T. Nicholas Schonhoffer Travelling Bursary Donation Form

These positions are only available to students eligible for the Work-Study Program.

Work-Study Position: Teaching and Pedagogy Research Assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1519

Position Description: Students will work on developing and enhancing resources for the teaching of religion in the Department for the Study of Religion.

Work-Study Position: Digital Humanities Program Assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1527

Position Description: This person will provide programming support for digital humanities communities at the University and help develop online resources for working with new technologies in the humanities.

Work-Study Position: Video and Web Support Assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1512

Position Description: This person will provide general web support for websites in the Department for the Study of Religion. In particular, the person will videotape events and be responsible for putting these videos online. The student should have experience with website development and video processing.

Work-Study Position: Activities & communications coordinator

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1511

Position Description: The student will assist in the development of program activities for the undergraduate Religion major program, as well as in the development of website resources designed to enhance undergraduate programs in the department. The student will design a series of creative activities designed to enhance undergraduate student experience in the Department for the Study of Religion. These may include organizing online communities, promotional videos, exhibits of student work, or social events. The student may also provide general support to departmental staff.

Work-Study Position: Sound engineering and digital reporting

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1518

Position Description: The student will assist in the development of audio stories focused on research in the Department for the Study of Religion’s projects in Buddhist Studies. The student may help produce stories (involving audio recording, story composition and audio editing), as well as promote these stories using online communities, promotional videos, digital exhibits, or community events. An interest and some training in Inner Asian religious communities (Tibet and Mongolia in particular) is preferred.

Work-Study Position: Library collections assessment research

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1517

Position Description: The student will prepare a detailed assessment of the library collections in Buddhist Studies at the U of T, including foreign language collections in Asian languages and digital resources. The assessment will involve comparison with collections at other libraries in North America and communication with librarians at those sites, as well as the developing of recommendations for further collection development at U of T. Knowledge of any Asian languages would be helpful although is not required.

Work-Study Position: Research assistant in Buddhist Studies

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1531

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Dept for the Study of Religion in a range of research projects, focusing on the historical and anthropological study of Buddhist traditions and their relationship with epic literature, oral traditions, and healing practices in particular. Excellent library research skills required.

Work-Study Position: Burmese or Vietnamese research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1532

Position Description: Students will assist faculty in the Dept for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read and speak Burmese (and possibly another regional language from Myanmar) or Vietnamese is required. Students will do bibliographic research and editorial work on a variety of topics relating to culture and religion in Myanmar/Vietnam.

Work-Study Position: Lao research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1529

Position Description: Students will assist faculty in the Dept for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to speak (and read, ideally) Lao, and/or possibly another regional language from Laos, is required. Students will do bibliographic research, editorial work, and ethnographic work on a variety of topics relating to culture and religion in Laos and in the Lao diaspora in Toronto.

Work-Study Position: Khmer language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1528

Position Description: Students will assist faculty in the Dept for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read and speak Khmer is required. Students will do bibliographic research on a variety of topics in Khmer studies.

Work-Study Position: Mongolian digital reporting

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1525

Position Description: The student will assist in the development of audio stories focused on research in the Department for the Study of Religion’s projects in Buddhist Studies. The student will help produce stories (involving audio recording, story composition and audio editing) about local Mongolian communities. An understanding of spoken Mongolian and familiarity with Mongolian culture is required.

Work-Study Position: Mongolian language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1521

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read Mongolian is required. Students will do bibliographic research on Mongolian research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Inner Asian religious traditions and history.

Work-Study Position: Tibetan bibliographer

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1526

Position Description: The student will work with others to prepare a detailed assessment of the library collections in Tibetan Studies at the U of T. The assessment will involve comparison with collections at other libraries in North America and communication with librarians at those sites, as well as the developing of recommendations for further collection development at U of T. Ability to read Tibetan is required.

Work-Study Position: Tibetan digital reporting

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1524

Position Description: The student will assist in the development of audio stories focused on research in the Department for the Study of Religion’s projects in Buddhist Studies. The student will help produce stories (involving audio recording, story composition and audio editing) about local Tibetan communities, or use audio materials recorded in Tibet. An understanding of spoken Tibetan and familiarity with Tibetan culture is required.

Work-Study Position: Tibetan transcription assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1523

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to understand, read, and write Tibetan is required. Students will transcribe audio and video recordings from Tibet, and in some cases translate into English. Students will classify these recordings using keywords, and work with a team to create edited audio/video productions.

Work-Study Position: Spoken Tibetan tutor

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1522

Position Description: Students will assist students in the Department for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program with practicing spoken Tibetan. The ability to speak Tibetan fluently is required; the ability to read Tibetan is beneficial but not required.

Work-Study Position: Tibetan language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1520

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read Tibetan is required. Students will do bibliographic research on Tibetan research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Tibetan religious traditions and history.

Work-Study Position: Chinese bibliographer

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1530

Position Description: The student will work with others to prepare detailed bibliographies and summaries of research articles and books in Chinese.

Work-Study Position: Chinese language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1514

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read Chinese is required. Students will do bibliographic research on Chinese research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Chinese religious traditions and history.

Work-Study Position: Russian language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1513

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read Russian is required. Students will do bibliographic research on Russian research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Asian religious traditions and history.

Work-Study Position: German language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1516

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read German fluently is required. Students will do bibliographic research on German research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Asian religious traditions and history.

Work-Study Position: French language research assistant

Job Order Number: 2012.WC.1515

Position Description: Students will assist faculty and doctoral students in the Centre for the Study of Religion’s Buddhist Studies program. The ability to read French fluently is required. Students will do bibliographic research on French research sources and prepare analytical summaries on a range of academic topics relating to Asian religious traditions and history.

