Religious Studies Department

Meet the Faculty

Ivette Vargas-O'Bryan (department chair) focuses primarily on Indian religions and the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Her current interests lie in the intersection between Asian religions and medicine.  Her research in Tibetan communities focuses on the role of klu diseases in creating connections between Tibetan medical practice and Buddhist and Bon traditions.  She is currently working on a book, Falling to Pieces, Emerging Whole:  Suffering Illness and Healing Renunciation in the Dge slong ma Dpal mo Tradition, based on ethnographic and textual research concerning the biographies of an Indian Buddhist nun, renowned for her rituals of fasting and experiences with leprosy.  She is serving as chair of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies Asian and Comparative Religions Section. Vargas is actively delivering papers at regional, national, and international conferences.  Her publications deal with the following: the intersection between illness/medicine and religion, the study of animals in Buddhist narratives, Buddhist monasticism, and reflection on teaching Asian religions.  Alongside these research interests, she also delivers public lectures on Asian themes, is highly active in creating opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges on campus, and, when she has time, she continues her tireless work on the forthcoming departmental newsletter and magazine. Vargas is at home in McKinney with her family, in Tibet, (or some other mountainous high altitude place).

Jeremy Posadas teaches and researches in the area of critical theological studies, which involves exploring the ultimate commitments and values people live by, but understanding them in relation to structures of social, political, and economic power, difference, and inequality. Originally trained in Christian ministry (and the study of its practices), Posadas now pursues a broader aim of challenging two assumptions that are often made about theology: (1) that theology is mostly about “beliefs,” and (2) that theology only exists in formal, official religions (e.g., Christianity, Islam). Instead, Posadas focuses on theology as a way of living life — how one conducts oneself and how one influences other people’s actions. And he looks for religious values and practices in both formally organized religions and in everyday practices that are usually not thought of in religious terms. For instance, does sex or dieting or playing sports or reality TV qualify as a religious experience, and if so, how (or if not, why not)? Posadas has expertise in feminist, anti-racist, queer, and post-structuralist theories, which he has drawn on for his presentations at the national annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and previous publication. He will defend his dissertation, entitled “Transcarnation: The Body of Christ Worships in the Era of Biopower,” in Spring 2012. His future research will include interpreting the concept of “political spirituality” proposed by post-structuralist thinker Michel Foucault, as well as re-imagining Christology in light of Foucault’s analyses of power.