Biography
I am Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University, and I specialize in the study of Chinese Buddhism. I received my B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, and my Ph.D. from Columbia University.
My first book, Discerning Buddhas: Authority, Agency, and Masculinity in Chan Buddhism (Columbia University Press, 2025), explores how Chan (J. Zen) masters were characterized as living buddhas in Song-period China (960–1279), and what this phenomenon tells us about understandings of authority, agency, and masculinity in and around Chan Buddhist circles during this period. I’ve also co-edited the volume Buddhist Masculinities with Megan Bryson (Columbia University Press, 2023), the first book to offer a broad treatment of masculinity in Buddhism across time and space.
I've done research in China, Taiwan, and Japan with the support of grants from the Fulbright program and the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai. My articles have been published in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, T’oung Pao, History of Religions, Numen, and Journal of Chinese Religions.
Contact
kevin.buckelew@northwestern.edu
