Laurie Cozad
Professional Title: Associate Professor, Director of the Division of Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Religious Studies Methodology, Buddhism, Hinduism, Indigenous Religions, Religion and Politics, International Studies, Gender Theory
Area of Work and Concentration at Lesley: Interdisciplinary Studies, Religious Studies, Mindfulness Studies
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
• Seminar in Buddhism
• Seminar in Hinduism
• Women and the Goddess
• Chinese Religions
• Religion, the State, and U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia
• Religion and Politics
• Asian Religions
• Introduction to Religion
• People and Place
Education: B.A., University of Minnesota; M.S., Georgetown University; M.A., University of Chicago; Ph.D., University of Chicago
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Publications
India Review, "The U.S. Imposition of Religious Freedom: The International Religious Freedom Act and India," January 2005.
Sacred Snakes: Orthodox Images of Indian Snake Worship. For book series entitled, "Contexts and Consequences: New Studies in Religion and History," The Davies Group, Publishers, 2004.
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, “Reeling in the Demon: An Exploration into the Category of the Other as Portrayed in the Ming Dynasty Novel The Journey to the West.” Spring 1998.
Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions, “Spirits.” Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions, “Motherhood and Grandmotherhood.” Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Conference Presentations
“Defining Religious Freedom,” presented at the National Annual Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November, 2012.
“Hurricane Katrina: Comparing Religious Perspectives,” presented at the Department of Philosophy and Religion Colloquia, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, March, 2011.
“Hurricane Katrina: The Promise of Chaos,” presented at the East West Center International Conference, Honolulu, HI, July, 2010.
“Hurricane Katrina: The Promise of Chaos,” presented at the Annual National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Montreal, Canada, November, 2010.
“Ritual Responses to Ecological Devastation,” presented at the Annual National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November, 2008.
"Disaster and Divinity in the Wake of Hurricane
Katrina," presented at the Annual National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Washington, DC,
November, 2006.
"The United States Imposition of Religious Freedom: The Origins of the International Religious Freedom Act," presented at the Annual National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Philadelphia, PA, November, 2005.
"The United States' Imposition of Religious Freedom: The International Religious Freedom Act in India," Southeast Conference of the Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Lexington, Kentucky, January, 2005.
"The Snake in the Grass-Roots Movement:Orthodox Texts and the Preservation and Transformation of Snake Worship Rituals," presented at the Conference on Ritual Practices in Indian Religions and Contexts, University of Lund, Sweden, December, 2004.
Fun Facts: Leisure Activities include playing guitar and singing in a band, collecting Japanese woodblock prints and selling antiques
Dr. Cozad is the Director of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies and teaches in the areas of Mindfulness Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies. Prior to coming to Lesley University, she taught at the University of Mississippi for 14 years where she held a joint appointment in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Croft Institute for International Studies. She has lived in both India and China and travelled widely throughout East and South Asia.