Curriculum Vitae
Daniela Bevilacqua
Identification
Personal identification
- Full name
- Daniela Bevilacqua
Citation names
- Bevilacqua, Daniela
Author identifiers
- Ciência ID
- 681D-41F1-6F27
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-0526-8140
Email addresses
- db28@soas.ac.uk (Professional)
- daniela.bevilacqua@iscte-iul.pt (Professional)
Knowledge fields
- Social Sciences - Other Social Sciences - Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
- Social Sciences - Sociology - Anthropology
- Humanities - Philosophy, Ethics and Religion - Religious Studies
Languages
| Language | Speaking | Reading | Writing | Listening | Peer-review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian (Mother tongue) | |||||
| English | Advanced (C1) | Proficiency (C2) | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) |
| Hindi | Upper intermediate (B2) | Upper intermediate (B2) | Elementary (A2) | Upper intermediate (B2) | Elementary (A2) |
| French | Elementary (A2) | Upper intermediate (B2) | Beginner (A1) | Intermediate (B1) | Elementary (A2) |
| Spanish; Castilian | Beginner (A1) | Elementary (A2) | Beginner (A1) | Beginner (A1) | Beginner (A1) |
Education
| Degree | Classification | |
|---|---|---|
|
2010/12 - 2015/04/29
Concluded
|
Dottorato in CIVILTÀ DELL’ASIA E DELL’AFRICA (Dottorato di Ricerca)
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy
"A Past for the Present: The Role of the Sri Math and the Jagadguru in the Evolution of the Ramanandi Sampradaya" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
|
|
|
2010/12 - 2015/03/29
Concluded
|
Maison René-Ginouvès, Archéologie et Ethnologie (Docteur)
Université Paris-Nanterre, France
"A Past for the Present: The Role of the Sri Math and the Jagadguru in the Evolution of the Ramanandi Sampradaya" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
|
Très honorable |
|
2007 - 2009/12
Concluded
|
Dipartimento Studi Orientali (Laurea Specialistica)
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy
"Il movimento Ramjanmabhumi" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
|
110/110 cum laude |
|
2002/10 - 2005/12
Concluded
|
Dipartimento Studi Orientali (Laurea)
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy
"Nityasumangali, the ritual and propitious role of Devadasis" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
|
110/110 cum laude |
Affiliation
Science
| Category Host institution |
Employer | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/04/01 - 2029/03/29 | Researcher (Research) | Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal |
| Instituto de Telecomunicações ISCTE-IUL, Portugal |
Positions / Appointments
| Category Host institution |
Employer | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/02/10 - 2021/05 | Term-contract Lecturer | Università degli Studi di Torino Dipartimento di Culture Politica e Societa, Italy |
Others
| Category Host institution |
Employer | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/09 - 2022 | Research Associate | SOAS University of London, United Kingdom |
Projects
Grant
| Designation | Funders | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/10 - 2030 | MANTRAMS - Mantras in Religion, Media, and Society in Global Southern Asia
ERC Synergy Grant -101118934
External Collaborator
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
|
|
| 2015/10 - 2020/09 | The Hatha Yoga Project: Mapping Indian and Transnational Traditions of Physical Yoga through Philology and Ethnography
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/647963/EU
Post-doc
SOAS University of London, United Kingdom
|
European Commission
Concluded
|
Contract
| Designation | Funders | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/04/01 - 2029/03/31 | Performing the Sacred: Ethnographies of Transgender Activism in the Kinnar Akhara
2022.03515.CEECIND/CP1758/CT0004
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal
|
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
|
Outputs
Publications
| Book |
|
| Book chapter |
|
| Book review |
|
| Edited book |
|
| Encyclopedia entry |
|
| Journal article |
|
| Journal issue |
|
Artistic / Performance
| Curatorial / Museum exhibition |
|
Activities
Oral presentation
| Presentation title | Event name Host (Event location) |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025/10/01 | “We are Sanatani! Kinnars’ interpretations of Sanatana Dharma”. | ECSAS28
Heidelberg University (Heidelberg, Germany)
|
| 2025/06/16 | “Religious transfeminism in South Asia, the kinnars’ approach”. | APA Congress, Viana do Castelo.
