CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
2013 PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, Religious Studies
2006 MA, University of California, Santa Barbara, Religious Studies
2003 BA, Franklin and Marshall College, with majors in Physics and Religious Studies
Academic Appointments
2016-present. Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
2015-2016. Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Dalhousie University.
2014-2015. Post-Doctoral Researcher, “Kingship and Religion in Tibet” Project, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München.
2012-2013. Visiting Instructor/Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Franklin and Marshall College.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Book
2019. The Snake and the Mongoose: The Emergence of Identity in Early Indian Religion. New York: Oxford University Press.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
2020. “The Trīyampawāi-Trīppawāi of Thailand and the Tamil Traditions of Mārkaḻi,” Journal of the Siam Society 8, no. 2: 123-148.
2019. “Protestant Presuppositions and the Study of the Early Buddhist Oral Tradition,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42: 449-491.
2017. “Balancing the foreign and the familiar in the articulation of kingship: The royal court Brahmans of Thailand,” Journal of Southeast Asia Studies 48, no. 2 (June): 283-303.
2016. “On the Origins of the 32 Marks of a Great Man,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 39: 207-247.
2016. “A Buddhist Cult of Brahmā: Thick Description and Micro- histories in the Study of Religion,” History of Religions 55, no. 3 (Feb.): 329-360.
2012. “Intersections Between Buddhism and Hinduism in Thailand,” in Oxford Bibliographies Online: Buddhism, http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0128.xml.
2012. “Brahmā: An Early and Ultimately Doomed Attempt at a Brahmanical Synthesis,” Journal of Indian Philosophy 40, no. 1 (Feb.): 1-23.
Book Chapters
In-press. “De-centering the Normative in the Intro to Buddhism Class.” In Buddhist Violence and Religious Nationalism: A Tribute to the Work of Michael Jerryson, edited by Margo Kitts and Mark Juergensmeyer. London: Equinox.
In-press. “Buddhism, Sāṃkhya, and the Brahmanical Avant-Garde.” In Buddhism and its Religious Others, edited by Christopher Jones. London: British Academy.
In-press. “Buddhism in Practice in Southeast Asia.” In The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, edited by Paula Arai and Kevin Trainor. New York: Oxford University Press.
2020. “Identity in Early Indian Religion.” In The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions, edited by Knut Jacobsen. London: Routledge.
2017. “The Study of Buddhism.” In The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, edited by Michael Jerryson. New York: Oxford University Press.
2016. “The Buddha: Historicizing Myth, Mythologizing History.” In Varieties of Religious Invention: Founders and Their Functions in History, edited by Patrick Gray. New York: Oxford University Press.
Invited Journal Article
2013. “Péguy on Hope,” L’Amitié Charles Péguy 142.
Encyclopedia Articles
2019. “Buddhist Seers (isi/ṛṣi) and Brāhmaṇas in Southeast Asia,” in Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill.
2017. “Esoteric Buddhism in Southeast Asia,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Oct.).
2009. “Thailand,” in Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol 1. Leiden: Brill.
Book Reviews
Forthcoming. “Review of The History of Arthaśāstra: Sovereignty and Sacred Law in Ancient India, by Mark McClish,” International Journal of Hindu Studies.
Forthcoming. “Review of A Śabda Reader, by Johannes Bronkhorst,” International Journal of Hindu Studies.
Forthcoming. “Review of La formation du Mahāvastu et la mise en place des conceptions relatives à la carrière du bodhisattva, by Vincent Tournier,” Religions of South Asia.
Forthcoming. “Review of Buddhism, Education and Politics in Burma and Thailand: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present, by Khammai Dhammasami,” Religions of South Asia.
2020. “Review of The Making of Early Kashmir: Landscape and Identity in the Rajatarangini, by Shonaleeka Kaul,” International Journal of Hindu Studies 24: 417-419.
