William P. Harman

Region of Interest	South Asia
Primary Country of Residence	United States of America
Title	Head, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Affiliation	University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Email	william-harman@utc.edu
Mailing Address	Department of Philosophy and Religion 232e Holt Hall 615 McCallile Avenue University of Tennnessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403 USA
Phone/Fax Number(s)	phone: 423-755-4336
Research Interests	Most published work has focused on Hinduism in the Tamil speaking areas of southern India. I have been especially concerned about temple worship associated with local goddesses in the city of Madurai and the surrounding area. Recently, I have begun to focus on goddesses of healing, especially in rural areas, and on the dynamics of faith and healing. The concept of ritual sacrifice in religious traditions has occupied my interest over the past 6 or 8 months, and I am concerned with how sacrificial imagery pervades religous imagery not simply in Hinduism. Indeed, the whole notion of a millenial end that approaches in Western religious consciousness can be understood, I believe, in view of sacrificial models such as those presented by David Koresh, Jim Jones, the Order of the Solar Temple, and the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo movement.
Teaching Interests	"Religion, Healing, and Medicine," "Satanism, "Witchcraft, and Spirit Possession," and "Goddess Traditions"
Publications	None on file
Keywords	religion ; healing ; medicine ; satanism ; witchcraft ; spirit possession ; Hinduism ; Tamil ; India