The Center
Research
2003 Summer Research Fellows
Lisa Battaglia (History and Critical Theories of Religion)—Lisa used her award to travel to Thailand for dissertation research and academic development. In Thailand, Lisa presented a paper, “From Sexual Asceticism to Sexual Consumerism: Buddhism, Prostitution, and the Sexual Spectrum in Thai Society,” at the International Conference on Religion and Globalization at Payap University in Chang Mai. Lisa also took advantage of her trip to Thailand to interview Phra Kabilsingh, abbess of Nakornprathom Temple and a leading proponent for women’s ordination and full participation in institutionalized Theravada Buddhism.
Jennifer Eaton (History and Critical Theories of Religion)—Jennifer’s project, “Revisiting Fundamentalism: Toward a Typology of Ritual and Belief in Southern Evangelical Congregations,” attempts to draw out some of the differences among the roughly 30 million self-proclaimed fundamentalists in the U.S. Jennifer’s award supported her research involving congregations throughout the South.
Jaesung Ha (Religion and Personality)—Jaesung’s project, “Shin-Byung and the Self of Korean Female Shamans,” is an examination of the phenomenon known as “god-illness.” This illness, Shin-Byung, is considered unique to those women who become Mudang, or Shaman. The illness may last from months to years and includes a wide range of symptoms from headaches to anorexia to auditory or visual hallucinations. Jaesung used his stipend to travel to the Republic of Korea to interview Mudang on their experience of this illness.
Jan Holton (Religion and Personality) —Jan used her stipend to support travel to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in the early fall of 2003. There Jan conducted interviews with Dinka refugees (lost boys and tribal elders) to better understand traumatic stress and traditional healing resources in the refugee camp setting. This research is in support of her dissertation, Nowhere Left to Run: The Intercultural Interpretation of Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Treatment among the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan Refugee Population.
