Poulomi Saha is an Associate Professor & Co-Director of the Program in Critical Theory at UC Berkeley.
They lead a popular course called “Cults and Popular Culture,” which examines, among other things, the idea of naming something a cult, and the reasons human beings are so obsessed with them.
In an interview with Berkeley News, Saha discussed why it’s important to teach students, especially at a top research university like Berkeley, to look past the label and dig deeper: What was the original intention of a particular organization later labeled a cult? What did it offer? What were its practices? Who joined and why? What does it tell us about spirituality and culture in America?
“What makes a cult different from a religion or a sect, and why the word cult so often produces revulsion or compulsion. I am not interested in diagnosing cults, but rather in understanding how groups and beliefs come to take on that name, and all the feelings and reactions that come with it.”
Poulomi Saha, “Why Are We So Obsessed with Cults” Poulomi Saha on "Why Are We So Obsessed with Cults?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUPJZgo49uk
In her course on Cults, Poulomi Saha Has Students Look Beyond the Headlines
https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/09/12/in-her-course-on-cults-poulomi-saha-has-students-look-beyond-the-headlines/
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