Iva Patel is a scholar of South Asian religions specializing in Hindu devotional poetics, rhetoric, and cognitive practices of self-making, with particular expertise in Gujarati religious literature. Her current book project is a discussion of the systematic interior work of Hindu devotion based on analysis of early nineteenth-century Gujarati poetry and interviews with current practitioners. It illustrates bhakti (Hindu devotion) as not only a matter of feelings or bodily actions but also of the mind—the embodied process and outcome of trained, sharpened, and disciplined thoughts.
At Augsburg University since 2020, Dr. Patel teaches courses that integrate text and art analysis, storytelling, and experiential learning to understand religion at the intersection of literature, practices, society, and ideology. Her pedagogy emphasizes epistemic justice, curiosity toward the unfamiliar, and empathetic engagement across differences.
Committed to public scholarship and interfaith dialogue, Dr. Patel periodically speaks on Hindu ethics, forgiveness, and trauma response, and serves in leadership roles at Augsburg and within the American Academy of Religion.
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-7105-9036
Education
- Ph.D., Religious Studies, University of Iowa
- M.F.A., Literary Translation, University of Iowa
- M.A., South Asia Regional Studies, University of Pennsylvania
- B.A., English Literature, University of Maryland Baltimore County
- B.S., Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Courses Taught
- Ethics in Chaotic Times: Stories of Dharma
- Body, Mind, and Senses in Religion
- Asian Philosophies of Life, Death, and In-Between
- Buddhism in Text, Art, and Practice
- Buddhist Philosophies from Asia
- Religion, Vocation, and the Search for Meaning: Eastern Perspectives
- Thinking-Feeling in Hindu Devotion
- Research Methods in Religion
- Religions of South Asia
- Gods in the Human World: Epics from India
- Yoga and Mindfulness in Philosophy and Practice