A Lake of Fire: Apocalyptic Futures and an Anthropology of Grace

Wednesday, April 30th, 2025
4:30-6:30pm CT
Scott Hall, Guild Lounge, 601 University Place, Evanston, IL 60208

Presented by Tulasi Srinivas, Professor of Anthropology, Religion and Transnational Studies at The Marlboro Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College.

Lecture Abstract:

When a sacred lake bursts into toxic flames, and the temple at its shore is charred, the resident goddess flees.Where can She go? This talk begins with the paradox between Hinduism’s view of water as female, sacred and sentient, and the endemic pollution of water resources and climate- driven drought in contemporary India. In this, the third project of Srinivas' trilogy on her hometown of Bangalore, India, her central question is: If water is life, what is a life without water?

 

Srinivas' ethnographic and historical project focuses our attention on the existential ethics at stake in apocalyptic climate change, a challenge for religious studies scholars in the 21st century. Srinivas argues that charting the grief of the anthropocene and its many losses is not enough. Rather, she pivots towards an understanding of enfolded relationality, a "liquid kinship" that water implies in Hindu thought, suggesting that the fiery lake is really a pathway to god’s eternal grace, her anugraha. Grounded in anthropology of apprehension, this talk focuses upon a female poetics of care to think about indigenous Dalit well -diggers’ knowledge of water, horticultural castes such as Tigala, and legacy knowledge in general.

 

Focusing upon the examination of water as a significant sacred and timeless fluid, Srinivas seeks to illuminate the complex interplay between caste knowledge, climate change, and the ethical demands of anthropology, while floating towards the possibility of a critical Hindu theology as a reparation of the climate crisis. 

The event will be hybrid and guests are welcome to join in-person or virtually. Reception following.