NAWARAJ CHAULAGAIN Curriculum Vitae January, 2021 Department of Religion (309) 556-3160 (office) Illinois Wesleyan University email: [email protected] PO Box 2900 Bloomington, IL 61702-2900 EDUCATION Ph. D. Harvard University, 2013 (South Asian Studies) (Doctoral dissertation: “Hindu Kingship: Ritual, Power and History”) M. A. Florida International University, 2003 (Religious Studies) (Thesis: Kingship, Rituals, and Power in Nepal) M. A. Tribhuvan University, 1993 (English) (Thesis: A Phenomenological Study of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land) B. A. Tribhuvan University, 1990 (Economics and English majors) I. A. Tribhuvan University (Economics, English and Nepali majors) PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Illinois Wesleyan University, Department of Religion, Bloomington, IL Associate Professor, August 2020- Assistant Professor, August 2014-2020 Visiting Instructor, Fall 2012- July 2014 Harvard University, Department of South Asian Studies, Cambridge, MA Instructor, Fall 2009- Spring 2011; Teaching Fellow, Spring 2008, Spring 2007 and Fall 2006 University of Florida, Department of Religion, Gainesville, FL Teaching Assistant, Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 Florida International University, Department of Religious Studies, Miami, FL Instructor, Spring 2003; Teaching Assistant, Fall 2001- Fall 2002 Tribhuvan University, Central Department of English, Kathmandu, Nepal Assistant Professor in English, Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. September 1995- July 2001 Lecturer in English, Nepal Engineering College, Kupondole, Lalitpur, Nepal. September 1994- September 1995 PUBLICATIONS Book Hindu Kingship Rituals: Power Relation and Historical Evolution. Harvard Oriental Series-Opera Minora, vol. 11 (Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2019). http://bethgazo.gorgiaspress.com/harvard-oriental-series-opera-minora Peer-Reviewed Articles in Journals “The Coronation Rituals: A Comparative Study of the Ancient Hebrew and Vedic Traditions,” The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies 16 (November 2018): 7-29. “Thomas Pynchon: Postmodernism in Practice,” Literary Studies 17 (1999): 37-53. Peer-Reviewed Chapters in Books “Violence or Its Delegitimization?: Conflicting Views from the Hindu World,” in a peer reviewed conference volume edited by Muhammad Shafiq and Thomas Donlin-Smith. Basingstoke, Hampshire [England] Basingstoke, Hampshire [England]: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. “Women’s Rituals, Gendered Rituals: Traditional Praxis and Strategic Interventions,” Making Gender in the Intersection of the Human and the Divine, edited by Muhammad Shafiq and Thomas Donlin-Smith, 327-344. New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019. "The Protection of Nature and Environment: A Case for Restoring 'Dharma' in the Hindu World," Nature and the Environment in Contemporary Religious Contexts, edited by Muhammad Shafiq and Thomas Donlin-Smith, 183-203. New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018. “Coronation of the Hindu King: Tradition and Innovation in Nepalese History,” Strategic Interventions: Ritual Innovation in South Asian Religion, edited by Brian K. Pennington and Amy L. Allocco, 17-33. New York: SUNY, 2018. “The Navarātra Homa: Livers, Enchantments, and Engendering the Śaktis,” Homa Variations: Religious Culture and the Transformations of Ritual, edited by Richard K. Payne and Michael Witzel, 314-336. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. Encyclopedia Entries and Other Publications (non peer-reviewed scholarly articles) “Kingship” (4000 words), Encyclopedia of Indian Religions: Hinduism and Tribal Religions, edited by Arvind Sharma. Springer publication, 2020. “Vedic Period, c. 1750- 500 BCE” (1500 words); “Sikhism: A History,” (1000 words); “Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) as a Tactic in Gandhi” (800 words), Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia, edited by Patit P. Mishra, Andrea L. Stanton, et al., Vol. IV. Sage Publications, Inc., 2012. “Lepchas” (500 words), Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues, edited by Steven Laurence Danver. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2012. “The Viṣṇu Purāṇa: Explanation and Analysis,” Milestone Documents of World Religions, Vol. II, edited by David M. Fahey, 707-713. Texas: Schlager Group Production, 2011. Book Reviews The Easternization of the West: A Thematic Account of Cultural Change in the Modern Era by Colin Campbell. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2007. In Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, Volume 02, Issue 02 (pp. 386-388), 2011. Kings of the Forest: The Cultural Resilience of Himalayan Hunter-Gatherers by Jana Fortier. