Catherine Robinson

Personal statement

Catherine Robinson has worked at Bath Spa University (then called Bath College of Higher Education) since 1990. A graduate of Stirling University, she gained a doctorate from Lancaster University for a study of the Indian women's movement which analysed how and why appeal was made to the Hindu tradition (later published by Curzon Press). Her major research interests are issues of gender and sexuality in religions as well as Indian religions in the modern period.

She has researched Sachkhand Nanak Dham, a Punjabi religious movement, and the history of scholarship of the Sikh tradition, with particular reference to the representation of Sikhism in educational contexts.A book linking interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita, arguably the most popular Hindu scripture, with images of the Hindu tradition, including universalist and theological perspectives, was published by Routledge in 2006. She was also a co-editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Hinduism which was published in 2008. More recently, she has been researching the life and work of Sir Edwin Arnold, a Victorian poet, writer and journalist, who published widely on Indian themes.

She also revisited some earlier work on Indian soldiers and the role of religion in the British Indian Army with a particular focus on the centenary of the Great War. In addition, she has worked with Denise Cush on a Higher Education Academy-funded project on fieldwork placements and experiential learning in Theology and Religious Studies (see www.livingreligion.co.uk). This project was given the Shap Award for 2013 for its contribution to the field of the study of/education in religions.

Academic Qualifications 

• BA(Hons) Stirling
• PhD Lancaster

Professional Memberships

• Member, British Association for the Study of Religions Fellow
• Higher Education Academy

Areas of Expertise

• Hinduism
• Sikhism
• Religion, Gender and Sexuality
• Theory and Method in the Study of Religions