2018. “Review of Buddhism and Law: An Introduction, ed. by Rebecca Redwood French and Mark A. Nathan,” Religions of South Asia 12, no. 1: 100-101.
2018. “Review of Der Buddha und der ›Andere‹: Zur religiösen Differenzreflexion und narrativen Darstellung des ›Anderen‹ im Majjhima-Nikāya by Caroline Widmer,” Religions of South Asia 12, no. 1: 106-107.
2018. “The Brahmins at the Turn of the Common Era: Rethinking Chronology, Motivations, and External Influences” (Review of How the Brahmins Won: From Alexander to the Guptas by Johannes Bronkhorst), International Journal of Hindu Studies 22, no. 3 (Dec.): 517-521.
2018. “Review of A Dharma Reader by Patrick Olivelle,” International Journal of Hindu Studies 22, no. 2: 369-371.
2017. “Review of The Indian System of Human Marks by Kenneth G. Zysk,” Religions of South Asia 11, no. 1: 107-109.
2017. “Review of Dialogue in Early South Asian Religions: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Traditions, ed. by Brian Black and Laurie Patton,” Asian Ethnology 76, no. 2, 429-431.
2017. “Review of Categorisation in Indian Philosophy: Thinking Inside the Box, edited by Jessica Frazier,” International Journal of Hindu Studies 21, no. 2 (Aug.): 253-255.
2016. “Review of Lethal Spots, Vital Secrets: Medicine and Martial Arts in South India by Roman Sieler,” Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity 11: 280-281.
2016. “Review of Rethinking the Buddha: Early Buddhist Philosophy as Meditative Perception by Eviatar Shulman,” Religions of South Asia 10, no. 1: 111-113.
2015. “Review of Feeding the Dead: Ancestor Worship in Ancient India by Matthew R. Sayers,” Journal of Hindu Studies 8, no. 3.
2013. “Review of Locations of Buddhism: Colonialism and Modernity in Sri Lanka by Anne Blackburn,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 20.
Awards
2013-2014. Blakemore Freeman Fellowship, for studying Chinese at the International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University.
2013. Professor Gerald J. Larson Dissertation Award, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2012. Oxford Bibliographies Online: Buddhism Graduate Student Award.
2011. Graduate Dissertation Fellowship, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2010. Taiwan Ministry of Education Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, for studying Chinese at the International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University.
2010. Summer FLAS Scholarship, University of California, Santa Barbara, for studying Chinese at the International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University.
2009-2010. Academic-year FLAS Scholarship, University of California, Santa Barbara, for studying Chinese at the International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University.
2009. Summer FLAS Scholarship, University of California, Santa Barbara, for studying Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University.
2008-2009. Academic-year FLAS Scholarship for Chinese, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2007. Ninian Smart Memorial Award, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2007. Drew Award, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2006. Pacific Rim Mini-Grant.
2005-2007. Summer Fellowships for Thai Language Study, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2005. New Visions Paper-writing Fellowship, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2005. Humanities and Social Sciences Fellowship, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2003-2007. Rowney Fellowship, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
2003. Phi Beta Kappa, Franklin and Marshall College.
2003. Williamson Medal, Franklin and Marshall College.
2002. Hackman Scholar, Franklin and Marshall College.
2002. Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society, Franklin and Marshall College.
2002. Charles D. Spotts Religious Studies Award, Franklin and Marshall College.
2002. Kershner Scholar for Physics, Franklin and Marshall College.
2001. Hackman Scholar, Franklin and Marshall College.
2001. Kershner Scholar for Physics, Franklin and Marshall College.
2001. Sigma Pi Sigma National Physics Honor Society, Franklin and Marshall College.
2000. Hackman Scholar, Franklin and Marshall College.
2000. Kershner Scholar for Physics, Franklin and Marshall College.
1999. Buchanan Scholarship, Franklin and Marshall College.
1999-2003. John Marshall Scholarship, Franklin and Marshall College.
