# 2024 Conference: "Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability" ## expand\_more ## Dates: April 24-27, 2024 Our 2024 conference explored the many ways in which spiritual practices, especially those from beyond the religious mainstream, mirror and resist the imperial contexts in which they are rooted. Given the pervasiveness of imperial, extractive and settler colonialist systems, we assume that all spiritualities have colonial dimensions and, as such, have possibilities for anti-colonial or decolonial responses. See the full list of abstracts and presenter bios below. ## 2024 Conference Abstracts (listed alphabetically by title) Download 77 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=standard_pager&number_of_items=10&sort_field=title--asc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_conference%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=179416&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_topicsforabstracts%5D&&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%5B0%5D=conference_paper&additional_filters%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D%5Boperator%5D=IN&format=ris) Rendlen, Chelsea. 2024. “[A New Approach to a Traditional Girls’ Summer Camp at YWCA VT Camp Hochelaga: Embracing Spirituality While Centering Anti-Racism and Women’s+ Empowerment](/publications/new-approach-traditional-girls%E2%80%99-summer-camp-ywca-vt-camp-hochelaga-embracing).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Divinity School Program for the Evolution of Spirituality. Rendlen, Chelsea. 2024. “[A New Approach to a Traditional Girls’ Summer Camp at YWCA VT Camp Hochelaga: Embracing Spirituality While Centering Anti-Racism and Women’s+ Empowerment](/publications/new-approach-traditional-girls%E2%80%99-summer-camp-ywca-vt-camp-hochelaga-embracing).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Divinity School Program for the Evolution of Spirituality. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Summer camps are spaces for spiritual transformation, initiation, and development; acting as a rite of passage for many North American adolescents. Beyond the friendship bracelets and campfires, the origins of summer camp are rooted in Muscular... Umoh, Samuel. 2024. “[African Tailor Made and Shembe Movement in South Africa](/publications/african-tailor-made-and-shembe-movement-south-africa).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Umoh, Samuel. 2024. “[African Tailor Made and Shembe Movement in South Africa](/publications/african-tailor-made-and-shembe-movement-south-africa).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Drawing from the case of the Shembe movement, the paper discusses a case of South Africa's spiritual practices and movements labeled as ‘esoteric’ and ‘New Age’, from the lens of Syncretism as a combination of Zulu culture and Christianity. It... Forchu, Ijeoma. 2024. “[Ala, the Eagle and the Kite: Narratives of Ecological Justice in Igbo Songs](/publications/ala-eagle-and-kite-narratives-ecological-justice-igbo-songs).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Forchu, Ijeoma. 2024. “[Ala, the Eagle and the Kite: Narratives of Ecological Justice in Igbo Songs](/publications/ala-eagle-and-kite-narratives-ecological-justice-igbo-songs).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Music scholarship in Igboland, southeastern Nigeria pays scant attention to indigenous Igbo ecological conceptualizations enshrined in Igbo music despite acute land degradation in that area and global interest in environmental sustainability. I... Tillman, Patricia. 2024. “[All Glories to the Assembled Devotees: Spiritual Names and Cultural Appropriation in Yoga and Devotional Culture in the West](/publications/all-glories-assembled-devotees-spiritual-names-and-cultural-appropriation-yoga-and).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Tillman, Patricia. 2024. “[All Glories to the Assembled Devotees: Spiritual Names and Cultural Appropriation in Yoga and Devotional Culture in the West](/publications/all-glories-assembled-devotees-spiritual-names-and-cultural-appropriation-yoga-and).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: In the present-day discourses around cultural appropriation and decolonization in yoga, a Western person, using an Indian spiritual name that they were given as part of a spiritual initiation, is often framed as an example of appropriation or... Maheswar, Ghimire. 2024. “[Animism and Ecological Restoration (Century Old Tradition of Indigenous Community) ](/publications/animism-and-ecological-restoration-century-old-tradition-indigenous-community).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Maheswar, Ghimire. 2024. “[Animism and Ecological Restoration (Century Old Tradition of Indigenous Community) ](/publications/animism-and-ecological-restoration-century-old-tradition-indigenous-community).