Academics
Papers | Presentations by Aaron Rester
- “Embracing New Media and Web 2.0,” CASE V conference, Dec. 10, 2007
- “An Introduction to Podcasting,”NSIT Scoop, University of Chicago, Nov. 2007
- “The Film Industry and Contemporary Politics” at USEFI India Program Pre-Departure Orientation hosted by University of Chicago South Asia Language and Area Center, June 26 – 29, 2006
- “An Introduction to Bollywood,” presented to Kelly McKee’s Asian Studies class at Lake Forest High School, September 29, 2005.
- “Blackboard and Its Applications – The Chalk Site” at “University of Chicago Workshop on Teaching in the College,” September 20-21, 2005.
- Discussion Group Leader, “Viewing the World Through Media and Popular Culture” University of Chicago Summer Workshop for Educators, June 20-23, 2005.
- “Hindu Nationalism and the TV Ramayan” at “Themes of Identity and Conflict in South Asia, 1947 to Present: Workshop for Educators,” March 27, 2004
- “Sacred Space, National Space, Cinematic Space” presented at University of Chicago South Asia Student Conference, February 27-28, 2004.
- "Hinduizing the Nation in the TV Ramayan" presented at "Boundaries: The Juxtaposition of Religion, Ethnicity and Politics in South Asia," workshop for Chicago Public Schools teachers, June 30-July 1, 2003.
- “The Web of Dharma: the Agnipariksha and the Ramayana on the Internet,” presented at "Tongues of Fire: Languages and Literatures of South Asia," Center for South Asian Studies Spring Symposium, University of Hawaii, April 11-12, 2002.
Papers | Presentations by Aaron Rester
- Book Review: Connected Places by Anne Feldhaus (University of Chicago South Asia News, Vol. 31, Autumn 2006 - Spring 2007)
- Shifting Spaces: Religious Space and National Space in Hindi Film (Fall, 2005)
- "Monuments in Immovable Stone:" Collective Memory and Mourning in the Ramjanmabhumi Movement (Spring, 2003)
- Darshan, Television,and Media Theory in India (Winter, 2003)
- "Game" in Keywords of Media Theory (Winter, 2003)
- Playing With Tradition: Sacrifice, Ritual, and the Mahabharata's Dice Game (Fall, 2001)
- The Web of Dharma: Sita’s Trial by Fire and the Ramayana on the Internet (Winter, 2001)
- Women, Cattle, and Sacred Drink: The Legitimation of Kingship in Three Mythic Contexts (Spring, 1999)
The papers linked to here were mostly written for courses during my graduate studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School (I earned an M.A. there in 2002 and did an additional three years of work in the Ph.D program in History of Religions). They are published here under a Creative Commons license.
If you like what you read here, I am available for:
- consultation
- teaching
- writing projects
- speaking engagements
on topics including:
- comparative mythology
- the history and practice of Hinduism
- religious nationalism in India
- religion and media
- the Bollywood film industry
- the use of web technology in education
I have taught classes on the Hindu tradition at Northwestern University and St. Xavier University, on Celtic mythology in Oberlin College's Experimental College, and presented on teaching South Asia to Chicago-area educators on several occasions.
