Susanne Ryuyin Kerekes

Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Religious Studies

Office:  Ladd 212
Phone:  (518) 580-5412
Email:skerekes@skidmore.edu

EDUCATION:

• PhD, University of Pennsylvania
• MA, Mahidol University
• BA, DePauw University

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Buddhism; Thai/Southeast Asian religions, especially contemporary practice including amulets; 19^th-century Thai manuscripts; Buddhist economics; ecumenical spirituality such as Pranic Healing; material religion. 

Courses offered in 2022-spring: AS101 “Introduction to Asian Studies”; RE200-level “Buddhist Economics”; RE300-level “Spiritual But Not Religious”. 

Courses previously taught: Buddhist Literature; Buddhist Material Culture; Gender and Sexuality in Buddhism; Buddhism and Violence. 

In addition to my own research, I work with Dr. Jessica Zu at USC Dornsife on a broader collaborative project we call, "Buddhism of the 99%". 

Buddhism of the 99% is motivated by three themes: 

1. "Buddhism of the people" 
2. "Buddhism by the people," and 
3. "Buddhism for the people" 
   
   o   "Buddhism of the people" focuses on the Buddhism(s) that are governed by the people themselves, making saṅgha and a Buddhist community that is representative and inclusive. This includes the Dalit Buddhist movement led by B. R. Ambedkar in 1950s India, Black Dharma movements, and Asian American Buddhists. 
   
   o   "Buddhism by the people" showcases the Buddhism(s) practiced by the 99% (or rather majority, mainly Asian) Buddhists around the world, emphasizing ritual, materiality, and spirituality. For example, Susanne Kerekes' forthcoming work on Material Buddhists. 
   
   o   "Buddhism for the people" highlights Buddhism(s) that aim to make life better for the 99%. Such movements are led by the overlooked figures of Buddhist revolutionaries, such as Buddhist socialists who contributed to the rise of engaged Buddhism in the 1960s. This includes socially engaged Buddhism, Buddhist liberation theology, and Buddhist economics. For example, Jessica Zu's forthcoming work on Liberation Buddhology. 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

“Siamese Manuscript Collections in the United States,” co-authored with Justin McDaniel, in Manuscript Studies (2.1, Fall 2017): 202-237.

SELECTED AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowship in Religion and Asian Studies, Williams College (2018-2020)

American Council of Learned Societies / Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies, Dissertation Fellowship (2017-2018)

Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, Graduate Student Research Fellowship (2015-2016)

University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Graduate Students (2015)

Khyentse Foundation, Award for Excellence in Buddhist Studies (2014)

Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute, Usha Maha Jani Award for Excellence in Language Study (2013)

 

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

Steering Committee Member, Religion in Southeast Asia Unit, American Academy of Religion (2019-2024)