Sohini Sarah Pillai
@sohinipillai.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Religion & Director of Film and Media Studies at Kalamazoo College. Mahabharata & Bollywood & Star Wars Fan. Dog Mom. she/her/hers
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
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.
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
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
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
We’ve had some good @kalamazoocollege.bsky.social Religion Department sweatshirts before, but this one is my favorite.
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
Taj Mahal and Itmad-ud-Daula with @matthewsutter.bsky.social
January 28, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Taj Mahal and Itmad-ud-Daula with @matthewsutter.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
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!
First day of the K College Winter term! Teaching my Star Wars class again and a new Religion/Theatre Studies course called Dance, Drama, and Devotion in South Asia!
January 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
First day of the K College Winter term! Teaching my Star Wars class again and a new Religion/Theatre Studies course called Dance, Drama, and Devotion in South Asia!
One can never have too many Star Wars ugly Christmas sweaters.
December 13, 2024 at 1:14 PM
One can never have too many Star Wars ugly Christmas sweaters.
Today is the last day of OUP’s #SBLAAR24 sale! You can purchase #KrishnasMahabharatas at 40% off until the end of today here: oxford.ly/4gh7mcQ
December 10, 2024 at 1:43 PM
Today is the last day of OUP’s #SBLAAR24 sale! You can purchase #KrishnasMahabharatas at 40% off until the end of today here: oxford.ly/4gh7mcQ
I shouldn’t be surprised because Arun, John, Aalekhya, Sowparnika, and Emilia are incredible scholars, but our “Retelling Hindu Narratives Outside the Epics” panel was the bee’s knees. Organizing/presiding at a panel and getting to listen to amazing papers by amazing people is lit. #AARSBL24 #AAR
November 26, 2024 at 8:07 PM
I wrote a review of Singham Again for The Polis Project a few weeks ago. So far, this film is the highest grossing Hindi movie of 2024... www.thepolisproject.com/read/singham...
November 20, 2024 at 7:33 PM
I wrote a review of Singham Again for The Polis Project a few weeks ago. So far, this film is the highest grossing Hindi movie of 2024... www.thepolisproject.com/read/singham...
Friends going to AAR: I’m honored that Krishna’s Mahabharatas will be discussed alongside the incredible new books of Steven Lindquist, Anna Seastrand, and Divya Cherian at the New Books in Hindu Studies roundtable on Sunday, November 24th from 9:00-10:30 AM. I hope you can join us!
November 19, 2024 at 9:40 PM
Friends going to AAR: I’m honored that Krishna’s Mahabharatas will be discussed alongside the incredible new books of Steven Lindquist, Anna Seastrand, and Divya Cherian at the New Books in Hindu Studies roundtable on Sunday, November 24th from 9:00-10:30 AM. I hope you can join us!
I WROTE A BOOK! E-book versions of Krishna’s Mahabharatas (AAR Religion in Translation Series at Oxford University Press) are available now and the book will be available in print very soon. Leia and I hope some of you will want to read it!
March 14, 2024 at 2:07 PM
I WROTE A BOOK! E-book versions of Krishna’s Mahabharatas (AAR Religion in Translation Series at Oxford University Press) are available now and the book will be available in print very soon. Leia and I hope some of you will want to read it!
So excited to hold The Epic World! I’m grateful to Pam Lothspeich for inviting me to be a part of this. Also, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that a book about epics from a press like Routledge has an essay about the Tamil epic, the Cilappatikaram, by my dear friend Morgan!
February 6, 2024 at 2:14 PM
So excited to hold The Epic World! I’m grateful to Pam Lothspeich for inviting me to be a part of this. Also, I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that a book about epics from a press like Routledge has an essay about the Tamil epic, the Cilappatikaram, by my dear friend Morgan!
@matthewsutter.bsky.social and I saw #TheMarvels last night with its fantastic cast led by three wonderful women two of whom are women of color and it made me so happy. I wish I had had Kamala Khan (a sweet, hilarious, kickass Muslim South Asian American superhero) when I was growing up!
November 10, 2023 at 10:41 PM
@matthewsutter.bsky.social and I saw #TheMarvels last night with its fantastic cast led by three wonderful women two of whom are women of color and it made me so happy. I wish I had had Kamala Khan (a sweet, hilarious, kickass Muslim South Asian American superhero) when I was growing up!
This is the best week ever because in my Epic Epics class we are reading The Odyssey of Star Wars AND my other class this term is Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians: The Religion of Star Wars, so that means that this week I’M ONLY TEACHING STAR WARS. #goals
November 8, 2023 at 6:51 PM
This is the best week ever because in my Epic Epics class we are reading The Odyssey of Star Wars AND my other class this term is Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians: The Religion of Star Wars, so that means that this week I’M ONLY TEACHING STAR WARS. #goals
Friends attending AAR in San Antonio this year: I hope you’ll join us for the New Books in Hindu Studies panel on Sunday, November 19 from 12:30-2:30 PM. We are featuring four FANTASTIC books by @jennortegren.bsky.social, Emilia Bachrach, Rumya Sree Putcha, and Joel Lee!
November 2, 2023 at 2:17 PM
Friends attending AAR in San Antonio this year: I hope you’ll join us for the New Books in Hindu Studies panel on Sunday, November 19 from 12:30-2:30 PM. We are featuring four FANTASTIC books by @jennortegren.bsky.social, Emilia Bachrach, Rumya Sree Putcha, and Joel Lee!
Last night we celebrated Dussehra and Diwali early with K-Desi and our religion students!
October 26, 2023 at 1:35 PM
Last night we celebrated Dussehra and Diwali early with K-Desi and our religion students!
Friends attending the Annual Conference on South Asia in Madison next week: I hope you’ll be able to join us on Wednesday for this symposium Manasicha Akepiyapornchai and I have organized entitled “Beyond the Alvars & Acharyas: Rethinking Shrivaishnava Studies”!
October 9, 2023 at 1:10 PM
Friends attending the Annual Conference on South Asia in Madison next week: I hope you’ll be able to join us on Wednesday for this symposium Manasicha Akepiyapornchai and I have organized entitled “Beyond the Alvars & Acharyas: Rethinking Shrivaishnava Studies”!