(Viana do Castelo, Portugal)
|
| 2025/05/16 | “Queering the Mela: The Place of the Kinnar Akhara in a Traditional Religious Festival”. | “Kumbh Mela: Current Research Symposium”
Oxford University (Oxford, United Kingdom)
|
| 2025/05/08 | “Tapobhumi: Ascetic Landscapes and the Transformation of Self and Space in India”. | online lecture for Ghent University in the lecture series Ascetiscapes; Studies at the Intersection of Asceticism and Space
Ghent University (Ghent, Netherlands)
|
| 2024/12/17 | Ascetic Practices in India | Lecture
Tübingen University (Institut für Religionswissenschaft) (Tübingen, Germany)
|
| 2024/11/14 | Kinnar Akhara: Transgender Religious Leaders at the intersection of Socio-religious Activism and Political Pragmatism in India | Intersectionality and Religion Workshop
Sapienza University of Rome (Rome, Italy)
|
| 2024/10/31 | The Religious Transfeminism of the Kinnar Akhara | Seminar GPD group
CRIA (Lisbon, Portugal)
|
| 2024/06/14 | The childless ascetic, strategy to break samsarik chains | (Non-)Reproductive Matters: Global Perspectives on Religion, Gender and Procreation
Tübingen University (Tübingen, Germany)
|
| 2024/06/11 | The yoga(s) of the Nath Yogis. Ethnographic perspectives and re-appropriation of traditions | Lecture
Goettingen University (Goettingen, Germany)
|
| 2024/05/24 | To meditate, to stretch, to amuse: Thinking of asanas in terms of performance and performativity | Yoga Darsana, Yoga Sadhana 'Introspection, Inspiration, Institutionalisation’
Hamburg University (Hamburg, Germany)
|
| 2024/04/19 | Tapobhumi, when the spiritual power saturates the landscape | 49th Annual Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions
Cardiff University (Cardiff , United Kingdom)
|
| 2024/03/21 | The Female Ascetics in Indian Miniatures: Insights from Ethnography | A Multidisciplinary International Conference on Indian Ascetical Traditions: Texts, Rituals and Visual Culture
Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak, India)
|
| 2023/11/27 | From hippies to Hindu spiritual leaders: The rising career of foreigners in Hindu traditional orders | WebiNAR 11
Núcleo de Antropologia da Religião_NAR_CRIA (Lisbon, Portugal)
|
| 2023/05/26 | Seminar: "The Ramjanmabhumi movement and its consequences" |
University of Turin (Turin, Italy)
|
| 2023/03/02 | Seminar: "Third gender in India", Kinnar and Hijra |
University of Turin (Turin, Italy)
|
| 2022/05 | Living through mantras. The use of mantras among contemporary Hindu ascetics | Sound, Materiality and the Body
Universität Wien, Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (Vienna, Austria)
|
| 2021/07/26 | When Gender Breaks Tradition: The Kinnar Akhara. Dynamics of Female Agency in Religious Settings in South Asia | ECSAS 2021
University of Vienna (Austria)
|
| 2020/08 | Hijras or Kinnars? Breaking Stereotypes to Conquer Social Status | Female Religious Leaders and Dynamics of Female Agency in Religious Settings in South Asia
Cultural and Religious History of South Asia Department South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University (Heidelberg, Germany)
|
| 2019/10/18 | Towards a Nath re-appropriation of hatha-yoga | Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (WCAAS)
El Colegio de México (Mexico City, Mexico)
|
| 2019/09/06 | Lecture: Lo Yoga visto e praticato dai Sadhu | Master in Yoga Studies
Università Ca’ Foscari (Milano, Italy)
|
| 2019/07/01 | Lecture: Yoga practices of Hindu traditional ascetic sampradayas | Yoga Studies Summer School
SOAS (London, United Kingdom)
|
| 2019/06/01 | Lecture: Observing Yoga: The use of ethnography to develop yoga studies | Yoga Studies Summer School
SOAS (London, United Kingdom)
|
| 2019/05/20 | Lecture: Tra Ashrams e Mela, o del condurre lavoro etnografico tra i sadhu in India |
Università degli Studi di Torino (Torino, Italy)
|
| 2019/04/30 | Lecture: Yoga physical practices and female asceticism in India, a historical and ethnographic overview | Course: Yoga and Gender Study
SOAS University of London (London, United Kingdom)
|
| 2019/04/08 | Lecture: Fieldwork among Hindu ascetics: dealing with the rules and practices of a male dominating tradition |
Department of Asian Studies, Haifa University (Haifa, Israel)
|
| 2019/04 | Can women get moksha through asceticism? Ethnographic hints from the sadhus world | BASAS Conference
(Durham, Ireland)
|
| 2019/03/25 | Lecture: Among Asrams and Melas, In Search of Sadhus and Yogic practices in India |
Faculty of Arts, Charles University (Praga, Czech Republic)
|
| 2019/03/05 | Lecture: Introduction to Hindu traditional ascetic sampradayas through yoga practices: an ethnographic approach | Indian Religions Seminar
Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
|
| 2019/03/02 | La donna come pati-vrata (devota al marito) e il difficile cammino verso una pratica ascetica individuale | III Seminario su Donne e Religioni nel Mondo Contemporaneo
(Lanuvio, Italy)
|
| 2018/12/09 | Lecture: Simbologie Ascetiche. Quando l’abito fa il Sadhu | Simbologia del Vestire Course
Faculty of Letters and Philosophy Sapienza University of Rome (Roma, Italy)
|
