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Juliane Schober is Director of the Center for Asian Research and professor of religious studies at Arizona State University. She directed the graduate program in religious studies (2009 -2012) and developed a doctoral track in the anthropology of religion.
Her primary areas of research include Theravada Buddhist practices in Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar (Burma), Anthropology of Religion; Material Culture, Media and Aesthetics; Icons; Ritual; Modernity, Politics and Religion; Colonial Studies; Conflict and Civil Society; Theravada Buddhism; and Sacred Biography.
She has held leadership positions in the Association for Asian Studies, the American Academy of Religion, and in the American Anthropological Association. She serves on several editorial boards, as a trustee of the Burma Studies Foundation and on the Academic Board of the Inya Institute, Yangon, Myanmar. In 2013, Professor Schober participated in the first IAPP delegation of U.S. universities to Myanmar, organized by the International Institute of Education (IIE).
In 2018, Juliane Schober became a Research Fellow of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in Buddhist Studies. She founded the Theravada Studies Group, an academic organization affiliated with the Association for Asian Studies to promote comparative and scholarly exchanges in the social sciences and humanities about Theravada Buddhist traditions in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Southwest China and globally though pilgrimage and diaspora networks. With support from the Henry Luce Foundation, Professor Schober has developed a collaborative project on Theravada Buddhist civilizations in Southeast Asia. This project brings together international scholars to chart new directions in this field and organizes annual workshops for dissertation writers. She is Principal Investigator on Title VI grants (NRC, FLAS and UISFL). Her work has been funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Social Science Research Council, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Her book, "Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar: Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies and Civil Society," was published in 2011 (University of Hawai’i Press). She co-edited "Buddhist Manuscript Cultures" (Routledge, 2008) and edited "Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia" (U. of Hawai'i Press, 1997). She has authored many book chapters, journal articles and essays in encyclopedias, such as "The Encyclopedia of Religion" ( Macmillan 2005), "The Encyclopedia of Buddhism" (edited by Buswell, Lopez and Strong, 2003) and "The Encyclopedia of Buddhism" (edited by Prebish and Keown, 2007).
Juliane Schober (Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign) is Professor of Religious Studies and an anthropologist of religion who works on Theravada Buddhist practice in Southeast Asia, especially Burma/Myanmar. Her current research focuses on technologies of communication in manuscript, print and digital media contexts. Her research expertise includes include material culture, ritual, modernity, postcolonial theory, sacred biography, pilgraimge, and religion and politics. Her publications can be accessed at http://asu.academia.edu/JulianeSchober
The Theravada Studies Group, Founder and Chair, 2011-present,
The Theravada Civilizations Project: http://theravadaciv.org/
Her publications can be accessed at http://asu.academia.edu/JulianeSchober
Selected Publications:
Books
Theravada Buddhist Encounter with Modernity, Juliane Schober and Steven Collins, editors (Routledge, 2017).
Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar (University of Hawai’i, 2011)
Buddhist Manuscript Cultures: Knowledge, Ritual and Art, co-edited with Stephen Berkwitz and Claudia Brown (Routledge, 2008).
Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia, Editor. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, 2002.
Articles and Essays:
Belonging in a New Myanmar: Identity, Law and Gender in the Anthropology of Contemporary Buddhism, Religion and Society: Advances in Research, special issue on the Anthropology of Buddhism, vol. 8 (2017): 158-172.
To Be Burmese is to Be Buddhist: Formations of Buddhist Modernity in Colonial Burma, Buddhism and Colonialism in Asia, Th. Borchert ed., Routledge, 2018: 21-41.
Theravada Buddhist Civilizations and Their Modern Formations, co-authored with S. Collins, Theravada Buddhist Encounter with Modernity, J.Schober and S.Collins, eds., 2017:.3-16.
Mőnche in Myanmar, in Myanmar - Das Goldene Land, Georg Noak and Ines de Casro, eds., Linden-Museum Stuttgart, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, 2014: 23-35.
Genealogies in the Study of Religion in Burma, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, special issue on “Communities of Interpretation in the Study of Burma,” 39(2), pp. 255-267, June 2008.
Educating the 'Other': Buddhism and Colonial Knowledge in Burma, in Buddhism, Power and Political Order, Ian Harris (ed.), Routledge Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism Series, 2007: 52-70.
Acharn Mun (1870-1949); Aung San Suu Kyi (b.19, June, 45); Bodies of the Buddha; Buddhadasa (1926-1993) Disciples of the Budda; Famous Buddhist and Ideal Types; Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982); The Life of Siddhartha Gautama; U Nu (1907-1995); in Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Damien Keown and Charles Prebish, (eds.) London, New York: Routledge. 2007
Buddhism, Violence and the State in Burma (Myanmar) and Sri Lanka, Disrupting Violence: Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia, L. Cady and S. Simon, eds., Oxon: Routledge, 2006: 51-69.
Buddhism and Modernity im Myanmar, in Buddhism in World Cultures: Contemporary Perspectives, ABC-Clio, S. Berkwitz, editor, 2006: 73-100.
“Buddhist Visions of Moral Authority and Civil Society: The Search for the Post-Colonial State in Burma” in Burma at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century (M. Skidmore, ed., Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Press, 2005: 113-133).
Burmese Spirit Lords and their Mediums, Encyclopedia of Shamanism, Mariko Walters (ed.), ABC-CLIO, 2004.
Mapping the Sacred in Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, Sacred Places and Modern Landscapes: Sacred Geography and Social-Religious Transformations in South and Southeast Asia, Ronald Bull (ed.), Program for Southeast Asian Studies Monograph Series, Arizona State University. Pp.1-29, 2004.
