Comparative Religion
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Jue Guo
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Assistant Professor Chinese Religions 2004 Moore Hall (269) 387-4393 |
Education
Ph.D in Early Chinese Religions, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008M.A. in Early Chinese Religions, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003
B.A. in Philosophy, Beijing University, 2001
Research
Dr. Guo specializes in early China, from Warring States period to the Han dynasty (i.e., 4th century B.C.E.- 2nd century C.E.), with a focus on practice and beliefs, particularly on a popular level that is not associated with traditional and institutionalized religions. Her research interests intersect within several related fields: Sinology, Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, and Archaeology. Widely utilizing recently discovered archaeological materials including tomb objects and texts along with historically transmitted literature, and combining textual analysis with phenomenological and comparative approaches, she aims to explore the multifaceted religious world of early China through the lens of practices in people’s daily life.
Current Research Projects
At Western, Dr. Guo will continue her interdisciplinary research on divination, illness, and healing in early China using archaeologically discovered materials. In addition to revise and publish her dissertation, she also plans to extend her research on divination and illness by specifically looking into rishu or almanac texts, manuals used by both specialists and common people in divinatory practices for a wide range of topics and occasions including illness, found in Qin and Han tombs. The objective of this project is to explore almanac assumptions about the causation of illness and its treatment in the Qin and Han period.
Teaching
Dr. Guo’s teaching interests fall into three categories: introductory and historical courses on Chinese religious traditions; thematic courses on afterlife, divination, and healing from a comparative perspective; and methodology courses that concern the study of religion in general and non-Western religions in particular. She currently teaches REL 3030 Chinese Religion and REL 5000 Historical Studies: Daoism.
Publications
“Concepts of Death and the Afterlife Reflected in Newly Discovered Tomb Objects and Texts from Han China.” In Amy L. Olberding and Philip J. Ivanhoe, eds., Mortality in Traditional Chinese Thought. SUNY, forthcoming.
Review of Yuri Pines, Foundations of Confucian Thought: Intellectual Life in the Chunqiu Period, 722-453 B.C.E., Pacific Affairs (Summer 2003): 292-4.