Contact : pmr01[at]ucsb[dot]edu [Last Update: January 2022]
EDUCATION
Present Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
2005 M.A., Religious Studies, Columbia University
2003 B.A., Summa cum laude, Religious Studies, Rutgers College, Rutgers University
DISSERTATON
“Sacred Smells and Strange Scents: Olfactory Imagination in Medieval Chinese Religions,” Committee members: Dominic Steavu (chair), Fabio Rambelli, Vesna Wallace (expected Spring 2022)
FIELD EXAMS
- “Medieval Chinese Religious History,” and “Medieval Chinese Visual and Material Culture,” with Dominic Steavu. Passed with Highest Honors.
- “Medieval Japanese Religious History,” “Buddhist Visual and Material Culture” and “Sensory Studies,” with Fabio Rambelli. Passed with Highest Honors.
- “Ritual Theory and Indian Esoteric Buddhism,” and “History of Early Mahāyāna Buddhism,” with Vesna Wallace. Passed with Highest Honors.
FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS
2016-17 Graduate Humanities Research Fellowship, Central Campus Fellowship, Graduate Division, UCSB
2015 Graduate Students Association Excellence in Teaching Award, Nominated
2015 Visual, Performing, and Media Arts Award, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center
2014 The Professor Charles H. Long Award, nominated by Dominic Steavu, Religious Studies Department
2013-14 Dean’s Fellowship, Central Campus Fellowship, Graduate Division, UCSB
2012 Graduate Students Association Excellence in Teaching Award, Honorable Mention (top 8 finalists)
2011 The Professor R. Ninian Smart Memorial Award for the Comparative Study of Religion and Philosophy, nominated by José I. Cabezón, Religious Studies Department
2010 Foreign Language and Areas Studies Fellowship (FLAS) (Summer)
CONFERENCE PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
2020 “Beware the Curse of the Buddha: Race, Gender, and Religious Xenophobia of Buddhism in Early Twentieth Century American Media,” American Academy of Religion (Buddhism in the West & Buddhism Unit), November.
2020 “New School Tech in the Old School Religious Studies Classroom: Thinking through Derek Bruff’s Intentional Tech,” American Academy of Religion (Teaching Religion Unit), November.
2020 “Varieties of Contemplative Pedagogy and their Relation to the Scholarship on Teaching and Learning,” Western Commission for the Study of Religion/AAR, March 14 (presented virtually) [accessible here]
2019 “‘Teaching about’ and ‘Teaching of’ Meditation: The Legal Limits and Educational Prospects of a Contemplative Pedagogy (Comments on Candy Gunther Brown’s Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools)” American Academy of Religion (Buddhist Pedagogy Seminar), November 24
2019 “The Early American Encounter with Buddhist Imagery in Silent Film,” Expressions of the Dharma: Buddhist Art & Culture in Everyday Life, April 5
2019 “Meditation in the Classroom: A Pedagogical Defense for the Practice of Religious Ritual?,” Western Commission for the Study of Religion/AAR, March 2
2018 “Food of the Spirits and the Odors of Meat: The Olfactory Logic of Food in Classical Chinese Religions,” American Academy of Religion (Food Section), November 19
2018 “Rebuilding Religion: Threshold Knowledge and Its Value to Asian Survey Courses,” Western Commission for the Study of Religion/AAR, March 24
2017 “Materializing the Smell of Religion: The Use of Incense in Medieval China,” Association for Asian Studies, March 18
2016 “The Indelible Smell of Zhu Fonian’s (fl. 379-413) “Apocryphal” Scriptures,” American Academy of Religion (Buddhism Section), November 19
2014 “Lotus in the Mud, Incense in the Air: An Inquiry into the Chinese Olfactory Imagination.” New Directions in Buddhist Studies, Graduate Student Conference for Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCSC, and Stanford, March 9
2012 “Seeing Buddha, Selling Buddha: The Economy of Buddhist Imagery in the US.” American Academy of Religion, November
2011 “The Making of an Oriental Icon: The Great Buddha of Kamakura and the Early Visual History of Buddhism in America.” American Academy of Religion (Buddhism in the West), November 19
2009 “Strategies for Legitimation: A Punk Rebellion in American Buddhism” Western Commission for the Study of Religion/AAR, March 23
2008 “A Buddhist Veneer on American Pop Culture: Beyond the Canon of Buddhist Studies” Western Commission for the Study of Religion/AAR, March 31
PUBLICATIONS – REFERENCE ENTRIES
2012 “Chögyam Trungpa” (400 words); “Hsuan Hua 宣化” (400 words); “Maharishi Mahesh Yogi” (400 words); “Sokei-an Sasaki 曹渓庵(佐々⽊指⽉)” (400 words); “Suzuki Daisetz Teitarō 鈴⽊ ⼤拙 貞太郎” (600 words); “Suzuki Shunryū 鈴⽊俊隆” (600 words); “Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama” (400 words); “Thich Nhat Hanh 釋一行” (400 words); “Vivekananda” (600 words) in Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, and Political Change, Xiaojian Zhao and Edward Park, eds., Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2013.
