The Australian National University

Faculty Member, College of Asia and the Pacific

About

I am an American scholar of Chinese history and religion, and have been based at the National University of Singapore since 2003.

My interests range between local society and big picture transformations. My first book was based on fieldwork in southern Hebei, and deals with how religious knowledge and organizations within the very intimate world of rural society. Since then, I have moved to research on the institutionalization of religion as a concept in modern Asia, particularly as this process was shaped by imperialism.

My current work on Manchuria deals with the ways that Chinese, Japanese and many other actors shaped the boundaries and practice of religion as they sought to extend institutions and soft power into this volatile region.

At the end of 2011, I will be moving to the Australian National University as a Senior Research Fellow in Chinese history.

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