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Leah Comeau, PhD


Leah Comeau

Department

Phone

610-660-1866
Contact

Dr. Leah Comeau is a scholar of religion in South Asia, Tamil studies, and material religion. Her research is based in a variety of media, spanning from devotional texts to temple inscriptions and from archival sources to material studies of modern devotional practices.

Comeau’s first book, "Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World" (2020) contributes new methods for the study and interpretation of material religion found within Tamil literary landscapes. In addition to her sensory-centered monograph, Comeau has published articles on temple walls, flower markets, children’s lullabies, and beach festivals.

Teaching Courses

  • Sacred Stuff
  • What is Religion?
  • Modern Hinduism
    • BA, Syracuse University
    • MDiv, Duke University
    • MA, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
    • "Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World." Material Religion Series. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.
    • “Garlands for Gods in Southeast India.” The Jugaad Project, 7 Jun. 2020, thejugaadproject.pub/home/garlands-for-gods-in-southeast-india.
    • Editor of special issue of South Asian Studies entitled “On and Beyond the Surface: Temple Walls as Text, Object, and Experience,” Vol 35.2 (2019).
    • “Representations of Women and Divinity in Medieval Tamil Literature,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 35.1 (2019): 51-66.
    • “Saturated Space, Signs of Devotion in South Indian Temples,” South Asian Studies 35.2 (2019): 181-192.
    • “Islamic Devotion, Tamil Aesthetic: A Study of the Makkākkōvai,” Journal of Hindu Studies 9 (2016): 168-185.
    • History of religions in South Asian
    • Material religion
    • Tamil literature and culture