The following Religion faculty members are currently accepting doctoral students across three areas of study, in the particular research areas named below. Applicants for the PhD program should name one or more of these individuals as possible advisors. All other Religion faculty (including Lecturers, Professors of the Practice, and Affiliated Faculty) may participate in mentoring students by serving on examination or dissertation committees.
Applicants are welcome to contact the following faculty members during the application process to discuss particular areas of study. All other questions about the doctoral program in Religion should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, Prof. Max Strassfeld.
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James McHugh
Material culture of South Asian religions; Smell, aromatics and religion; History of perfumery. History of alcohol and drugs in India; Sanskrit literary and technical texts; Material culture theory
Lori Meeks
Buddhist literature and intellectual history of Japan; Buddhist monasticism; women, gender, and religion; religious and social history of Japan; women’s history in East Asia; Japanese literature culture
Duncan Williams
Buddhism; Japanese religions; American Buddhism; Buddhism and the environment; Japanese American history and religion; Japanese American incarceration and internment; critical mixed race studies
Jessica Zu
Modern Yogācāra (the school of consciousness-only), Buddhist social philosophy, comparative studies of Indian and Chinese Buddhist revivals in the 20th century, modern Pure Land, intellectual history, China studies
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David Albertson
History of Christianity (medieval and early modern Europe); medieval religious thought; Christian mysticism; religion and visual studies; historical theology; philosophy of religion
Cavan Concannon
New Testament; Paul; early Christianity; religions of the ancient Mediterranean; Roman and early Christian archaeology
Jill Hicks-Keeton
Ancient Judaism, Early Christianity, Biblical Studies, Evangelical Christianity in the U.S.
Max Strassfeld
Rabbinic literature, Late Antiquity, Trans Studies, Jewish Studies
Diane Winston
American religious history; American evangelicalism; religion and media; American spirituality; American religion and politics
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Sherman Jackson
Classical Islamic law, theology, and intellectual history; modern Islam in the West; Muslim communities in America; religion, race, and immigration; religion, liberalism, and democracy; Muslim radicalism; religion and secularism
Arjun Nair
Sufism; Islamic philosophy and theology; Arabic-Islamic intellectual history (classical to early modern); History of Qur’anic exegesis; Arabic and Persian mystical literature
Contact Us
Chair
Cavan Concannon
concanno@usc.edu
Academic Program Manager
Angie Guerrero
angiegue@usc.edu
USC School of Religion
825 Bloom Walk, ACB 130
Los Angeles, CA 90089
religion@usc.edu
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Jill Hicks-Keeton
jill.hk@usc.edu
Director of Graduate Studies
Max Strassfeld
strassfe@usc.edu