Faculty

Regular Faculty

Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Chair

Associate Professor, Religious Studies & Asian Studies

B.A., Victoria University of Wellington; Ph.D., Australian National University

Areas of specialization: Buddhism in Tibet, the East and South Asian Himalayas, and beyond.

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Michael Amoruso

Assistant Professor, Religious Studies

B.A., Lehigh University; M.A., University of Chicago; M.A., Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin

Areas of specialization: death, race, and urban religion in the United States and Latin America.

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Sohaib Khan

Assistant Professor, Religious Studies

B.S., Lahore University; M.A., Duke University; Ph.D., Columbia University

Areas of specialization: Islamic legal studies; anthropology of Islam; histories of capitalism; comparative studies of South Asia and the Middle East.

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Kristi Upson-Saia

Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professorship in Religion

B.A., University of Washington; M.Div., Princeton Theol. Sem.; Ph.D., Duke University

Areas of specialization: late ancient Mediterranean religions; dress and performativity; history of medicine, health, and healing

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Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Kimberly A. Diaz

Visiting Instructor, Religious Studies

B.A., University of California San Diego; M.A., University of California Riverside; Ph.D., University of California Riverside (in progress)

Areas of specialization: religious history of the modern Americas; liberation theory and praxis

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Chelsie May

Visiting Assistant Professor in Jewish Studies, Religious Studies

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., Brandeis; Ph.D., University of Chicago

Areas of Specialization: SWANA Jewish history; Relations between SWANA Jews and other communities of color; diversity in Jewish identities and history.

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J Selke

Visiting Instructor, Religious Studies

B.A., DePauw University; M.A., University of California, Riverside; Ph.D., University of California, Riverside (in progress)

Areas of specialization: U.S.-based Religion, New Religious Movements, Histories of the Devil, Religion and Popular Culture, and Trans Studies in Religion

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Affiliated Faculty

Season Blake

Assistant Professor, Philosophy

B.A., Bryn Mawr College; M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ph.D., Indiana University

Susan Blake's teaching and research interests include theory of knowledge, early Chinese philosophy, philosophy of perception, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind.

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Lan T. Chu

Professor, Diplomacy and World Affairs

B.A., M.A., New York University; Ph.D., George Washington University

Chu’s research and teaching interests focus on the political role of religious institutions, the Catholic Church and global politics, faith diplomacy, religion and international relations theory, inter-religious dialogue, political ideologies (theory and practice), and the political liberalization processes of former and existing communist countries.

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