Topeka, Kan. – The Washburn University Philosophy & Religious Studies Department will host the annual Thomas L. King Lecture at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center, on the Washburn University campus. This year, Dr. Liz Bucar will discuss “The Monsters Under Our Mats: Exploring the Ethical Implications of Yoga.” Interfaith of Topeka will sponsor a dessert reception following the talk. This event is free, and the public is invited.
In this talk Bucar uses the framework of appropriation to unpack the ethics of yoga. What does it mean to insist yoga is a spiritual but not religious practice? Are we entitled to borrow any practice in the pursuit of our personal health? What forms of structural injustice does the popularity of yoga depend on and reinforce?
A leading scholar of religious ethics, Bucar draws on her own experience becoming a certified Kripalu yoga instructor to explore the moral risks of intercultural borrowing. She argues that when we ignore the core religious beliefs of the faithful and commodify their practices, we risk further marginalizing minority groups and reinforcing social inequities.
About Dr. Liz Bucar
Liz Bucar is a leading expert in religious ethics, a professor of religion at Northeastern University and a prizewinning author. Her writing, teaching and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—from sexual reassignment surgery to the politics of religious clothing—but generally focus on how a deeper understanding of religious difference can change our sense of what is right and good.
Bucar has written for “The Atlantic,” “Teen Vogue,” “The Los Angeles Times” and “Religion News Service,” among others, and her work has been discussed in the “New York Times,” “The Washington Post,” “The Huffington Post” and “Instyle Magazine.” She has written four books—including her most recent, "Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation." She is also the director of Sacred Writes, a grant-funded project that provides media training for religion scholars.
Bucar earned a degree in government from Harvard and a Ph.D. in religious ethics from the University of Chicago. She is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and leads a popular study abroad program along the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
About the Thomas L. King Lecture
The Thomas L. King Lecture in Religious Studies, established in 1982 through a generous gift from the First Congregational Church in Topeka in memory of alumnus and Washburn benefactor Thomas L. King, now also receives support from contributions in memory of Rev. Dick Dickinson and Dr. Barry Crawford. This lecture series significantly enhances Washburn's religious studies program by offering a platform each spring semester for students, faculty and community members to engage with the works of eminent scholars in the field.
Over the years, the series has been privileged to host distinguished speakers such as Walter Brueggemann, Jacob Neusner, Martin Marty, John Dominic Crossan, Huston Smith, Wendy Doniger, Bart Ehrman, Peter Gomes and Eva Morczek. Beyond the formal public lecture, speakers often arrange informal meetings with undergraduate classes, further enriching the educational experience.
For further information, contact:
Joy Bailes
Director of Internal Communications and Brand Management
Telephone: (785) 670-2153
Cell: (785) 230-1648
Email: joy.bailes@washburn.edu
