Christoph Emmrich

Christoph Emmrich is an Associate Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion (DSR) at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on Buddhist and Hindu traditions in Nepal, Burma, and Tamil Nadu, with expertise in ritual studies, textual analysis, and the intersection of religion with gender, language, and material culture. He holds a PhD from the University of Heidelberg (2004) and has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Kathmandu Valley, Yangon, Mandalay, and Mawlamyine.

Key areas of study include Nepalese and Burmese Buddhism, Jainism in Tamil Nadu, and the analysis of ritual manuals, literary texts, and historiography. His work addresses questions of memory, translation, and resistance in religious practices. Recent publications explore the inclusion of Burma in South Asian Studies, the role of repetition in Theravāda Buddhism, and the cultural significance of jewelry in Newar rituals.

Emmrich’s research also engages with the historiography of Tamil Jain literature and the impact of colonial frameworks on religious scholarship. He contributes to interdisciplinary projects such as the study of Buddhist textual transmission and the reclamation of marginalized religious narratives.