PUBLICATIONS – CO-AUTHORED WORKS
2008 Yulan Bowl Sutra and Collection of Filial Piety Sutras 盂蘭盆經, 父母恩難報經, 父母恩重經, 父母恩重難報經. Hacienda Heights, CA: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2008. (193 pp.), Co-authored with Ven. Yifa
2007 Sutra on the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva 地藏菩薩本願經. Hacienda Heights, CA: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2007. (342 pp.), Co-authored with Ven.Yifa
2007 Amitabha Sutra 阿彌陀經. Hacienda Heights, CA: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2007. (78 pp.), Co-authored with Ven. Yifa
2006 Vajraprajnaparamita Sutra 金剛般若波羅蜜多經. Hacienda Heights, CA: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2006. (124 pp.), Co-authored with Ven. Yifa & Michael Owens
2006 Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra 般若波羅蜜多心經. Hacienda Heights, CA: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2006. (38 pp.), Co-authored with Ven. Yifa & Michael Owens
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Teaching Associate (Instructor of Record), University of California, Santa Barbara
2019 Zen Buddhism: Mind and Material Practices (Summer)
2018/19 Academic Writing (Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
2017/18 Academic Writing (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Summer 2018)
2017 Asian Religious Traditions (Summer)
2016 Zen Buddhism (Summer)
2015/16 Academic Writing (Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016)
2014 Introduction to Buddhism (Summer)
2012/13 Academic Writing (Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013)
Adjunct, Ventura College, Ventura, CA
2016 Zen Buddhism (Fall)
2016 East Asian Religions (Fall)
Adjunct, University of the West, Rosemead, CA
2008 Buddhism in China (Spring )
Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara
2010-18 Introduction to the Research University (Summer 2018); East Asian Religions (Winter 2015); Chinese Buddhism (Fall 2014); Zen Buddhism (Winter 2012); Asian American History (Fall 2011); Asian American Literature (Winter 2011, Spring 2011); Introduction to Buddhism (Winter 2010)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE – SELECTED LECTURES
Guest Lectures & Presentations – UCSB
2018 Lecture on Rinzai Kōan Practice (Zen Buddhism), September 5
2016 Lectures on Chan Buddhism (East Asian Buddhism), February 29 & March 1
2016 Lecture on 19th Century Yokohama Photography (Visualizing Asia), February 4
2015 From Pagan Idol to Pop Icon: Buddha Comes to America (Grad Slam), April 2
2010 Lecture on Silk Road Buddhism and China (Introduction to Buddhism), Feb. 23
Woodenfish Buddhism Summer Program (various locations in Taiwan and China)
2019 Director of Academics & Program Curriculum – Lectures: Orienting the Buddha: Academic Study of Buddhism in the West (July 4), The (Hi)story Of the Buddha (July 5); Buddhist Abhidharma (July 8), Introduction to the Mahāyāna (July 9); Yogācāra (July 9); Buddhist Ethics (July 11); Martial Monks and the Southern Shaolin Temple (July 12); Chinese Religious Traditions: Tributaries towards a Sinitic Buddhism (July 13); Early Chinese Buddhism (July 14), Emptiness in China (July 14), Chan Buddhism (July 15)
2018 Director of Academics & Program Curriculum – Lectures: Orienting the Buddha: Academic Study of Buddhism in the West (July 4), Chinese Buddhist Sacred Architecture (July 7), Buddhist Abhidharma (July 8), Introduction to Early Mahāyāna (July 8), History of the Heart Sūtra: A Cultural Biography (July 8), Emptiness and the Two Truths (July 9), Brief History of Buddhist Meditation (July 11), Introduction to Chinese Religious Traditions (July 12), Early Chinese Buddhism: Missionaries, Merchants, and Early Controversy (July 13), Huayan Buddhism: Entering the Dharmadhātu (July 14), Chan Buddhism: Legend and Lore (July 14), Amituofo: An Introduction to Pure Land Buddhism (July 16); Tour: Zhaoming Temple, Wenzhou, China
