Table of Contents
- LECTURE> Dr. Stephanie Balkwill, "Lessons
from Little Girls: On Bodies, Bodhi, and Buddhahood," Numata
Lecture @ Calgary
- JOB> Associate Professor / Professor in Chinese
Thought and Culture at the University of Toronto
LECTURE>
Dr. Stephanie Balkwill, "Lessons from Little Girls: On Bodies, Bodhi,
and Buddhahood," Numata Lecture @ Calgary
by Wendi Adamek
The Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary is pleased to present:
The Numata Yehan Lecture in Buddhism
Lessons from Little Girls: On Bodies, Bodhi, and Buddhahood
By Dr. Stephanie Balkwill, University of Winnipeg
Friday October 4th
3:30-5pm, SS541, Dept. of Classics and Religion, University of Calgary
Between the 4thand 8th centuries in China, a number of Mahāyāna Buddhist texts featuring episodes of female-to-male sexual transformation were translated, re-translated, creatively reconfigured, and even written anew. Forming a genre of early Chinese Mahāyāna literature, these now little-known texts position the act of female-to-male sexual transformation along the path to buddhahood as an expression of one’s buddhahood and not, as we have come to expect, a precondition to it.
During the talk we will explore three such texts in order to meet the miraculous little girls who are their protagonists and who teach profound lessons on body and bodhi to the Buddha’s advanced disciples. Exploring these texts in their early medieval Chinese social context, and not—as has often been done—in the context of doctrinal debate on women and their bodies, we will approach an under-studied historical question: Were these texts patronized by women and, if so, what happened to them?
About the Speaker:
Dr. Balkwill completed her PhD in Buddhism and Chinese Religions at McMaster University, where she also earned a graduate diploma in Gender Studies and Feminist Research. Upon completion of her PhD she held a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Society of Fellows at the University of Southern California, where she began a research project on the ideal of female-to-male sexual transformation in Buddhist texts. Now an Assistant Professor at the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Balkwill is continuing her research on sexual transformation with the help of an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is also soon completing her first monograph, a study of gender, political power, and religious faith in the court of Empress Dowager Ling (d. 528 CE) of the Northern Wei (386 – 534 CE) dynasty.
Wendi Adamek
Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies
Department of Classics and Religion
University of Calgary
2500 University Dr. NW
Calgary, AB Canada T2N1N4
For more information please call: 403-220-5886
www.ucalgary.ca/numatachair
To receive event notices, send email to numatach@ucalgary.ca
JOB>
Associate Professor / Professor in Chinese Thought and Culture at the
University of Toronto
by Frances Garrett
The Faculty of
Arts and Sciences of the University of Toronto invites applications for a
tenure stream appointment in Chinese Thought and Culture at the rank of
Associate Professor or Professor. The appointment is expected to commence on
July 1, 2020. The successful candidate will also be eligible to be
named the Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Chair in Chinese Thought and
Culture. This endowed chair appointment would be for a five-year term and
is renewable following a favourable review. The successful candidate will be
appointed to the Department of East Asian Studies, the Department of
Philosophy, or the Department of the Study of Religion (or hold a joint
appointment in two of the three units).
Candidates must hold a PhD in East Asian Studies, Philosophy, Religious
Studies, or a closely related field and have demonstrated an exceptional record
of excellence in research and teaching and experience in research supervision.
We seek candidates whose research and teaching interests complement and strengthen
our existing strengths in one or more of these departments, relative to Chinese
thought and culture. Candidates will have an established international
reputation and will be expected to sustain and lead innovative and independent
research at the highest international level and to maintain an outstanding,
competitive, and externally funded research program in areas covering Chinese
philosophy, religion, and/or culture.
Candidates must provide evidence of excellence in research as demonstrated
by sustained high-impact contributions and publications in top-ranked and
field-relevant venues, the submitted research statement, presentations at
significant conferences, distinguished awards and accolades for innovative
work, other noteworthy activities that contribute to the visibility and
prominence of the discipline, and strong endorsement by referees of high
international standing.
The successful candidate is expected to strengthen the Faculty of Arts
& Science’s undergraduate and graduate education in the area of Chinese
philosophy, religion, and/or culture. Evidence of excellence in teaching and
experience in research supervision will be demonstrated through the teaching
dossier, including a statement of teaching philosophy, teaching evaluations, and
sample course materials submitted as part of the application, as well as strong
letters of reference.
Salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
For more information about the Faculty of Arts & Science please visit the website at www.artsci.utoronto.ca. For more information about the Departments of East Asian Studies, Philosophy, and Study of Religion see: www.eas.utoronto.ca; www.philosophy.utoronto.ca; www.religion.utoronto.ca.
All qualified candidates are invited to apply online.
The following elements of the application must be submitted online (in pdf format only) by November 18, 2019:
• (1) a cover letter and a curriculum vitae, combined in a file labelled “YourLastName cover letter and CV-1904076.pdf”;
• (2) a research dossier containing a statement outlining current and future research interests and a sample of academic writing (about 25 pages), combined in a file labelled “YourLastName research-1904076.pdf”;
• (3) a teaching dossier (including a statement of teaching philosophy, sample course materials, and teaching evaluations) in a file labelled “YourLastName teaching-1904076.pdf”.
Applicants must ask four referees to send letters that are signed and on letterhead directly to acadhr.artsci@utoronto.ca. Letters must be received by November 18, 2019.
Please note that the required files for this search must be in PDF format and must be labelled as indicated above. General submission guidelines can be found at: http://uoft.me/how-to-apply.
If you have questions about this position, please contact acadhr.artsci@utoronto.ca.
The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