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: The century old practices of people in mid hill region of other parts of Nepal on the areas of natural resource management is either guided by animistic approach or some sort of religious philosophy. Both animism or religious belief on natural... Chattopadhyay, Sanskriti. 2024. “[Being a Devotee: Image to Decolonial Decentralization](/publications/being-devotee-image-decolonial-decentralization).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Chattopadhyay, Sanskriti. 2024. “[Being a Devotee: Image to Decolonial Decentralization](/publications/being-devotee-image-decolonial-decentralization).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: What is the role of devotion beyond faith? - centred around this question, this paper intends to explore in depth how the idea of devotion and the position of devotee may become an important tool of resistance within the South Asian, especially... Balliett, Suzy. 2024. “[Beyond Colonial Entanglements: Embracing Daoist Philosophy & Qigong for Liberating the Mind](/publications/beyond-colonial-entanglements-embracing-daoist-philosophy-qigong-liberating-mind).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Balliett, Suzy. 2024. “[Beyond Colonial Entanglements: Embracing Daoist Philosophy & Qigong for Liberating the Mind](/publications/beyond-colonial-entanglements-embracing-daoist-philosophy-qigong-liberating-mind).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Introduction of the entangled mind principles. Exploration of how one can embody Daoist philosophy to unravel colonial mindsets. Furthermore, we will explore the path to liberation through the Qigong movements. The audience can watch or follow... Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony. 2024. “[Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism, and Environmental Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa](/publications/colonialism-neo-colonialism-and-environmental-crisis-sub-saharan-africa).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony. 2024. “[Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism, and Environmental Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa](/publications/colonialism-neo-colonialism-and-environmental-crisis-sub-saharan-africa).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Climate change has severely compromised the livelihoods of people that are overwhelmingly dependent on the natural environment, particularly those in developing countries that are usually the least able to cope with the associated social and... Smith, Ryan. 2024. “[Confronting White Supremacy in Nordic Spirituality](/publications/confronting-white-supremacy-nordic-spirituality).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Smith, Ryan. 2024. “[Confronting White Supremacy in Nordic Spirituality](/publications/confronting-white-supremacy-nordic-spirituality).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: If there’s one thing that is widely associated with modern Norse spirituality, it is this form of Paganism’s long, ugly history with white supremacists and the far-right. A lot, however, has changed in the past decade thanks to anti-racist... Mondragón, Delores (Lola). 2024. “[Contemporary Revitalization of Indigenous Spiritualities in Prisons, Treatment Centers, and Veteran Retreats: Using Drumming and Storytelling As Forms of Witnessing the Violence Away](/publications/contemporary-revitalization-indigenous-spiritualities-prisons-treatment-centers).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. Mondragón, Delores (Lola). 2024. “[Contemporary Revitalization of Indigenous Spiritualities in Prisons, Treatment Centers, and Veteran Retreats: Using Drumming and Storytelling As Forms of Witnessing the Violence Away](/publications/contemporary-revitalization-indigenous-spiritualities-prisons-treatment-centers).” in *Alternative Spiritualities of Celebration, Resistance, and Accountability: Engaging Our Colonial and Decolonial Contexts*. Cambridge, MA. - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Abstract: Bringing together Indigenous Elders, drums, and Native American storytelling, we propose to demonstrate how bringing in ceremonies to spaces long deprived of Indigenous spiritualities has impacted those spaces. In the most natural ways possible... - Previous page chevron\_left - [1](?page=0 "Current page") - [2](?page=1 "Go to page 2") - [3](?page=2 "Go to page 3") - [4](?page=3 "Go to page 4") - [5](?page=4 "Go to page 5") - [6](?page=5 "Go to page 6") - [7](?page=6 "Go to page 7") - [8](?page=7 "Go to page 8") - [ Next page chevron\_right ](?page=1 "Go to next page") [ View All arrow\_circle\_right ](https://pes.hds.harvard.edu/conference-papers?f%5B0%5D=bibcite_reference_hwp_c_conference%3A179416)