Associate Professor of Religious Studies South Asia Nanette R. Spina Associate Professor, Religious Studies, South Asia Faculty, Department of Religion and Centre for Asian Studies University of Georgia Dr. Spina’s research areas include religious traditions in India, Sri Lanka, and North America. Her research is interdisciplinary, engaged with South Asian studies, and sub-disciplines including Indian Philosophy, Sociology, and the Anthropology of Religion. She utilizes historical and social scientific research methods and has conducted field studies in the US, Canada, and South Asia with Hindu and Buddhist communities. Her current research explores transcultural theory, and transnational studies in religion at the intersection of religion, migration and gender. Her academic interests include religion, culture, and identity, text and context, authority and gender, and Hindu temples/ritual. Dr. Spina teaches in both graduate and undergraduate programs in the Religion Department. She supervises student projects in qualitative and quantitative research and is an affiliate faculty member for the Qualitative Research Studies Certificate program at UGA. Dr. Spina served as Unit Co-Chair for the AAR Religion & Migration Unit (2018-2025). Links to her books are included in the section below: Monograph: “Women’s Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition,” New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Co-edited volume: "Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism," London: Routledge, 2024. Education Education: PhD, McMaster University, Canada Selected Publications Selected Publications: Monograph: Women’s Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Women’s Authority and Leadership in a Hindu Goddess Tradition Co-Edited Volume: Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism. New York: Routledge, 2024. Gendered Agency in Transcultural Hinduism and Buddhism
