Christian K. Wedemeyer
Encyclopedia
Christian Konrad Wedemeyer, FRAS
(born 1969) is an American scholar and political and social activist. He is Associate Professor of the History of Religions at the Divinity School
of the University of Chicago
, and an associate member of the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. In February 2008, he was elected to a four-year term as Committeeman for the 5th Ward of the City of Chicago
, Illinois
(Green Party). He is currently Co-chair of the Hyde Park
Green Party, a local chapter of the Illinois Green Party
, Green Party of the United States.
His work within the field of the history of religions has largely been concerned with the history, literature, and ritual of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism
. In addition to historical and philological studies of Sanskrit and Tibetan religious literature, he has written on the historiography of Esoteric Buddhism and its antinomianism currents, textual criticism and strategies of legitimating authority in classical Tibetan scholasticism, and the semiology of esoteric Buddhist ritual.
He is an editor of the journal History of Religions
, Buddhism editor for Religious Studies Review
(Blackwell), serves on the editorial boards of, and acts in a consulting capacity for a number of academic journals and presses.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
. He is member (and former officer) of the American Oriental Society
; and a member of the American Academy of Religion, the International Association for Tibetan Studies, the International Association of Buddhist Studies, and the North American Association for the Study of Religion. In 2010, he was elected to a three-year term as Co-chair of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion
.
In 2010-11 he was a Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
He has consulted for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, CNN
, and the United States Department of Justice
. He is listed in several Marquis' Who's Who
editions, including Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders.
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are the "great and good" people elected by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science literature and the arts in relation to Asia".The...
(born 1969) is an American scholar and political and social activist. He is Associate Professor of the History of Religions at the Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and an associate member of the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. In February 2008, he was elected to a four-year term as Committeeman for the 5th Ward of the City of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(Green Party). He is currently Co-chair of the Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
Green Party, a local chapter of the Illinois Green Party
Illinois Green Party
The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois.The party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the Ten Key Values of the Green Party in Illinois through political means and to support individual members and the...
, Green Party of the United States.
His work within the field of the history of religions has largely been concerned with the history, literature, and ritual of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. In addition to historical and philological studies of Sanskrit and Tibetan religious literature, he has written on the historiography of Esoteric Buddhism and its antinomianism currents, textual criticism and strategies of legitimating authority in classical Tibetan scholasticism, and the semiology of esoteric Buddhist ritual.
He is an editor of the journal History of Religions
History of Religions (journal)
History of Religions is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. It was founded in 1961 by Mircea Eliade. It publishes articles which study religious phenomena from prehistory to modern times, both within particular traditions and across cultural boundaries...
, Buddhism editor for Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion , which is based at Rice University. The journal is published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell....
(Blackwell), serves on the editorial boards of, and acts in a consulting capacity for a number of academic journals and presses.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are the "great and good" people elected by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science literature and the arts in relation to Asia".The...
. He is member (and former officer) of the American Oriental Society
American Oriental Society
The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....
; and a member of the American Academy of Religion, the International Association for Tibetan Studies, the International Association of Buddhist Studies, and the North American Association for the Study of Religion. In 2010, he was elected to a three-year term as Co-chair of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion
American Academy of Religion
The American Academy of Religion is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,...
.
In 2010-11 he was a Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
He has consulted for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. He is listed in several Marquis' Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc., is the American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies...
editions, including Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders.
Education
- Ph.D. with distinction (1999, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in the City of New York) - M.Phil. (1995, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in the City of New York) - M.A. (1994, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in the City of New York) - B.A. with High Honors in Religion (1991, Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
)
Books
- Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism: History, Semiology, and Transgression in the Indian Traditions (Columbia University Press, in press)
- Āryadeva's Lamp that Integrates the Practices (Caryāmelāpakapradīpa): The Gradual Path of Vajrayāna Buddhism according to the Esoteric Community Noble Tradition (AIBS/Columbia University Press, 2007)
- Hermeneutics, Politics and the History of Religions: The Contested Legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade (Ed. Christian K. Wedemeyer and Wendy Doniger; Oxford University Press, 2010)
- Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Praxis: Studies in its Formative Period, 900–1400 (Ed. Ronald M. Davidson and Christian K. Wedemeyer; E.J. Brill, 2006)
Academic appointments
- Associate Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago Divinity SchoolUniversity of Chicago Divinity SchoolThe University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
; also in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations (2011- ) - Assistant Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago Divinity SchoolUniversity of Chicago Divinity SchoolThe University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
(2003–2011) - Lecturer in South Asian Studies and Director, Tibetan Studies Program, University of CopenhagenUniversity of CopenhagenThe University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
(2000–2003) - Post-doctoral Research Scholar, New College of the University of South FloridaNew College of FloridaNew College of Florida is a public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded originally as a private institution and is now an autonomous honors college of the State University System of Florida.-History:...
(2000) - Adjunct Instructor of Buddhist Studies, Antioch UniversityAntioch UniversityAntioch University is an American university with five campuses located in four states. Campuses are located in Los Angeles, California; Santa Barbara, California; Keene, New Hampshire; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Seattle, Washington. Additionally, Antioch University houses two institution-wide...
(1995 and 1999) - Adjunct Instructor of Religious Studies, Barnard CollegeBarnard CollegeBarnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
(1999 and 2000) - Preceptor, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(1996–1999) - Instructor, Columbia University (1993–1995)
- Teaching Assistant, Columbia University (1992–1993)
- Teaching Apprentice, Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
(1990–91)
Source
- Professor Wedemeyer's page on the University of Chicago website
- Cook County Clerk's Office Directory of Elected Officials