Alison Melnick

Alison Melnick Dyer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Bates College, based in Hedge Hall, Room 207, with additional affiliations to Asian Studies. Her scholarship specializes in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist history, particularly hagiography and revelatory literature. Current research examines 18th-century female Buddhist leader Mingyur Peldron to understand intersections of authority, gender, and religious institutions in Tibetan/Chinese societies.

Research interests include privilege studies, gender-authority dynamics, Asian religious history, and Chinese borderland religions. Courses address Buddhism, Asian religions, gender/religion intersections, and Tibetan cultural history. Recent publications analyze female representation in Tibetan life writing and historical female leadership in Buddhist contexts.

Publications consistently engage themes of female religious authority in Tibetan Buddhism, particularly through hagiographical analysis of Mingyur Peldron. Research contributes to gender studies in religious contexts and historical analyses of Buddhist institutions.