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"White Utopias is a vivid ethnography of the overwhelming whiteness of transformative festivals and yogic retreats. Amanda J. Lucia lays bare the structural racism undergirding the moral goal of self-development, essential to participation in these communities. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in religion and spirituality, and the convoluted links between the two."—Tulasi Srinivas, author of The Cow in the Elevator: An Anthropology of Wonder
"This scrupulous interrogation into white spiritual festivals illustrates how a utopian vision, rooted in a commitment to personal and social transformation, holds these communities together. White Utopias enters many live fields in the study of religion, including spirituality, globalism, capitalism, and race—especially the theorization of whiteness—with brilliant analytical acumen."—Andrea R. Jain, author of Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality
"This book is a wonderfully rich and intimate ethnographic study of transformational festivals as well as a powerful critique of the white privilege that permeates them. Lucia deftly explores how the complex dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in these countercultural spaces inflect their utopian aspirations. White Utopias is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary spiritual landscape."—Sarah M. Pike, author of For the Wild: Ritual and Commitment in Radical Eco-Activism
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Author Note
Introduction
1. Romanticizing the Premodern: The Confluence of Indic and Indigenous Spiritualities
Interlude: Cultural Possession and Whiteness
2. Anxieties over Authenticity: American Yoga and the Problem of Whiteness
Interlude: “White People Are on the Journey of Evolution”
3. Deconstructing the Self: At the Limits of Asceticism
Interlude: Sculpting Bodies and Minds
4. Wonder, Awe, and Peak Experiences: Approaching Mystical Territories
Interlude: Producing Wonder / Branding Freedom
5. The Cathartic Freedom of Transformational Festivals: Neoliberal Escapes and Entrapments
Conclusion
Appendix 1: @Instagram Data for Public Figures Cited
Appendix 2: Methodology
Notes
References
Index
Summary
Transformational festivals, from Burning Man to Lightning in a Bottle, Bhakti Fest, and Wanderlust, are massive events that attract thousands of participants to sites around the world. In this groundbreaking book, Amanda J. Lucia shows how these festivals operate as religious institutions for “spiritual, but not religious” (SBNR) communities. Whereas previous research into SBNR practices and New Age religion has not addressed the predominantly white makeup of these communities, White Utopias examines the complicated, often contradictory relationships with race at these events, presenting an engrossing ethnography of SBNR practices. Lucia contends that participants create temporary utopias through their shared commitments to spiritual growth and human connection. But they also participate in religious exoticism by adopting Indigenous and Indic spiritualities, a practice that ultimately renders them exclusive, white utopias. Focusing on yoga’s role in disseminating SBNR values, Lucia offers new ways of comprehending transformational festivals as significant cultural phenomena.
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"Lucia’s sharp analysis and enthusiasm for historical and theoretical context dominates the book."
