My research focuses on Japanese Buddhism, its material, and visual culture, with particular emphasis on the performative, healing, and transformative dimensions of Buddhist rituals, scriptures and objects. Some of my research questions pertain the way in which people engage in ritual activities or with devotional objects to shape their body and mind, as well as the degree to which religious practices actively transform the physical world. My classes focus on different aspects of the East Asian religious milieu and explore topics ranging from art, material culture and religion to the representation of the body in the Chinese and Japanese traditions.
I have a Ph.D. in the Study of Religions (2011) and an MA in East Asian Art and Archaeology (2005) from SOAS, University of London, and a Laurea Magistralis in Sinology and East Asian Languages and Cultures from Ca’ Foscari, University of Venice (2004).
Before joining the University of Bristol, I was Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Virginia, and Postdoctoral Fellow in Japanese Buddhism at UC Berkeley.