معرفی
Christopher Humphrey Hartney is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Studies in Religion within the School of Humanities at the University of Sydney. He serves as Chair of Discipline for Studies in Religion and is a member of both the Sydney South East Asia Centre (SSEAC) and The Vere Gordon Childe Centre. His academic work focuses on the intersection of religion, culture, and contemporary society, with particular expertise in Vietnamese religious traditions and new religious movements.
Hartney's research interests span a diverse range of topics including religion and violence, civil religion, Confucianism, ritual studies, religion in film, multiculturalism, universalism, and new religious systems. His primary research focus centers on new religions in East Asia, with special attention to Vietnam and the syncretic tradition of Caodaism. He has conducted extensive work on translating and analyzing major texts from Caodaism, particularly those by the influential Vietnamese religious leader Phạm Công Tắc.
His recent scholarly output reveals a consistent engagement with themes of religious syncretism, civil religion (particularly ANZAC traditions), Vietnamese religious traditions, and the critical study of religion in secular contexts. His work demonstrates a methodological approach that combines textual analysis, fieldwork, and performance studies to examine religious phenomena across different cultural contexts.
- Editor of Journal of Religious History (2006-)
- Editor of Literature and Aesthetics (2010-)
- President of Australian and New Zealand Association for Literature and Aesthetics (2010-)
- President of Sydney Society for Literature and Aesthetics (2010-)
Hartney actively supervises graduate students and offers PhD and master's project opportunities focused on new religious systems. His teaching and research reflect a commitment to understanding religion's evolving role in contemporary society, particularly examining how traditional religious concepts adapt in modern contexts and how new religious movements emerge and develop. His work bridges academic religious studies with practical concerns about religious literacy in secular educational settings.
