Doctor of Philosphy in Religious Studies - Asian Religious Traditions (ART) in Providence United States | Brown University

The ART program provides education in Asian religious traditions, examining their historical, intellectual, and cultural frameworks. Students typically focus on one cultural region (China or Japan) and select their specific tradition or area of study based on faculty expertise. Harold Roth focuses on classical Chinese philosophy and religion, particularly early Daoist meditation practices. Jason Protass specializes in Chinese Buddhism, with an emphasis on Chan and Zen studies. Janine Anderson Sawada researches Japanese religious traditions, concentrating on popular religions and Buddhist-Confucian movements from the 16th to 19th centuries. While the Department of Religious Studies serves as the primary academic hub for religion-related research and instruction, it is not the only one on campus. The department utilizes methodologies commonly found in liberal arts education, particularly from the social sciences and humanities. This involves cultivating analytical skills and thought processes that help students understand and interact with diverse aspects of our world - both historical and contemporary, local and global, known and unknown. Religious Studies develops academic abilities including detailed analysis (of texts and other sociocultural materials), effective written and oral communication, historical interpretation using textual and physical sources, and modern societal analysis through comparative approaches drawing on knowledge of different eras and cultures.