Dr. Erik Haruki Swanson
Palm North Hall
Email: Eric.Swanson@lmu.edu
Dr. Eric Haruki Swanson is an Assistant Professor of East Asian Religion in the Theological Studies Department. Since coming to LMU in Fall 2019, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Buddhism, Japanese Religions, Comparative Mysticism, and Religion and Spirituality in Japanese Popular Culture. Outside of the classroom, he has a passion for creating equitable spaces for the sharing of intellectual knowledge and curiosity, including the Premodern Japanese Religions Workshop and the LMU Premodern Research Collective.
He received his B.A. in Religion from Indiana University Bloomington, his M.A. in Esoteric Buddhist Studies from Koyasan University in Japan, and Ph.D. in East Asian Religion and Philosophy from Harvard University. As a cultural historian he is interested in the study of religious traditions through the examination of literature, visual material, ritual practices, and performance arts, and considers the role of religious institutions and its actors within broader cultural patterns, political agendas, and expressions of identity. His current book project is a study of scholar-monk Jien (1155-1225) and his establishment of Buddhist ritual programs for the pacification of vengeful spirits and the restoration of order in the medieval Japanese capital. He has both a personal and academic interest in yokai (supernatural entities in Japanese folklore). He enjoys watching films and anime, dabbling with the guitar and sanshin (a stringed instrument from Okinawa), and playing video games with his daughter.