Teaching

I am an instructor at Macalester College, in the religious studies department. My classes tend to come in four basic flavors:

  1. Buddhism (a ‘traditional’ focus)
  2. Cambodian and Southeast Asia (a ‘regional’ focus)
  3. Explorations of concepts in Religious Studies and Anthropology (a ‘disciplinary’ focus)
  4. Introductory classes (‘Asian Religions)

Currently Teaching

In Spring 2008, I am teaching two courses. The first is called “Asian Religions,” and is an introduction to, as you might imagine, the religions of Asia. I often describe it as “India to Japan in 45 minutes a day,” which is inaccurate – the class lasts one and a half hours per session. Otherwise it’s a decent description.

The second class is a new one for me: “Pilgrimage and personal transformation,” in which we collectively examine the concept of pilgrimage (often relying on the theoretical and ethnographic work of Victor Turner) across cultures. Major examples include examinations of the Cantebury Tales, discussions of the development of medieval Christian pilgrimage during and after the Crusades, the Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Hajj, The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei (Japan), The 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu devotees of Rama, and the Freedom Rides of the American 1960s. For each major example we will have visitors who have actually gone on the pilgrimage in question.

Regular Classes

Introduction to Buddhism – RELI 111
Asian Religion – RELI 124 / ASIA 124
How to do Things with Dead People – RELI 294
Religion and Revolution – Case Studies – RELI 294
Ritual – RELI 311 / ANTH

Topics Offered in the Past

Female Ascetics in Buddhism and Christianity – RELI 194
Lived Buddhism in Southeast Asia – RELI 194

Classes Under Development

Buddhism and the Supernatural – RELI 194
Society Worshipping Itself – Durkheim and Religion – RELI 194
Buddhisms: The Triple Gem from India to Indiana
Asian Religions in the Twin Cities
The Gift, The Religious Gift, and the Anthropologist’s Gift
Religion, Ritual, and Ecology in Southeast Asia