Guest Lectures
2020. “Buddhism’s Implicit Theology and the Discourse of ‘Holy Things’ in Thailand,” Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jan. 24.
2019. “Protestant Presuppositions in the Coverage Model for Teaching Buddhism,” Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education’s meeting for Secondary School Teachers at AAR, San Diego, CA, Nov. 22.
2019. “Following the Snake and the Mongoose: Brahmanism and its Avant-Garde in the Period Between the Empires,” Center for South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sept. 19.
2019. “Following the Snake and the Mongoose: Brahmanism and its Avant-Garde in the Period Between the Empires,” South Asia Institute, University of Texas, Austin, Sept. 12.
2016. “Buddhist Brahmans: The Royal Court Brahmans of Thailand,” Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Oct. 14.
2007. “Brahma in Thailand: Buddhists Worshipping a Hindu God?” Center for Hindu Traditions (CHiTra), University of Florida, Sept. 5.
Talks
2019. “Tantra: Medieval Technologies of Sex, Power, and Enlightenment,” Fairhaven Lecture Series, Whitewater, WI, Oct. 28.
2016. “Orality and the Early Buddhist Texts,” Department of Classics Colloquium, Dalhousie University, Feb. 25.
2015. “Tantra: Medieval Indian Technologies of Sex, Power, Magic, and Enlightenment,” First Year Program at the University of King’s College, Dalhousie University, Oct. 28.
2013. “Buddhists, Brahmans, and Buddhist Brahmans,” Buddhist Studies Group, University of California, Santa Barbara, May 13.
2006. “Thai Religiosity: What Buddhism Looks like outside the Books You Buy at Borders,” Santa Barbara Public Library, June 7.
Conference Papers
2021*. “The Vānaprastha as Representing a Conservative Mainstream in Ancient Indian Religion,” UW Madison Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, Oct. date TBA.
2020. “The Discourse of ‘Holy Things’ in Thai Religion,” American Academy of Religion Conference, held virtually, Dec. 9.
2020. “Teaching Buddhism Alongside Islam in the Intro to Asian Religions Class,” held virtually, Dec. 2.
2020. “The Prehistory of Holy Things in Siam,” Council on Thai Studies, held virtually, Nov. 13-15.
2019. “De-Coveraging the Introduction to Buddhism Class,” American Academy of Religion Conference, San Diego, CA, Nov. 24.
2019. “Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita and Mapping the Relationship between Buddhism and Sāṃkhya,” UW Madison Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, Oct. 19.
2019. “The Record of the Brahmans of Nakhon Si Thammarat as a Legal Document,” Council on Thai Studies Conference, Madison, WI, Oct. 18.
2019. “Brahmā and the Dating of Ancient Indian Texts,” American Orientalist Society Conference, Chicago, IL, March 17.
2018. “The Brahmans of Nakhon Si Thammarat,” American Academy of Religion Conference, Denver, CO, Nov. 17.
2018. “The Emergence of Religious Identity in Ancient India,” Annual Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI, Oct. 12.
2018. “Buddhism as Emerging from a Brahmanical Avant-Garde,” “Buddhism and the Religious Other” Symposium, St. Peter’s College, Oxford, UK, Sept. 10.
2017. “Oral Theory and Protestant Assumptions in the Study of Early Buddhist Sutras,” American Academy of Religion Conference, Boston, MA, Nov. 21.
2017. “Buddhist Brahmans: Taking Early Buddhist Claims to Brahmanhood Seriously,” 18th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Toronto, Canada, Aug. 25.
2015. “Thai Brahmans—Buddhist Brahmans,” American Academy of Religion Conference, Atlanta, GA, Nov. 21.
2015. “Brahmanical vs. Non-Brahmanical: Rethinking a Fundamental Dichotomy in Early South Asian Religion,” Spalding Symposium on Indian Religion, Edinburgh, Scotland, April 10.
