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Dr Hiroko Kawanami

Lecturer in Buddhist Studies

Department: Politics, Philosophy and Religion PPR

Degree: B.A., M.A. (Sophia, Tokyo), M.Sc., Ph.D. (LSE, London)

Current Teaching

Undergraduate Courses:

PPR.240: Traditions and Transformations I: Asian Religions

PPR.354: Reading Buddhism

PPR.359: Religion in Contemporary Indian Life

MA Courses:

PPR.475 The Construction of Gender in Asian Religions

PPR.478 Buddhism: State and Society

I am also the course convenor for the PPR.470: Studying Religion module during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Research Interests

Career Details

I studied international relations and politics as an undergraduate student in Japan and then social anthropology as a postgraduate student in the UK. I spent a few years in Myanmar to study Buddhism and lived as a Buddhist nun for 16 months.

I taught at Sophia University in Japan before coming to the UK and was Evans Fellow at Cambridge University for three years before coming to Lancaster University.

Recent Activities

I am currently organizing an international conference; 'Asian Values and Social Justice' (26-28 September 2011). For more details, please see Forthcoming Events on the PPR departmental website.

I was invited to work on a project; 'Buddhism and Violence', for the summer of 2010 in the Institute of Asian Culture at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. I also gave two talks related to the project.

I was awarded 2009 Numata Professorship in Buddhist Studies and invited to teach a semester in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

I am on the editorial board of a academic journal; Asian Ethnology.

Personal Details

As a social anthropologist, I have fieldwork experience in Myanmar/Burma, Thailand, Bangladesh (Chittagong area), Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, and Japan. I speak the vernacular and have worked closely with monks and nuns in Myanmar for the last twenty years.

I have also been involved in the international network of Buddhist women for some time promoting education for Buddhist nuns.

Most Recent Publications

Articles

'Charisma, power(s), and the arahant ideal in Burmese -Myanmar Buddhism.' Asian Ethnology, 68 (2), 211-37, 2009.

'Introduction.' Asian Ethnology: Special Issue on Burmese-Myanmar Religion, 68 (2), 177-83, 2009.

'Taidan, Kawanami Hiroko x Majima Jokei: Bukkyo o hiraku Ajia no jyoseitachi' (Debate: Asian women opening the doors of Buddhism). Gendai Shukyo, 131-63, 2009 (in Japanese).

'The bhikkhuni ordination debate: global aspirations, local concerns, with special emphasis on the views of the monastic community in Burma.' Buddhist Studies Review 24 (2), 226-44, 2007.

'Myanmaa bukkyo to seiji' (Myanmar Buddhism and politics). Zenbutsu 533: 3-8, 2007 (in Japanese).

Book Chapters

'Sangha and society', in M. D. Palmer & S. M. Burgess (eds.), Companion to Religion and Social Justice. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011 (in print).

'Public benefit and private mission: implications of relief work for traditional Buddhists in Japan', in H. Kawanami & D. Maher (eds.), Buddhism and International Relief Work. New York: Edwin Mellen, 2011 (in print).

'The politics of gender identity amongst Buddhist nuns in Myanmar', in M. Thapan (ed.), Contested Spaces: Citizenship and Belonging in Contemporary Times, pp.212-29. Delhi: Orient Black Swan, 2010.

'Buddhism' (co-authored with Cathy Cantwell, revised 2nd edition), in H. Kawanami, C. Partridge, L. Woodhead (eds.), Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, pp.67-102. London: Routledge, 2009.

'The legacy of nun Me Kìn and thiláshin Sāsana in the Sagaing Hill', in Sakyadhita Thilashin Sathin-daik Pahtama Se-hnit Khayī, pp.228-36. Mandalay: Kaìnjin pyitsì yaùng we yeì, 2009 (in Burmese).

'Is there a better balance in the East?', in A. Bentley (ed.), The Edge of Reason: Science and Religion in Modern Society, pp.145-52. London: Continuum, 2008.

'Bukkyo' (Buddhism), in N. Kawahashi & M. Tanaka (eds.), Jenda de Manabu Shukyo-gaku, pp.22-36 (in Japanese). Kyoto: Sekai Shisosha, 2007.

Encyclopaedic Entry

'Buddhism and globalization', in M. Juergensmeyer & H. Anheier (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Global Studies, Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2011 (in print).

Internet Articles

'Monastic economy and interactions with society', http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/doc_library/religstudies/kawanami_monastic_economy_07.pdf