Erik Davis
Chair, Professor, Religious Studies
Current Focus: Development of early Buddhist sectarianism, meditative practices, and philosophical development; Ritual creativity and deployment in contemporary protest movements in Cambodia
Old Main 104
651-696-6152
[email protected]
Erik Davis studies and teaches about Buddhism, ritual, and the theory of religion. Much of his work focuses on Cambodia, where he lived from 2003-2006 during his initial period of fieldwork. He has written and edited books on Buddhist funeral rituals, temple boundaries (sīmā), and folktales. His current book manuscript, Each Other’s Destiny: Rebirth and Relationship in Cambodian Buddhism, is in press with University of Hawai`i.
Davis has served committees and groups focused on Buddhism and Southeast Asia in the Association of Asian Studies (AAS) and the American Academy of Religions (AAR). He is also an active member of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS).
Davis completed his undergraduate degree at Macalester College (1996), his master’s at the University of Washington in Seattle (2000), and his doctorate at the University of Chicago Divinity School (2009).