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 2009. In The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 70, Issue 02 (pp. 613-614), 2011. Spiritual Journey Home: Eastern Mysticism to the Western Wall by Nathan Katz. KTAV Publishing House 2009. In International Journal of Hindu Studies, Springer, Volume 14, Numbers 2-3 (pp. 329-331), 2010. India’s Princely States: People, Princes, and Colonialism. Ed. by Waltraud Ernst and Biswamoy Pati. London; New York: Routledge, 2007. In The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 69, Issue, 01 (pp. 302-303), 2010. Forthcoming Book Review (invited) “Review of Dharma and Halacha: Comparative Studies in Hindu-Jewish Philosophy and Religion,” The Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies” (17), edited by Ithamar Theodor and Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, (Lanham, Boulder, New York, London: Lexington Books, 2018), 262 pp. Paper under Review Peer-Reviewed Article in a Journal “The Sacred and the Sacrificial: The Status and Representation of Animals in Hindu Texts and Ritual Contexts,” Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies. Work in Progress A Mystical Quest for Unity: Approaching Ātman and Brahman in the Upaniṣads Divine Presence: Consecration Ceremonies in Hindu and Jain Temples King Shivaji in the Religions and Politics of Hindu India ACADEMIC HONORS, AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS Harvard University Presidential Completion Fellowship, 2011-2012 Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University, Spring 2010 Dr. Stephen G. Jones and Wanda W. Jones Scholarship, 2010-2011 Arthur Daniel Stillman Endowed Beneficiary Aid Scholarship, 2008- 2009; 2009-2010 Graduate Writing Fellows Program, Spring 2008 Dillon Fellowship, 2005-2006 Dr. Stephen G. Jones and Wanda W. Jones Scholarship, 2004 Presidential Scholar Award, 2004 (a five-year scholarship package) University of Florida University of Florida Wells Scholarship and Grinter Fellowship, 2003-2004 Honor for Outstanding Academic Accomplishment, University of Florida, 2004 Florida International University Distinction in MA in Religious Studies, Florida International University, 2003 Outstanding Academic Achievement in Religious Studies, Florida International University, 2003 Florida International University Scholarship, 2001-2003 American Research Center, Hyderabad, India Best Research Paper Award, American Civilization and Culture Course (XIX), American Research Center, Hyderabad, India, 1998 GRANTS AND LEAVE IWU Artistic/Scholarly Development Grant, Fall 2020 IWU Diversity Grant for a new course entitled “Titans for Diversity and Dialogue” (2019-2020) Curriculum Development Grant, Interfaith Youth Core (Chicago, IL), Spring 2019 Summer 2018 [Re]Design Your Course for Civic Engagement, 2018 American Democracy Project and State Farm Course Development Grant (workshop organized by IWU and ISU), Summer 2018 Curriculum Development Grant (jointly with Elyse NelsonWinger), Interfaith Youth Core, Spring 2017 IWU Team Teaching Grant (jointly with Elyse NelsonWinger), Spring 2017 IWU Artistic/Scholarly Development Grant, Fall 2016 IWU Junior Faculty Leave, Fall 2016 IWU Mellon Foundation Grant (for a course development), Fall 2014 PRESENTATIONS IN CONFERENCES “The Royal Nepalese Navarātri: Responses and Reactions to Animal Sacrifices,” Ritual Construction and Contestation: Navarātri Rituals and their Critiques, 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Denver, CO; November 17-20, 2018. “The Sacred and the Sacrificial: The Status of Animals in Hindu Religious Life,” Dharma Academy of North America (DANAM), 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Denver, CO, November 17-20, 2018. “Violence or Its Delegitimization?: Conflicting Views from the Hindu World,” Fifth International Symposium on Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: Religions and the (De)Legitimization of Violence, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY; July29- July 31, 2018. “Divine Deception or Priestly Artifice?: Its Rationale and Justification in Śrī Svasthānīvrata,” The Conference on the Study of Religions of India, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA; June 21-24, 2018. “Women’s Rituals, Gendered Rituals: Traditional Praxis and Strategic Interventions in Modern Times,” Fourth International Symposium on “Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: Women and Gender in Religions,” Nazareth College, Rochester, NY; July30- August 1, 2017. “Gender Roles and Representations: Sacred Texts and Human Contexts of Nepalese Festivals,” Identities in Transition: South Asian Womanhood and Girlhood Conference, Loyola University, Chicago, IL; October 28-29, 2016. “The Protection of Nature and Environment: A Case for Restoring ‘Dharma’ in the Hindu World,” Third International Symposium on “Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: Nature and Environment in World Religions,” Nazareth College, Rochester, NY; May 23-25, 2016. “Hindu Nationalism: The Nation and the Goddess,” New England Conference of Association of Asian Studies (NEAAS), Wellesley College, MA; October 22-23, 2011. “Honoring