# Home ## Annual Lecture: Hindu View of Life 2025–26 Program Highlights *Recasting the Hindu Goddess in an American Landscape* with Tracy Pintchman, part of the CSWR Annual Lecture Series. [ Watch the recording. arrow\_circle\_right ](https://youtu.be/SAhMpo321NM) ![Worshipper showing homage to the Hindu deity](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_28_10__1920x685/public/2026-06/424971BD-599D-4937-B9C0-282667ABCB1A%20%283%29.jpeg?itok=N5_BVB-9) [### Student Research Assistantships: Transcendentalism Initiative, 2026–27 ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/student-research-assistantships)Opportunities The Center for the Study of World Religions invites applications for up to five Student Research Assistant positions connected to the 2026–27 Transcendentalism Initiative. These positions offer Harvard students the opportunity to work alongside leading scholars, writers, and artists on projects related to Transcendentalism and allied intellectual, literary, philosophical, religious, and artistic traditions. Research assistants will contribute to archival research, editorial projects, digital humanities work, media production, and more while participating in the broader intellectual life of the Initiative through lectures, workshops, and symposia. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through August 15, 2026. [View positions and application details](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/student-research-assistantships). ![CSWR front entrance, trees in the background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-05/05312013-CSWR-467.jpg?itok=KBp2kLRU) [### Transcendentalism Essay Series ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendentalism/essay-series)Transcendentalism Initiative The Transcendentalism Initiative Essay Series features original essays by scholars, independent researchers, and writers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Recent contributions explore topics including ecology, politics, mysticism, film, and philosophy, demonstrating the enduring relevance of Transcendentalist thought to contemporary intellectual and cultural life. Recent essays include: [Cultivating Ecological Vision: Thoreau, Emerson, and Goethe](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/13/cultivating-ecological-vision-thoreau-emerson-and-goethe), by Ryan Shea, and [Transcendentalism and the Politics of Failure](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/04/29/transcendentalism-and-politics-failure), by Russell C. Powell. [Explore the full Transcendentalism Essay series.](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendentalism/essay-series) ![Michael Corhell's photo of ice and water at Walden](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-08/FullSizeRender%2083%20%282%29.jpeg?itok=S_mRo-CF) ## Events [See All Events chevron\_right](/news-events/calendar) $Trumba.addSpud({ webName: "hds-cswr-public-events", spudType : "upcomingtile", teaserBase : "https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/upcoming-events", spudId: "hwp-trumba-cswr-upcomingtile" }); ## Featured Programs and Activities [### Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast ](/research-programming/transcendence-transformation/om-gnosis-videocast)Om-gnosis is the first podcast dedicated to the study of Occult South Asia. Occult literally means “hidden,” but the word has come to mean many things. Today what we call occult often has deep ties to South Asian teachings and practices, including modern yoga, Hindu and Buddhist tantra, and Islamic esotericism. Occult South Asia is full of intercultural transfers, and many authors and practitioners from around the world have played a role in shaping this milieu at local and “translocal” or global levels. Newest Episode: [Epidsode 20: Comparing Magic, Yoga, and Occultism](https://youtu.be/JkF7snZNqqI) ![Title card for Episode 20](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-04/omgnosis%20Youtube%20thumbnail-39.png?itok=ZXKatpKL) [### Poetry ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/poetry)Research and Programming In advancing its mission to “promote the study of the world’s religions in their classical and contemporary forms,” the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) has highlighted the intersections of poetry, philosophy, and religion. Since 2017, resident fellow Sherah Bloor—host of the Poetry Series and editor-in-chief of *Peripheries*—has been central to this work, offering programs, resources, and a creative venue for HDS poets. The Poetry Series rests on three pillars: talks and workshops with visiting poets, in-house workshops, and the journal *Peripheries*. Watch the recording: [*The Invisible Sun: Poetry, Translation, and the Mystical Imagination with Sholeh Wolpé*](https://youtu.be/NNmNfLyRjo4) ![Open book with a dried flower on the left page and leaf on the right, outdoor image blurred in the background.