Laozi Riding an Ox |
ELIJAH SIEGLERAssistant Professor Dept. of Religious Studies office: 4 Glebe, Room 103
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SyllabiRELS 248 (Religions of China & Japan) RELS 250 (Religions in America) RELS 315 (New Religious Movements) RELS 348 (Asian Religions in America)
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Elijah Siegler is originally from Toronto Canada, and he has been teaching at the College since 2004. He has a B.A. in the Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard University (1992) and a Ph.D in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara (2003).
“I am a historian of American religions, with expertise on new religious movements, religion and popular culture, and Asian religions in America. I also teach theories of religion, various intro-ductory courses, and the religions of China and Japan. I look forward to teaching several new courses in the next few years, including classes on Daoism, religion and film, and various seminars on aspects of the American religious experience, as well as issues of religious authenticity, fakery, and appropriation.
"I’m always looking to be a better teacher of religious studies. Over the next two years I will have an opportunity to develop my pedagogical skills because I will be a Religion Faculty Fellow at the Wabash Center for Teaching in Religion and Theology. A t Wabash College I will learn a variety of techniques that I can apply in my classroom in Charleston. The Center is also funding me to work on a specific project: Using the City of Charleston as Laboratory for Teaching Religious Studies Fieldwork Methodology. I get to visit all those old, famous Charleston houses of worship (and some newer ones) that I’ve been meaning to visit since I arrived in Charleston, and then develop a new course that incorporates site visits to these houses of worship. This new course will teach students how to conduct religious studies fieldwork, including participant observation, interviews, and archival research. Look for this course soon!
"Most of my recent research has focused on Daoism in North America and the globalization of Daoist practices. Recently, I have pursued fieldwork at the Healing Tao Center in Chiang Mai Thailand, on Hua Shan, an important Daoist sacred mountain in Shaanxi province China, and in Asheville N.C. Although I am no specialist in Daoism, I am familiar with the current scholarship and debates in Daoist Studies. In fact, I’m on the Steering Committee of the brand new Daoist Studies Consultation of the American Academy of Religion, and we welcome submissions."
Selected Publications
New Religious Movements (Prentice Hall, 2007).
“God in the Box: Religion in Contemporary Television Cop Shows” in God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture, Eric Mazur and Kate McCarthey eds, (New York: Routledge, 2001), 199-215.
“Marketing Lazaris: A Rational Choice Theory of Channeling,” in James R. Lewis, ed., The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions, (Buffalo: Prometheus Press, 2004), 174-191.
Book Review of The Tao of the West: Western Transformations of Taoist Thought
Book Review of Daoism and Chinese Culture
Book Review of The Holy Family and its Legacy: Religious Imagination from the Gospels to Star Wars
Links
Daoism remains the most misunderstood of the major religions but luckily there are two good websites that provide accurate, up-to-date information on Daoism. Both sites are very accessible to the novice, even those interested in Daoist practice. Also both sites are run by scholars whom I respect a great deal both academically and personally.
Daoist Studies Website
Center for Daoist Studies