| 2018/11 | The Ethnographic side of the Hatha Yoga Project: Learning from the practice and knowledge of Indian Traditional Ascetic practitioners | American Academy of Religious
(Denver, United States)
|
| 2018/09/09 | Lecture: Let the sadhus talk. Lo yoga e l'hatha yoga spiegato e praticato dagli asceti tradizionali hindu | Master in Yoga Studies
Ca'Foscari University (Milano, Italy)
|
| 2018/09 | The Self and the Body of the Hindu Ascetic Yogi | Association of Social Anthropologist
(Oxford, United Kingdom)
|
| 2018/09 | Crossing Multifarious Realms by Forcing the Body: The Strenuous Austerities of Indian Ascetics | British Association for the Study of Religion
(Belfast, United Kingdom)
|
| 2018/07 | The Ascetic Self: Yogi Brahmananda Giri and the Construction of a Contemporary hagiography | European Conference on South Asian Studies
(Paris, France)
|
| 2017/10/10 | Yoga Among Indian Sadhus: Living Ascetic Practitioners of Yoga, Some Theoretical and Practical Insights | Beyond Asana: Asceticism, Alchemy & The Tangled Roots of Yoga. Lecture Series
Rudolf Steiner House (London, United Kingdom)
|
| 2017/09 | Old tool for new times: the rediscovery of ancient holy site in modern India | British Association for the Study of Religion
(Chester, United Kingdom)
|
| 2016/11 | Lecture: Andare nel Pratico della Pratica Ascetica | Master in Yoga Studies
Ca’ Foscari University (Venezia, Italy)
|
| 2016/10/08 | Among the guru and his followers: Power relations and position of a female researcher | Ethnography and Qualitative Research Conference
University of Bergamo (Bergamo, Italy)
|
| 2016/09 | The trade of religious titles in contemporary India | Swedish South Asian Studies Network (SASNET)
(Lund, Sweden)
|
| 2016/06 | Evolution of tradition in the Ramanandi sampradaya Among hagiographies, Jagadguru and Math | Ethnography and Qualitative Research Conference
University of Bergamo (Bergamo, Italy)
|
| 2016/05/18 | Lecture: The ethnographic aspect of the Hatha Yoga Project. Positioning ethnographers, organizing fieldworks |
Jagiellonian University Institute for the Study of Religions (Krakow, Poland)
|
| 2016/05 | Let the Sadhus Talk. Ascetic practitioners of yoga in northern India | International academic conference Yoga darsana, yoga sadhana: traditions, transmissions, transformations
Krakow University (Krakow, Poland)
|
| 2016 | Foreigner ascetics on the threshold of Hindu religious orders | South Asian Anthropologists’ Group (SAAG),
(London, United Kingdom)
|
| 2015/06 | Guru's communication in contemporary India. Between preaching and Whatsapp groups | Asia in Motion: Ideas, Institutions, Identities
Academic Sinica (Taipei, Taiwan)
|
| 2013/09 | Are women entitled to become ascetics? An historical and ethnographic glimpse of Indian female asceticism | Coffee Break Conference
University of Torino (Torino, Italy)
|
| 2012/06/13 | Do not ask about caste. If you love God, you belong to God. An historical and anthropological description of the Ramanandi sampradaya and its relationship with caste | The Study of Asia Between Antiquity and Modernity
Coffee Break Conference (Cagliari, Italy)
|
Event organisation
| Event name Type of event (Role) |
Institution / Organization | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/09/02 - 2025/09/03 | Organization of the in-person international workshop with Lucian Wong (Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies) and James Madaio (Academy
of Sciences of the Czech Republic), held in the ISCTE building 4. The topic of the workshop
was “Self in Motion: Transformative Practice in South Asian Religions”. (2025/09/02 - 2025/09/03)
Workshop (Co-organisor)
|
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal |
| 2025/05/28 - 2025/05/30 | Organization of the international online workshop in collaboration with Amen Jaffer from Lahore University (Pakistan), and
Clair Pamment (William and Mary, USA) titled “Trans/Religion”. (2025/05/28 - 2025/05/30)
Workshop (Co-organisor)
|
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal |
| 2024/06/22 - 2024/06/23 | Symposium to celebrate the 20 years of the Yoga Field of studies (2024/06/22 - 2024/06/23)
Symposium (Co-organisor)
|
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal |
| 2019/11/08 - 2019/11/10 | Organizer together with Mark Singleton of the international workshop , “Yoga and the Traditional Physical Practices of India:
Influence, Entanglement and Confrontation” (2019/11/08 - 2019/11/11)
Workshop (Co-organisor)
|
SOAS University of London, United Kingdom |
| 2019/11/08 - 2019/11/10 | Organizer together with Mark Singleton of the international workshop , “Yoga and the Traditional Physical Practices of India:
Influence, Entanglement and Confrontation” (2019/11/08)
Workshop (Member of the Organising Committee)
|
Event participation
| Activity description Type of event |
Event name Institution / Organization |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025/10/01 - Current | Organised together with Vera Lazzaretti a panel in the ECSAS28, on the topic of Sanatana Dharma:
Unpacking Sanatana Dharma: Genealogies and Potentialities of a Pliable Concept.