2015. “Buddhist Brahmans: The Royal Court Brahmans of Thailand,” Association of Asian Studies Conference, Chicago, IL, March 26.
2014. “Confronting an Emerging Brahmanical Challenge: An Examination of the ‘Encounter Dialogs’ Between the Buddha and Brahmans among the Early Buddhist Sutras,” American Academy of Religion Conference, San Diego, CA, Nov. 25.
2010. “Rethinking the Early Buddhist/Brahman Divide: A Comparative Study of References to Brahmans in the Pali and Chinese Canons,” American Academy of Religion Conference, Atlanta, GA, Nov. 1.
2009. “Revisioning the Buddhist/Brahman Divide: Brahmanical Orthodoxy around the Time of the Buddha,” North American Graduate Student Conference in Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, CA, Apr. 18.
2007. “Brahma and Brahmas in Indian Cosmographies,” “Map and World: Buddhist Notions of Cosmology and Geography” Conference, Riverside, CA, Feb. 18.
2006. “‘Hinduism’ in a ‘Non-Hindu’ Context: A Study of Brahma Worship in Thailand,” American Academy of Religion Conference, Washington, D.C., Nov. 19.
Teaching Experience
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
World of Ideas (2 sections in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, and Fall 2020, and 1 section in Spring 2020, for a total of 11 sections)
Intro to Asian Religions (2 sections every semester from Fall 2016 to Spring 2021, for a total of 20 sections)
Buddhism: The Middle Way (1 section in Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, and Spring 2021, for a total of 4 sections)
Religions of India (1 section in Spring 2018)
Asian Religious Thought (1 section in Spring 2019 and Spring 2021, for a total of 2 sections)
Dalhousie University
Religions of the East (Winter 2016)
Chinese and Japanese Religions (Winter 2016)
Buddhism in India and Tibet (Winter 2016)
Hinduism (Fall 2015)
Buddhism (Fall 2015)
Theravada Buddhism (Fall 2015)
Franklin and Marshall College
Buddhism (Spring 2013, 2 sections)
Seminar in Science and Religion (Spring 2013)
Introduction to Asian Religions (Fall 2012)
Seminar in Theravāda Buddhism (Fall 2012)
University of California, Santa Barbara
Intro to Buddhism (Instructor, Summer 2011 and Summer 2012)
Writing 2 (TA as instructor of record, Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Spring 2009, Fall 2009)
Mahidol University
English as a Second Language (Summer 2004, 2 sections)
Review Service
Review of article for TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, August 2020.
Review of book proposal for Routledge, August 2020.
Review of article for International Journal of Hindu Studies, August 2020.
Review of article for Revista degli Studi Orientali, June 2020.
Review of article for History of Science in South Asia, July 2019.
Review of article for BDRC Occasional Papers in Buddhist Studies, June 2019.
Review of article for Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts Research Series, Dec. 2018.
Review of article for Journal of the Siam Society, Jan. 2018.
Review of article for Social Compass, Oct. 2013.
Faculty Service
College Curriculum Committee, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, April 2020-present.
Advisor to the Southeast Asian Student Organization, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, May 2018-present.
Department Library Liaison, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Sept. 2017-present.
College International Education Committee, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Sept. 2016-present.
Undergraduate Advisor for Religious Studies, Dalhousie University, Oct. 2015-April 2016.
Languages
Sanskrit/Pali, Advanced Reading, 5 years in US
Mandarin Chinese, Advanced Speaking and Reading, 3 years in US; 8 quarters in Taiwan
Classical Chinese, Advanced Reading, 1 year in US; 7 quarters in Taiwan
Thai, Advanced Speaking and Reading, 2 summers in Thailand
Tibetan, Advanced Reading, 3 years in US
French, Reading Competency, 2 quarters
German, Advanced Speaking and Reading, 3 years in US
Taiwanese, Intermediate, 3 quarters in Taiwan
Tamil, Intermediate, 1 summer intensive in US