Lucas Carmichael

 

Lucas Carmichael is a second-year M.A. student in the Divinity School, interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature.

Lucas is from Carbondale, Colorado. He earned his B.A. from Stanford University in East Asian Studies in 1998, and matriculated in the Divinity School in the fall of 2001. He took last year off to study Mandarin Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan.

Here there be giants—those who already support the weight of scholarship in their fields as well as those whose mass still grows as they approach from the margins; those who swing mighty clubs and those as affable as Roald Dahl’s BFG. Although the Divinity School is an intense introduction to the field of religious studies, the accomplished professors are actually human(e), accessible, and accommodating. Their courses inevitably expand our knowledge of diverse materials, methods, theories, and, in particular, the history of the study of religion. With any luck, we become familiar with our chosen field, find our place therein, and begin making our own contributions. I find the process stimulating, challenging, and occasionally overwhelming. But the company is good: my colleagues are fun, diverse, motivated, intelligent, articulate, and involved in an endless array of religious and intellectual pursuits. Great convers(at)ions abound.

The M.A. program has been a mind-bending initiation, and I can hardly imagine continuing my studies elsewhere (although other schools certainly appreciate the training we have received). This winter, I am applying to the Ph.D. program in Religion and Literature in order to pursue my interest in the cross-cultural transmission, translation, and interpretation of religious texts removed from their native contexts. I plan to focus on the European and American reception of Chinese canonical texts, particularly those of Daoism. From missionaries to sinologists, I am interested in how this reception was (and continues to be) shaped by changing conceptions of scripture, religion, and tradition.

Among other foci, Religion and Literature encourages examination of the religious and secular responses to texts as well as the interplay between the two. Removed from one context and introduced into another (neither of which as homogenous as we sometimes assume), transplanted texts often disrupt traditional categorization. The elastic structure of Religion and Literature allows me to follow the interdisciplinary approach necessary to examine the varied textual manifestations of our encounter with Daoism and China. In truth, my project could be pursued in several areas of the Divinity School, but I am most interested in how Daoist texts are read in the West. Literary theory is thus a crucial dimension of this interest and will provide a critical axis for my analysis.

Completing a percentage of my work outside my particular area of study is expected and encouraged in the Divinity School. The opportunity to work with distinguished faculty in multiple fields, the exposure to constructive, historical, and critical approaches, the demanding curriculum, and the support for student research projects combine to make the Divinity School an ideal place for students committed to the study of religion and its place within larger arenas of discourse. Pursuing a degree here is not easy; it requires strenuous work and commitment. However, at Swift Hall you will find a community of like-minded students and faculty—always learning, occasionally struggling, and ever willing to help.