Sacred Biography, in Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Robert Buswell (editor), MacMillan, pp.45-47, 2003.
"Venerating the Buddha's Remains in Burma: From Solitary Practice to the Cultural Hegemony of Communities,” The Journal of Burma Studies, 2001, vol. 6, pp. 111-140.
Paying Homage to the Buddha's Tooth Relic: A Modern Burmese State Ritual. In Frank E. Reynolds and Jason Carbine, editors, A Living Buddhism. Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2000.
"Buddhist Just Rule and Burmese National Culture: State Patronage of the Chinese Tooth Relic in Myanmar." In History of Religions, February 1997, 36:3, pp. 218-243.
In the Presence of the Buddha: Ritual Veneration of the Burmese Mahamuni Image. In Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia, edited by Juliane Schober. Hawaii University Press.
Schober,Juliane S*. Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships grant for Asian Studies at ASU, 2018-22.
Schober,Juliane Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies (2018), AMER COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOC
Schober,Juliane Asia Mediated, Title VI UISFL, PI, faculty and curriculum development (2016-18)
| Spring 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 351 | Buddhism |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Fall 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 620 | Theories: Anthropology of Rel |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Spring 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 352 | Modern Buddhism |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Fall 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 351 | Buddhism |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Spring 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Fall 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 599 | Thesis |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Spring 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 351 | Buddhism |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Fall 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 690 | Reading and Conference |
| ASB 691 | Seminar |
| REL 691 | Seminar |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Spring 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 101 | Religion, Culture, Public Life |
| REL 690 | Reading and Conference |
| REL 792 | Research |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
| Fall 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| REL 357 | Buddhism in S & Southeast Asia |
| REL 799 | Dissertation |
2018 Research Fellow, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in Buddhist Studies
2011 Nominated for election to the office of Vice-President, Association for Asian Studies
See additional list of grants under Research
Impact:
http://asu.academia.edu/JulianeSchober
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C3&q=Juliane+Schober&btnG=
Keynote Lecture: How can the Study of Theravada Buddhism Define its Subject? SOAS, July 14, 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41na2TtVmNk
Board Member / Foundation Trustee
2013 –present Theravada Studies Group, affiliated with AAS, Founder
2012- present Inya Institute, Academic Board member, in support of civil society and higher education in Myanmar
2006-2009 American Institute of Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS), board member
1992 - present Burma Studies Foundation Trustee, elected
1991 - 1995 Secretary Treasurer, Burma Studies Group, elected
1987 – 1993 Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI), board member
Editorial Board Member
2018- Routledge Handbook on Theravada Buddhism, Editorial Board
2013- Asian Ethnology, Editorial Board, https://nirccm.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ae
2011 - The Journal of Burma Studies, International Advisory Board
2007 - Critical Studies in Buddhism, Routledge, Editorial Board
2002-2007 Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Editorial Board Member, Rutledge Curzon, London\
1998- 2001 Journal of Asian Studies, monograph review editor for Southeast Asia
1991 - 1995 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group, Association for Asian Studies, Editor
1989 - 1993 Suvannabhumi, Southeast Asia - Land of Gold, Newsletter, Southeast Asia Studies at ASU
American Academy of Religion:
Committee on Research Materials on Southeast Asia:
Doctoral Committees: Mulung Hsu (chair), Beiyin Deng (chair), Blayne Harcey (chair), Brooke Schedenck (chair), Jordan Johnson (chair), Sherry Harlacher (Art History, member), Joon Sik Hwang (member), Francine Banner (Justice Studies, member), Eiji Suhara (Religious Studies, member)
Master’s Committees: Rehn Kovacic (chair, 2005), Katharine Reinhold (chair,1999), Brenda Whitlock (2005), Sherry Montgomery (2005), Blain Cameaux (Anthropology, 2002), Dean LeVay (2001), Chutavat Noochniyom, (Design, 2001), Jennifer Drinen (1998), Seishu, (1996), Jane Stevenson (1996), Kevin Jacques (1996), Scott Bowden Henderson (1996), Shibani Bakshi (1996), Rochelle Jacobs (1994)
Academic Appointments:
2011- present Director, Center for Asian Research, Arizona State University
2012 Interim Faculty Head, Religious Studies, Arizona State University
2010 - present Professor, Religious Studies, Arizona State University
2009 -2012 Co-Director of Graduate Studies in Religious Studies, Arizona State University
2006 Interim Director, Program for Southeast Asian Studies, Arizona State University
1997- 2010 Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Arizona State University
1991 - 1997 Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Arizona State University
1988 - 1993 Director, Program for Southeast Asian Studies, Arizona State University
To the Profession:
Reviewed manuscripts for The American Anthropologist, Current Anthropology, The Historian, History of Religions, Journal of Asian Studies, Crossroads, Sojourn, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Blackwell Oxon, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Ohio University Press, University of Hawai’i Press, Royal Anthropological Institute, Princeton University Press, State University of New York, Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania Press, Routledge, Columbia University
Evaluated Grant and Fellowship Applications for The Social Science Research Council (IDRF), Southeast Asia Council (AAS/Luce Foundation), National Endowment for the Humanities (Collaborative Research Grants, EDSITEment), American Council of Leaned Societies, Fulbright, Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI), Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Prince Claus Fund, Belgium, etc.
Evaluated applications for tenure and promotion to full professor at more than a dozen institutions in the US, Europe, Canada and Singapore.