Seth Ligo

Seth is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Asian Studies, South Asian Religions, and Buddhism. He hails from North Carolina where he earned his PhD at Duke University in 2020, and where he taught at UNC Asheville and Duke before joining the faculty of Penn State in 2024. Initially driven by an interest in oral cultures and Asian languages, Seth specializes in the material and visual cultures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and pan-Asian Tantra — especially traditions related to the “horrifying” deity Bhairava. Other research interests include the study of Tantra, Yoga, Margins and Marginalization, Art History, Ethnography and Ethnomusicology, Plural Religious Spaces, and Indigenous Religions.

In addition to courses on Buddhism, Asian Religions, and Religions in Cinema, Seth has also taught World Religions, Introduction to the Study of Religion, Ancient World Humanities surveys, and graduate seminars on Yoga and Tantra. His publications address the category of ‘folk’ religion, Tantra and Digital Humanities, and the categorical assumptions and alleged contradictions which continue to complicate the study of South Asian Religions. A Fulbright Fellow in 2016, Seth conducted a year of ethnographic research in Vārāṇasī, north India. His current book project is rooted in that research, which addresses the social implications of Kāl Bhairav, who is at once outcaste and regent, terrifying and beloved, and the regulator of one of Hinduism’s most sacred cities.

Having lived in South Asia and Southern Appalachia, it is perhaps not surprising that Seth has a love of both Bollywood music and Bluegrass. He plays the banjo to untangle his mind when in gets snarled in his scholarship. His focus on religious literacy and experiential learning mean his courses are interlaced with audio, video, and yes, even some Bollywood dance routines — students included.