Sara Ann Swenson
PhD Candidate Communities and Identities
514 Hall of Languages
315.443.3863
- Degree: Began Ph.D. program in 2013.
- Concentration: Communities and Identities
- Advisor: Gareth Fisher
Sara holds a B.A. in English and Women’s Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth (2009) and an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology (2012). Her dissertation research focuses on contemporary Buddhism in Vietnam. She examines the intersections of Vietnam’s current economic reforms and the booming popularity of public religious practices in Vietnam, particularly Buddhism in Ho Chi Minh City. Her broader research interests include gender studies, ascetic theory, affect theory, transnational Buddhism, Buddhist modernism, female monastics, Southeast Asian studies, and the mindfulness movement in the United States and abroad.