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Dr Hiroko Kawanami

In a Buddhist monastery on Mt Hiei

Lecturer in Buddhist Studies

Department: Religious Studies

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

Current Teaching

Undergraduate Courses:

R.St 201 Traditions and Transformations: Asian Religions

R.St 203 Theravada Buddhism

R.St 204 Mahayana Buddhism

R.St 261 Anthropology of Religion

MA Courses:

R.St 442 The Construction of Gender in Asian Religions

R.St 481 Buddhism: State and Society

R.St 491 Asian Spirituality

Research Interests

Career Details

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

I taught at Sophia University in Japan before coming to UK and was Evans Fellow at Cambridge University for 3 years before coming to Lancaster University.

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 closedly with monks and nuns in Myanmar/Burma for the last 20 years.

I have also been involved in the international network of Buddhist women for some time. Between 1995-2000 I was active as Vice President and Editor of Newsletter for Sakyadhita (International Association for Buddhist Women) promoting education and the reintruduction of ordination for the Buddhist nuns.

Recent Publications

"Bkhikkhuni ordination debate: global aspirations and local concerns", Buddhist Studies Review(2007); "Buddhism: Is there a better balance in the East?" In Edge of the Reason (2008); "Introduction" & "Charisma, power(s), and the arahant ideal in Burmese-Myanmar Buddhism", Asian Ethnology (2009), and several other articles written in Japanese language medium.

Potential Doctoral Proposals

Buddhist ritual and practices, globalization and Buddhist women, monastic education and dissemination of knowledge, spiritual well-being and health practices in Asia, Myanmar-Burmese religion