2017 Director of Academics – Lectures: Orienting the Buddha: Academic Study of Buddhism in the West (July 3), Buddhist Abhidharma (July 5), Buddhist Ethics (July 6), History of Buddhist Meditation (July 7), Chinese Religious Traditions (July 11), Early Chinese Buddhism: Missionaries, Merchants, and Early Controversy (July 12), Huayan Buddhism: Entering the Dharmadhatu (July 14), Chan Buddhism I &II (July 15-16); Tour: Jin’e Temple, Ningbo, China
2016 Director of Academics – Lectures: Buddhist Abhidharma (July 5), History of Buddhist Meditation (July 7), Buddhism Between Empires (July 8), Chinese Buddhist Schools (July 9), Chan & Kōan (July 10), Introduction to Cognitive Science of Religion (July 12), Buddhist Visual Culture (July 16), Buddhist Mindfulness (July 16); Longquan Temple, Taiyuan, China
2015 Director of Academics – Lectures: Buddhist Abhidharma (July 6), History of Buddhist Meditation (July 9), Silk Road & Spice Route: Transmission of Buddhism to China (July 10), Introduction to Buddhist Ethics (July 11), Zhiyi’s Threefold Truth (July 12), Introduction to Chinese Religions (July 13), Buddhist Visual Culture (July 14), History of the Heart Sutra (July 16), Chan/Zen Buddhism (July 18), Chinese Buddhist Schools (July 18); Tour: Longfu Temple, Langfang, China
2013 Director of Academics – Lectures: The Western Construction of Buddhism (July 7-8), The Buddhist Cosmos: What is a Buddha Exactly? (July 8), History of the Heart Sutra (July 14), The Chinese Cosmos: Transcendents and Early Chinese Buddhism (July 15), Buddha Nature and Three Minds of Chan (One Mind, No Mind, Ordinary Mind) (July 18); Tour: Fuyan Temple, China
2007 Head Lecturer – Lecture Series: Diamond Sutra (July), Buddhist Iconography and Material Culture (July), Prajñā Philosophy (July); Tour: Fo Guang Shan, Gaoxiong, Taiwan
2006 Head Lecturer – Lecture Series: Buddhist Iconography (July), Prajñā Philosophy (July), Buddhist Ethics (July); Tour: Fo Guang Shan, Gaoxiong, Taiwan
2005 Assistant Lecturer – Lecture: Buddhist Ethics (July)
Hsi Lai Temple 西來寺, Hacienda Heights, CA
2009 Public Lecture: Cowboy Buddha: Buddhism in Western Context (May 3)
Whittier College/Inaugural Winter Woodenfish Program, Whittier, CA
2009 Lecture: Cultural Impact of the Heart Sutra in China & US (January)
Red Lotus Society, San Diego, CA
2008 Public Lecture: Icons & Artifacts: A Diversity of Buddhist Symbols (August 9),
The Nature of Buddhist Consciousness (June 12 & 26, July 3 & 10)
Hsi Lai Temple 西來寺, Hacienda Heights, CA
2006 Public Tour: Temple Iconography (November 11)
Templo Zu Lai 如來寺, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2005 Lecture Series: Buddhist Ethics (October)
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2019 Facilitator in Humanities for Summer Teaching Institute for Associates [STIA] (Sample workshops: Asking Thought-Provoking Questions, Backwards Design and Learning Outcomes, Lecturing as Oratory and Stage Acting, Handouts 101, Designing Non-Traditional Assignments)
2018/19 Pedagogical Advisor for UCSB Instructional Development (Sample workshops: Group Activites, Managing Teaching Anxiety, Lecturing and Active Learning, Efficient and Effective Grading of Exams, Efficient and Effective Grading of Writing) [Related Posts: Instructional Design in Higher Education: What is It?, Educational Technology, Teaching Fads, and the Pedagogical Toolbox, Varieties of Contemplative Pedagogy: The Transformative Camp and the Critical Camp]
2011 Buddhism in China Program: Chengdu 成都 (July 1-July 20): Program Assistant [personal map of locations visited]
2009 Buddhism in China Program: Chang’an 長安 (July 20-August 9): Program Assistant [personal map of locations visited]
2005 Woodenfish Buddhist Monastic Life Program, Taiwan (Summer): Chief of Staff
2004 Woodenfish Buddhist Monastic Life Program, Taiwan (Summer): Participant
CURATED EXHIBITS
To See a Buddha: A Visual Literacy of Buddhism in America (UCSB, Department of Religious Studies, January 22-February 19, 2019)
Personal Site of Peter Romaskiewicz 