Candidates should have demonstrated expertise in one or more areas of research methodology. Expertise in the relevant source languages is essential. Major area of specialization should be Chinese Buddhism. A PhD, excellent record of research and publication and excellence in teaching is required.

The successful candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in both departments on the St. George (downtown) campus, totaling two courses per semester, and will be expected to contribute to a developing doctoral program in Buddhist Studies within the Department for the Study of Religion. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply online at http://www.jobs.utoronto.ca/faculty.htm   Job Number 1100719

Submit your application online by clicking the link below. Applicants should submit as a single PDF file a letter of application, curriculum vitae and evidence of teaching effectiveness. Arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to Professor John S. Kloppenborg, Chair, Department for the Study of Religion, Jackman Humanities Building, Suite 309, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2M8. Applications should be received by November 1, 2011. Candidates invited for an interview will be asked to send samples of their published work. The appointment will be effective July 1, 2012.

Closing Date November 1, 2011

For more information about the department for the Study of Religion please visit our home page. For information about the East Asian Studies Department please click here

The University of Toronto offers the opportunity to teach, conduct research and live in one of the most diverse cities in the world. The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups and others who may contribute to further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

July 25.2011

Hear Professor Baumgarten explains how scholars can create a historical frame for Jewish culture today, at the Yiddish Book Center in April 2011.

2010-11 has been an exciting year! In July we welcomed Simon Coleman, the fifth Chancellor Jackman Chair to be appointed by the U of T. Coleman significantly enhances our strength in the anthropology of religion, in particular the anthropology of modern Christianity. We’ve also been joined by Tobie Strauss, who teaches Modern Hebrew, and we’re preparing to welcome Kyle Smith, whose principal appointment is to the Dept. of Historical Studies at UTM, but who holds his graduate appointment at the DSR. Smith is an expert in early late Roman and early Byzantine Eastern Christianity. Three faculty members have released their first books: Amira Mittermaier’s Dreams That Matter: Egyptian Landscapes of the Imagination, Laury Silvers’ A Soaring Minaret: Abu Bakr Al-Wasiti and the Rise of Baghdadi Sufism, and Karen Ruffle’s Gender, Sainthood, and Everyday Practice in South Asian Shi’ism. DSR faculty have been successful in winning research competitions and awards, too. Amira Mittermaier won a Wenner Gren grant and a SSHRC Standard Research Grant, and Frances Garrett was awarded a prestigious SSHRC Partnership Development grant, bringing to five the number of SSHRC grants held by core DSR faculty. In addition to an OCUFA teaching award, Shafique Virani won a large Early Researcher Award from the Gov’t of Ontario for a project entitled “Journey to the Roof of the World: The travels of Pir Sabzali in Central Asia.” Walid Saleh continues research sponsored by a Mellon New Directions Fellowship. Graduate students have also been busy and notably successful, with a robust contingent of students presenting papers at the annual American Academy of Religion meeting in Montreal and the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Atlanta. See “Graduate Student News” for an impressive record!

This year we’ve welcomed Dr. Mona Schrempf as a DAAD Visiting Professor. Dr. Schrempf, an expert in Tibetan religion and culture, taught two seminars on Buddhism and has interacted with faculty and graduate students working on Tibet. Two visiting scholars from Iran have spent productive time at the department too: Dr. Babak Farzaneh works on Qur’anic lexicography and Dr. Sayeh Meisami works on Islamic philosophy and leads an Islamic philosophy reading group (see pg 4). In a few weeks another visiting researcher will join us, Dr. Samah Ahmed, doing a project on religious pluralism and education in Islam in Canadian society.

For the second year, I am taking graduate students to Israel to participate in the excavations of et-Tel, probably the ancient city of Bethsaida-Julias (see the photograph above and the page 3 story, “Digging in Bethsaida”). This is funded through the generosity of the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University, and the students, in addition to excavating at Bethsaida, will visit the excavations of Sepphoris, conducted by Hebrew University Prof. Zeev Weiss, as well as other archaeological sites in Israel. Another grant, this time from the DAAD, allowed Prof. Pamela Klassen to take ten graduate students with her to Germany in February to visit research institutions focused on the study of religion and religious diversity. The host institutions include the Max Planck Institute für Bildungsforschung in Berlin, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, and the Institut für Religions-wissenschaft at the University of Heidelberg. Yet another DSR faculty member, Prof. Joseph Bryant, taught a summer course at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

As always, as Chair I express my deep appreciation to our administrative staff, Irene Kao, Marilyn Colaco, and Fereshteh Hashemi, and to my fellow department administrative colleagues, Drs. Frances Garrett and Jennifer Harris, whose support, creativity, energy, and scholarship make this a great place to be.

Download the 2010-11 Newsletter

Religion and Buddhist Studies Specialist Christopher Hiebert’s JHI research project is a study of the shifting perceptions and utilization of sacred space in contemporary Tibetan communities in Dharamsala, India, where he will be this summer, and Toronto, over next year. He is particularly interested in how Tibetan concepts and practices associated with sacred geography have mapped onto the urban geography of Toronto and how Tibetan religious practices have changed as a result of being transferred to a “demystified,” urban environment.

Mr. Hiebert has also been awarded a University of Toronto Excellence Award in the Social Sciences and Humanities, of which only seven are awarded at the University. For this project, he will work with Professor Frances Garret’s research project, Gold, Statue, Text: Visualizing Movement in Tibetan History. Mr. Hiebert will work on mapping sacred Buddhist sites around the Tibetan settlement in Dharamsala, India, analyzing how Tibetans conceive of, construct, and relate to sacred spaces, assessing the types of sacred spaces that Tibetans create (such as monasteries or natural features of the landscape), and documenting the matrix of practices (such as pilgrimage, circumambulation, and rituals) that are connected to specific sacred spaces.