Conference
|
ECSAS28
Heidelberg University, United States
|
| 2025/03/06 - 2025/03/07 | Invited speaker to the workshop “Corpi Credenti. Le Religioni e il Governo del Corpo. Il Corpo Sessuato. Identità di genere
e modelli di sessualità nei diritti religiosi”. I participated online with a paper titled: “Tendenze di genere nelle tradizioni
religiose dell’India: il Kinnar Akhara”
Workshop
|
Corpi Credenti. Le Religioni e il Governo del Corpo. Il Corpo Sessuato. Identità di genere e modelli di sessualità nei diritti
religiosi
Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy
|
| 2024/07/28 - 2024/08/01 | Panel organization: AGENCY AT THE MARGINS: SOUTH ASIAN GENDER DIVERSE COMMUNITIES NEGOTIATING RELIGION AND POLITICS
Conference
|
International Convention of Asian Studies (ICAS 13)
Universitas Airlangga - Kampus B, Indonesia
|
| 2023/07/26 - 2023/07/29 | Panel organization for the 27th ECSAS conference in Torino, panel 43 "Trans/Third Gender Communities and Religion in South
Asia"
Conference
|
ECSAS 2023 Turin |
| 2023/06/29 - 2023/06/30 | Decolonising or Hinduising hij¿as? Evoking the past for constructing the Kinnar Akha¿a identity
Workshop
|
Heritage and Religion in South Asia and its Diasporas: Frictions, Entanglements and Reconfigurations
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal
|
Association member
| Society Organization name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 - Current | Member of the Centre of Yoga Studies. SOAS University | Member |
Committee member
| Activity description Role |
Institution / Organization | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/03/20 - Current | Since March 2025 I am part of the coordination of the thematic line CEAS (Círculo de Estudos da Ásia do Sul) together with
Vera Lazzaretti e Giacomo Mantovan.
Coordinator
|
Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal |
| 2021 - Current | Member of the Academic Committee of the ECSAS 2023, Torino
Member
|
|
| 2025/08/01 - 2026/06/04 | I was asked by an Italian journal (Corriere della Sera) to edit a series entitled “Lezioni di Yoga”. The 30 volumes of the
series will provide scientific and updated contents on the topics of yoga, aiming to disseminate academic knowledge to the
wide public.
Coordinator
|
Rizzoli Corriere della Sera Mediagroup SpA, Italy |
Conference scientific committee
| Conference name | Conference host | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/10 - 2023 | ECSAS 2023 Turin | University of Turin |
Course / Discipline taught
| Academic session | Degree Subject (Type) | Institution / Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/04/07 - 2021/05/19 | Course: HISTORY OF COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL SOUTH ASIA, Second Semester | Corso di laurea triennale in Comunicazione interculturale (Laurea Specialistica) | Università degli Studi di Torino Dipartimento di Culture Politica e Societa, Italy |
| 2021/02/22 - 2021/03/31 | Course: STORIA E CULTURE DELL'INDIA, Second Semester | HISTORY AND CULTURES OF SOUTH ASIA Oggetto: (Bachelor) | Università degli Studi di Torino Dipartimento di Culture Politica e Societa, Italy |
| 2017/10 - 2017/12 | The Origins and Development of Yoga in Ancient India | Traditions of Yoga and Meditation (Master) | SOAS University of London, United Kingdom |
Interview (newspaper / magazine)
| Activity description | Newspaper / Forum | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Interview on yoga | Yoga Aktuell |
| 2018/06/28 | Interview for Zenon about my work among ascetics in India and their understanding of yoga practices. | Zenon |
Interview (tv / radio show)
| Program | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/11 - Current | Yoga Studies Podcast | Podcast episode on “From Tapas to Modern Yoga" |
| 2024/10/26 - Current | New Books Network | Podcast episode on “From Tapas to Modern Yoga" |
| 2023/04/29 - Current | Chora Media (Ricercati) | Gli Hindu e le comunità LGBT+ |
Journal scientific committee
| Journal title (ISSN) | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/10/10 - Current | EASAS Publication Series | Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing |
| 2020/04/20 - Current | Journal of Yoga Studies |
Mentoring / Tutoring
| Topic | Student name | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025/05/10 - 2027/12/30 | The Garlanded Self | Prema Goet |