معرفی
Annabella Pitkin serves as Associate Professor of Buddhism and East Asian Religions at Lehigh University, where her work bridges classical religious traditions with contemporary social dynamics in East Asia and the Himalayan region.
Her academic foundation includes:
- B.A. from Harvard University
- Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University
Her research program critically examines Tibetan Buddhist modernity, Buddhist renunciation ideals, miracle narratives, and biographical traditions through extensive fieldwork across the Himalayas, China, India, and Nepal. She expands this into gender studies in East Asia, global Buddhist movements, pop culture intersections, and ecological activism within Buddhist communities, emphasizing how religious traditions adapt to modernity while maintaining core ethical frameworks.
Her sole major publication—the 2022 monograph Renunciation and Longing—exemplifies her focus on 20th-century Himalayan Buddhist saints, revealing patterns where historical biography informs contemporary social movements and ecological consciousness within Buddhist modernities.
Honors recognizing her scholarly impact include:
- Social Science Research Council Fellowship (2012-13) for Transregional Research in Asia
- Blakemore-Freeman Foundation research support
- Fulbright Hays Dissertation Research Fellowship
- Whiting Dissertation Fellowship
Her teaching encompasses East Asian religious literature surveys, advanced Buddhism courses, gender studies, and Buddhist ecological movements, with active mentorship of study abroad experiences. Current research continues to explore Buddhist social movements through editorial leadership and field-based analysis of religious transformation.