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-09/PoetryImage.jpg?h=b46bd5e0&itok=SOLeHwTe) [### Psychedelics and Spirituality ](/research-programming/transcendence-transformation/psychedelics-spirituality)The “Psychedelics and Spirituality” program, part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, explores religious and spiritual practices aimed at transcending ordinary states of being and consciousness. We take a broad view of “psychedelic,” encompassing psychoactive substances, art, literature, and phenomenology. Watch recordings from this year’s Psychedelics & Spirituality events: [*Global Ayahuasca*: A Book Talk with Anthropologist Alex Gearin](https://youtu.be/SEUj_WH3Yzs) [*Transcendence, Transformation, and Trans-Psychedelia* with Hil Malatino and Susan Stryker](https://youtu.be/gEtFdD8TTRA) [*Raving, Recreation, Religion* with Michelle Lhooq and Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta](https://youtu.be/pj_IVi6ZKwA) [*Shamanism: The Timeless Religion*: A Conversation Between Manvir Singh and Charles Stang](https://youtu.be/ZxE9JP3sZng) ![Abstract image with multicolored streams of color flowing from a central point outward](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-01/Psych%26SpiritualityImage.png?itok=nVWF7xgV) [### Pop Apocalypse: Podcast with Matt Dillon, Lead Research Associate, T&T Database ](/research-programming/transcendence-transformation/pop-apocalypse-podcast)Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture. The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers about how their spiritual experiences and practices inform their work. Newest Episode: [Episode 22: Exploring the Mysticism of Mathematics with Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo ](https://youtu.be/o5WLOIKVQos) ![Pop Apocalypse logo of retro TV with staticky image of angels and aliens](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/hds_cswr/files/popapocalypse-logo-400x390.jpg?itok=RiisnqFo) [### Transcendentalism ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/transcendentalism)Research and Programming The Transcendentalism research initiative reimagines American Transcendentalism as a living tradition that continues to shape religious, ethical, and political imaginations. Through scholarly research, workshop collaborations, and educational programming, the initiative brings together historians, philosophers, writers, activists, and practitioners to explore the meaning and relevance of Transcendentalism today. Committed to interdisciplinary dialogue across religion, literature, political thought, and environmental ethics, the initiative seeks to expand the canon of Transcendentalism beyond its most familiar figures and forms. [Watch the recording of CSWR’s screening and conversation](https://youtu.be/SgRQQCh6XaY) on the new PBS documentary *Henry David Thoreau*, where filmmakers, scholars, and a broad public audience explore the enduring force of his thought. In his response to the new PBS documentary *Henry David Thoreau*, [Russell Powell](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/people/russell-powell) reflects on the central question the film poses today: What would it mean to inherit Thoreau? Powell’s answer frames Transcendentalism as a politics whose hope resides in our always falling short of, but continuing to pursue, emancipatory ideals. [Read: *Transcendentalism and the Politics of Failure* ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/04/29/transcendentalism-and-politics-failure) ![Ice, Walden Pond](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-02/Karen%20King%201.jpg?itok=qHKF-gDv) [### Archive of Mystical Experiences ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/archive-mystical-experiences)Transcendence and Transformation Over the coming months, we are launching the Archive of Mystical Experiences. This collection of primary-source accounts of transcendent experiences—visions, out-of-body experiences, revelations, apotheosis, and more—covers antiquity to the present and world religions to Indigenous and new-age communities. Balanced with long-form articles, these firsthand accounts contextualize and analyze the role of extraordinary experiences in particular geographies, traditions, and eras. The website will launch in early 2026. Newly featured articles: [Irina Tweedie](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/04/23/irina-tweedie) - In this essay, Naamleela Free Jones explores the life and writings of Irina Tweedie (1907–1999), a key figure in bringing Sufi practice to Western audiences. Drawing on Tweedie’s *Daughter of Fire*, the piece highlights an intense early stage of spiritual training marked by psychological and physical upheaval, understood as a transformative initiation. [Kundalini](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/04/23/kundalini) - Anya Foxen traces the shifting life of Kundalini, a “serpent power” said to lie coiled within the body, as it travels from its Tantric roots through colonial encounters and modern yoga movements into global spiritual imaginaries. Each retelling reshapes it, not as a timeless essence but as a form continually reimagined in motion. ![Ethereal image of swirls and smoke, shapes](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-11/iStock-1297583660.jpg.resize.jpg?itok=55wBqP56) [### Research Reflections ](/news/researcher-reflections)Research and Programming Research Reflections is an ongoing series that features short, thought-provoking insights from the work of our research scholars and affiliates. These reflections highlight emerging questions, overlooked materials, and fresh perspectives in the academic study of religion, often drawing on historical, cultural, and archaeological themes. Newly featured Research Reflections: [Aryavarta, Land of the Noble Ones](), Marina Alexandrova [The Childless Ascetic](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/26/childless-ascetic), Daniela Bevilacqua [It Loves