After earning his Ph.D. in Religious Studies in 2011, Dr. Nicole Karapanagiotis joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Rutgers in Fall 2015 as a specialist in Hinduism, ritual, and technology. At Rutgers, Nicole teaches Introduction to Religious Studies, World Religions, “Cults” and New Religious Movements, Selling God in the Digital Age, and Asian Religions. Her courses are listed in the Rutgers, Camden Civic Engagement curriculum, the Rutgers, Camden Honors College, as well as in the Rutgers, Camden Experiential Learning curriculum and the Digital Studies Center. She was just promoted to associate professor.

Her new book, Branding Bhakti: Krishna Consciousness and the Makeover of a Movement released in April 2021, was published by Indiana University Press. In this book, she considers the new branding of the Hare Krishna Movement, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). She not only investigates the methods the ISKCON movement uses to position itself for growth but also highlights devotees’ painful and complicated struggles as they work to transform their shrinking, sectarian movement into one with global religious appeal.