8:44 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
Taj Mahal and Itmad-ud-Daula with @matthewsutter.bsky.social
January 28, 2025 at 2:11 PM
sohinipillai.bsky.social
So happy to be in India again after 5 years with my husband @matthewsutter.bsky.social even if it is just for 6 more days!
January 28, 2025 at 12:48 AM