Religious Studies Professors Edit New Book on Buddhism

Gary DeAngelis, a lecturer in the religious studies department and associate director of special studies, and Todd Lewis, professor of religious studies, co-edited a new volume on Buddhism, titled “Teaching Buddhism: New Insights on Understanding and Presenting the Traditions.”

The volume, published by Oxford University Press in 2016, aims to establish a dialogue between instructors of Buddhism and scholars in the field. An abundance of new and evolving scholarship in the field of Buddhism has emerged as previous understandings of this faith tradition are updated and reinterpreted. This has made it difficult for professors to keep up as they plan courses and curriculum, so this volume serves as a guide for educators.

“Buddhism, in reflecting life, is a dynamic, ever-evolving tradition that constantly needs reinterpretation for each new era,” says DeAngelis. “This volume focuses on pedagogical concerns, the substantive concerns of religious studies and Buddhism’s approach to pressing contemporary issues.”

The book is intended for use by professors who teach Buddhism at the college and graduate level, as well as graduate students, but the work has also informed courses that both professors teach here at Holy Cross.

DeAngelis says that their research has helped him rethink and revise his courses on Chinese and Japanese religions, as well as his seminar, "Comparative Mysticism and Human Ecology." Lewis agrees: “This book collects the insights of the finest scholars and instructors of Buddhism in the world, so it has naturally affected me in the always ongoing process of revising and updating courses in the content of lectures, classroom practices and textbook sources. It has impacted my survey course on Buddhism, and my Zen seminar.” Revisit Professor Lewis’ Zen Buddhism seminar featured in the Fall 2014 issue of Holy Cross Magazine.

Written by Maura Sullivan Hill for the Spring 2017 issue of Holy Cross Magazine.

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