Dr. Scott A. Mitchell
Adjunct Faculty
Multimedia and Website Director
Coordinator of IBS Lecture Series, RUBeC
Book Review Editor, Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies
B.A. Philosophy and Religion, San Francisco State University
M.A. Buddhist Studies, Institute of Buddhist Studies/Graduate Theological Union
Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies/Buddhist Studies, Graduate Theological Union
Scott Mitchell first became interested in Buddhism while living in Humboldt County on California’s Pacific Northwest Coast. After receiving his B.A. from San Francisco State University in Philosophy and Religion, he enrolled at the Institute of Buddhist Studies through the Graduate Theological Union, completing his Masters in 2002. His thesis, Indra’s Cybernet: the Impact of the Internet on the Development of American Buddhism, brought together his twin interests in the Western dissemination of Buddhism and pop-culture and technology. Beginning his doctoral work in 2002, he has since become interested in post-colonial theory and its relationship to Buddhist modernism as well as ritual theory as a way to study Buddhism in the 21st century. His dissertation, Taking Refuge in the Dharma: Reading the American Dharma Talk as Ritual, explores these themes.
Scott wears many hats at the Institute; in addition to being the curriculum director of the IBS Lecture Series for Ryukoku University’s RUBEC program, he is the IBS’s website and multimedia director. He also teaches courses on Buddhism in the West, modernity, and globalization.
