Q & A with C.A.R. Hawkins Lewis
February 1, 2026
C.A.R. Hawkins Lewis is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Religious Studies, focusing on Latin American religions. Hawkins earned his B.A. from the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration entitled “The Arts of Transformation.” They also hold an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Hawkins is originally from the Northside of Chicago, but lived in upstate New York after college working at an artist’s residency, then an ashram. This Q&A has been shortened for brevity.
Q: Which accomplishments are you most proud of? Getting into this doctoral program was the result of many years of work. That accomplishment really started during my undergrad experience at Gallatin designing my
own major. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was finding my unique approach to religious studies research.
Q: How has your graduate experience at Northwestern been so far?
I’ve always loved this campus and, actually, went to camp here as a middle schooler. The Religious Studies department feels very familial and tight-knit. When I’m on our floor of Crowe Hall, it can often feel like a little block party! Everyone is eager to connect and is especially open-minded. While I’m taking mostly religion classes, I spent my first year exploring the Northwestern ecosystem. I joined the clusters in Critical Theory and
Gender Studies, the Andean Cultures and History working group, and the Sexualities Project.
Q: How do you see your previous research translating to your dissertation?
In undergrad, I was interested in the relationship between personal transformation and social innovation, which are connected in many spiritual traditions. I did a year abroad in Southeast Asia researching remote Indigenous communities using sacred plants in development projects. I continued working on community-based plant projects in grad school when my fieldwork switched to the Peruvian Amazon, but my research became more broadly about outsider interventions in the Global South. That led me to begin compiling a genre of Native narratives and prophecies about colonial encounters, ecological extraction, and the potential for renewal. I’m writing my second-year paper about that, and my dissertation will probably be about spiritual tourism between the Americas.
Q: What do you do in your spare time, if any?
I do a lot of cooking, but I also love eating because there are so many options in Chicago. Going out dancing is also very therapeutic. I don’t always make time for it, but I like to do small crafts such as beading — it gives my brain a creative break from all the reading and writing of grad school.