Thomas Calobrisi

Contact: tcalobrisi@shin-ibs.edu

Thomas Calobrisi received his doctorate in religious studies from the Graduate Theological Union in 2021 and his masters from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in 2016. His research focuses on the recontextualization of Buddhist ideas and practices in the American religious and intellectual landscape from the mid-twentieth century to the present.

Degrees and Credentials:
PhD in Buddhist Studies, Graduate Theological Union
MA in Buddhist Studies, Graduate Theological Union
BA in Philosophy & Religious Studies, University of North Texas

Research Interests:
Buddhist modernism
Buddhism in America
Buddhism & Science
Buddhist philosophy
Postcolonial Theory & Historiography
Philosophy & History of Science

Recent Publications:

  • “A Brief History of Buddhism in America.” In The Oxford Handbook of Buddhism in America. Edited by Scott A. Mitchell and Ann Gleig. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
  • “Awareness Is Our Birthright: Mindfulness Practice and the Sustainability of the Present.” In Religion and Sustainability: Interreligious Resources, Interdisciplinary Responses. Edited by Rita D. Sherma and Purushottama Bilimoria. Cham: Springer Nature, 2022.
  • Early Modern European Encounters with Buddhism.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • “Presenting the Dharma Essence in an American Vocabulary: Apologetic Strategies in the Writings of Jon Kabat-Zinn.” Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, 4th ser. no. 2 (2021): 7-31.
  • “The Quantum Leap from Karma to Dharma: Moral Narrative in the Writings of Jon Kabat-Zinn,” Journal of Dharma Studies, vol 1., no. 1 (2018): 85-95.
  • With Scott A. Mitchell. “Buddhism in the West (North America and Europe).” Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism. Oxford University Press Online, 2018.

Courses Taught:
Methods in the Study of Buddhism
Introduction to Buddhism and Buddhist Studies
Topics in Theravada Buddhist Thought: Buddhist Responses to Colonial Presence, 1860-1940