Patton Burchett

Advisory Member; Associate Professor

Email: [[peburchett]]
Office: Wren 308
Interests: Religions of South Asia; Hinduism (specialization: Bhakti, Tantra, & Yoga); Religion & Ecology; Contemplative Studies; Magic, Science, Religion, & Modernity; "Spirituality" & Neoliberalism; Religious Nationalisms

Professor Burchett's research spans four different focus areas: (1) early modern devotional (bhakti) and tantric/yogic religiosity in North India; (2) the interrelations of magic, science, and religion in the rise of Indian and Western modernities; (3) Religion, Ecology, Climate Change, Indigeneity, Development and Conservation in contemporary South Asia; (4) Contemplative Studies interdisciplinary work on cultural/social, psychological, and neurophysiological dimensions and impacts of contemporary contemplative practice.

His first book is A Genealogy of Devotion: Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India (2019, Columbia University Press). You can access many of Burchett’s various publications here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patton-Burchett-2

Burchett's current research (second book) project explores how 19th and early 20th century discourse on and representations of the figure of the Indian yogi-fakir reflected and helped to constitute distinctively 'modern' cognitive modes, ethical sensibilities, and conceptual understandings, particularly in relation to rationality, enchantment, and authenticity.

Burchett is a co-founder of W&M’s Contemplative Studies Program, a founding member of W&M’s Mind, Brain, & Wellness Seminar, and part of a 6-person interdisciplinary W&M research team studying the role of motivations, psychological characteristics, and cultural outlooks in the the physiological and subjective effects of contemplation and breathing practices.

Burchett is also a member of W&M’s Nepal Water Initiative, an interdisciplinary research effort involving conservation, geospatial, marine and fisheries scientists all studying the water resources of Nepal. In this context, he explores the cultural and religious dimensions of Nepali peoples' interaction with their natural environment, especially water, in the context of climate change and other anthropogenic threats, with the aim of empowering Nepali conservation leaders in community-based conservation efforts to protect aquatic biodiversity and promote sustainable livelihoods in Nepal.

Courses:

RELG 201 Religions of the World
RELG 213 Introduction to Hinduism
RELG 361 Modern Hinduism
RELG 362 Magic, Science, & Religion
RELG 339 Spiritual But Not Religious
RELG 346 Religion and Politics in the U.S.