Susanne Ryuyin Kerekes

Susanne Kerekes is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Skidmore College. She previously worked at Williams College as the Gaius Charles Bolin Fellow in the departments of Religion and Asian Studies. Kerekes graduated from UPenn Religious Studies in December 2018. Her book project, Material Buddhists, analyzes the social history, material culture and ecumenical spirituality of Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn) in Bangkok, Thailand as primary case study for a discussion on contemporary Buddhist practice. Material Buddhists explores the ever-changing constellations of society, stuff, special things, and spirits that shape the visible, tangible, affective and material worlds of southeast Asian religiosity. It is the first historically informed, archival and ethnographic study on a royal monastery of Thailand.