to Happen](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2026/06/04/it-loves-happen), Michael Prettyman ![Photo of stone wall with center carving of Goddess](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2024-10/iStock-1366801260.jpg?itok=3QTc4GjU) [### Publications ](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/publications)Discover the CSWR’s flagship publications — bridging rigorous scholarship, creative inquiry, and public accessibility. ***Theosis*** **(Annual Publication)** Essays, interviews, art, and photography from our scholarly community. Volume 2 (2024–25) spans diverse spiritual traditions and creative collaborations. [Explore *Theosis*](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/publications/theosis-2024-2025) **Psychedelic Intersections: Conference Anthology** Interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of psychedelics and religion, featuring 21 chapters from the 2024 conference. [Read the anthology](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/publications/psychedelic-intersections/2024) ***4T (Texts & Translations of Transcendence & Transformation)*** Open-access translations of visionary and mystical texts from across Eurasia and Africa, presented with original languages and interpretive aids. [Explore the 4T series](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/publications/4t) ![Books on a table, book shelves in the background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-11/iStock-949118068.jpg?itok=nkNzblkS) [### Peripheries ](/research-programming/poetry/peripheries)We are pleased to announce the release of the seventh issue of *Peripheries*, our annual literary and arts journal. This year’s edition invites readers into poetry—and art—as a habitable space, exploring themes of privacy, containment, exile, alienation, and home. *Peripheries* is a nonprofit literary and arts journal that publishes artistic work that is, broadly understood, “peripheral;” work that explores the interstices between discourses, traditions, languages, forms, and genres. [Order your copy of *Peripheries* Volume 7](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674299979). ![colored pencil erratic lines in black and red with a yellow background](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-06/Peripheries7.jpg.crop_.June24.jpg?itok=J93OW0fs) [### Thinking with Plants and Fungi ](/research-programming/thinking-plants-fungi)“Thinking with Plants and Fungi is an interdisciplinary exploration into how plants and fungi help us rethink the nature of mind and matter, and humans’ relationship to the “more-than-human” world. The program’s offerings include a speaker series, a conference on “Interdisciplinary Exploration into the Mind of Nature,” experiential field trips for theHarvard community, and a bi-weekly reading group. [View recorded sessions from the 2025 Conference on YouTube.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX_9feVneSp3OPGxeXd975vzQUr6SPg49) [Read Thinking with Plants and Fungi Blog posts](https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-programming/thinking-plants-fungi/reflections-interviews). ![Green moss on tree bark](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2024-10/Church%20of%20the%20Woods%2090.jpg?itok=3Ggs4mzg) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## LATEST NEWS FROM CSWR [See All News chevron\_right](/news-events) [### Universal Blackness among the Muridiyya and Its Artists ](/news/2026/06/15/universal-blackness-among-muridiyya-and-its-artists) June 15, 2026 ![Woman in black headscarf and black robes sitting at a table in front of a pile of salt or white substance with blue tablecoth looking at the other end of the table where there is a table fan facing her.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-06/Annunciation-Salt%20%20Wind%202016%20%C2%A9Mai%CC%88mouna%20Guerresi%20.jpg?itok=WRBxTgVC) [### It Loves To Happen ](/news/2026/06/04/it-loves-happen) June 04, 2026 ![Painting of man with head bursting with colors](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-06/Picture1.PrettymanRR_0.jpg?itok=qFKMY4py) [### Aryavarta, Land of the Noble Ones ](/news/2026/06/01/aryavarta-land-noble-ones) June 01, 2026 ![ Helena Blavatsky reading a book](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-06/HPB_reading_book_JPEG.jpg?itok=Za5BtXue) arrow\_back arrow\_forward ## MISSION ![Professor Charles Stang in a dress shirt and gray blazer](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_3_4__480x640/public/2024-09/ProfessorStang2_web.jpg?h=51a99e44&itok=v_QgTXXR) The CSWR seeks to promote the study of the world’s religions in their classical and contemporary forms, serving both as a residential community of students and scholars and an international “think tank” in the study of religion. Professor Charles M. Stang Director, CSWR [READ FULL MISSION STATEMENT](/about) ## Sign up for CSWR updates ![Icon for mail](/sites/g/files/omnuum4346/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/2024-08/iconfinder_062_397512.png?itok=HBILhbO8) #2c4369 #newsletter-signup-for-cswr-updates { background: #2c4369 } #newsletter-signup-for-cswr-updates .newsletter-signup { text-align: center; text-align: -webkit-center; margin-bottom: 20px; width: 130px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } #mc_embed_signup { background: #fff; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Get the latest CSWR news. Subscribe to our newsletter.