Education

Classes

Papers & Publications

Professional Associations

Projects & Interests

Education

• Th.D. in Comparative Religion (Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA: 2001)
• M.T.S. in World Religions (Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA: 1994)
• B.Sc. in Theatre & Physics (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL: 1987)
  
  
  

Fall 2012 Classes

• "Arts & Ideas of Asia: Ancient & Medieval" (HRS 70)
• "Food, Farming & the Sacred" (HRS 154)
  
  

Spring 2013 Classes

• "Arts & Ideas of Asia: Medieval & Modern" (HRS 71)
• "History of Buddhism" (HRS 147)
  

Courses Previously Taught

• "Exploring World Religions" (HRS 140)
• "World Mythology" (HRS 151)
• "Religions of India: the Formative Period" (HRS 178A)
• "Religions of India: Medieval & Modern" (HRS 178B)
• "The Hindu Year: Fall Season" (HRS 179A)
• "The Hindu Year: Spring & Summer" (HRS 179B)
• "Religious Landscape of the Sacramento Valley" (HRS 198)
• "Gender & Religion in Cross-Cultural Perspective" (HRS 210)
  
• "Hindu Epic Literature: The Mahabharata" (HRS 220)
• "Contemplative Practice, East & West"(@ Whitman College)
• "Indian Philosophy in Religious Context" (@ Whitman College)
  
  
  
  

for Lifelong Learning
(suggestions for reading/viewing)

NOTE: inclusion of a source in this list does not indicate my endorsement of all the ideas expressed in it. Rather, I present these works because the issues they raise are vital for anyone alive today to consider.

Viewing & Listening:

• "The Economics of Happiness" (@ the Library Media Center)
• "Reclaiming Our Natural Connections" (@ the Library Media Center)
• "The Oil Journey: You Are Here" (on YouTube)

Reading:

• "Molecules of Emotion" (@ Sac State Library)
• "Everyday Survival" (@ Sac State Library)
• "This Changes Everything" (from Yes! Magazine)
  
  

Presentations & Publications--Teaching

• "Discerning the Elements of Culture: A Team-Based Learning to Asian Religions and Cultures. "In Michaelson & Sweet, eds., Team-Based Learning for Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences and Humanities. 2012.
• "College Teaching & Learning in the Movies." Planning and facilitation of discussion series for the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University Sacramento, March 2009 & 2010.
• "Essential Elements of Culture." On-line introductory essay for "Arts & Ideas of Asia" (HRS 70/71), 2009.
• "Essential Elements of Religious Life." On-line introductory essay for "History of Buddhism" & "The Hindu Year" (HRS 147 & 179), 2009.
• "Myths, Stories & Reality." On-line introductory essay for "World Mythology" (HRS 151), 2008.
• Planning and facilitation of faculty reading & discussion groups. for the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University Sacramento, 2006-7, 2008-10, including Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach, Thomas Jones', The Missing Professor, and articles on Cognitive Apprenticeship.
• "Using In-Class Team Assignments to Analyze Sources." Workshop presented at March 2009 Lilly West Conference on College & University Teaching (Pomona, CA).
• "Teaching Religion in Real Time: a Case Study." Paper presented at November 2007 AAR Annual Meeting (San Diego, CA), as part of the Teaching Religion section. To be submitted for review to Teaching Theology & Religion.
• "Writing Skills in Action: Using Team-Based Learning to Refine Student Writing.” Presentation for the “Writing Across the Curriculum” conference at California State (February 2006).
• “The Mentoring Relationship.” Planning and facilitation of discussion group for the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University Sacramento, April & November 2005
• “Analysis by Numbers: Structured Writing in an Writing Intensive Course." Presentation for the “Writing Across the Curriculum” conference at California State (February 2005).
• "Early Buddhist Worship: the Stupa & Other Aniconic Symbols." Interactive, on-line presentation created as part of “Teaching Using Technology” summer seminar, June-September 2004.
• "Teaching Religion in Real Time: the Calendrical Approach to Introducing Religious Traditions." Paper presented at AAR Annual Meeting 1997 (San Francisco, CA), as part of the Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section. Published in Religion and Education (Webster University, St. Louis, MO) 26:1 (1999), 16-29.
  
  
  

Presentations & Publications--Scholarship

• Explorer's Guide to the Hindu Religious Complex. San Diego, CA: Cognella Publishing, forthcoming 2014.
• Explorer's Guide to Buddhist Traditions. San Diego, CA: Cognella Publishing, forthcoming 2014.
• The Hidden Lives of Brahman: Shankara's Vedanta Through his Upanishad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice. Albany: State University of New York Press, forthcoming 2013.
• "The Modernization of Traditional Brahmin Communities." Paper presented at November 2011 AAR Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA).
• "Traditional Brahmin Education in South India." Paper presented at March 2010 annual meeting of AOS (American Oriental Society) in St. Louis, MO, as part of the South and Southeast Asia sectional meeting. Portions posted at www.csus.edu/sringeri; solicited for publication in Religion Compass.
• "Sringeri: A Multimedia Archive" (www.csus.edu/sringeri), launched September 2009 in collaboration with Dr. Leela Prasad, Department of Religious Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC. On-line archive documenting the history of a South Indian temple town, integrating photographs, videos, and audio excerpts from translated interviews with ethnographic descriptions and analyses of historical sources.
• "The Secret Lives of Prajapati Brahman in Shankara's Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya. Paper presented at March 2006 annual meeting of AOS (American Oriental Society) in Seattle, WA, as part of the South and Southeast Asia sectional meeting.  To be published as part of Hidden Lives of Brahman (see above).
• "The Ritual Context for Shankara’s Adhyasa." Paper presented at March 2005 annual meeting of AOS (American Oriental Society) in Philadelphia, PA, as part of the South and Southeast Asia sectional meeting.  To be published as part of Hidden Lives of Brahman (see above).
• "Literary Technique and Avidya in Shankara’s Writings." Paper presented at March 2004 annual meeting of the AOS in San Diego, CA, as part of the South and Southeast Asia sectional meeting.  To be published as part of Hidden Lives of Brahman (see above).
• "Shankara’s Brhadaranyakopanishad Bhashya in Light of Upasana Practice." Paper presented at March 2003 annual meeting of the AOS in Nashville, TN, as part of the South and Southeast Asia sectional meeting.  To be published as part of Hidden Lives of Brahman (see above).
• “From Yajña to Vasudeva: the Turning Point from Vedic Ritual to Vaishnava Theology.” Paper presented at November 2000 AAR Annual Meeting (Nashville, TN), as part of the Comparative Studies in Hinduisms and Judaisms group. Forthcoming in Barbara Holdrege & Kathryn McClymond, eds., Beyond Hubert & Mauss: Essays on Theories of Sacrifice, forthcoming.
• "Each In Its Proper Place: Shankara's Approach to Diversity in Upanishadic Insight Texts." International Journal of Hindu Studies (Quebec, Canada), March 2003.
• "Am I Just Talking to Myself? Extending Wittgenstein's Analysis of Language to Religious Forms of Thought and Inward Speech." Published in the Harvard Theological Review (Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA) 94:3 (2001), 323-51.

Professional Associations

• American Academy of Religions
• American Orientalist Society
• International Association of Teacher Scholars
• California Faculty Association
• National Education Association
  
  
  

Research & Teaching Interests

• Upanishads & Vedanta Philosophy
• Sanskrit Epics & Puranas
• Sanskrit (Classical & Spoken) & Other South Asian Languages
• Contemplative Practice Across Religious Traditions
• Religion, Ecology & Sustainability
• Religion & Gender
• Religion & Film