Email: sjoquis2@msu.edu
Office: 737 Wells Hall
Visiting Professor
Department of Religious Studies
Michigan State University
Education
Bachelor of Science – Northern Michigan University (1974)
Master of Arts – University of Hawaii (1979)
Principal Scholarly Interests
Global humanities, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist art and poetry, popular culture (art and music), South Asian and East Asian religions
Biographical Profile
Doug Sjoquist is a recently retired (2015) full-time professor at Lansing Community College and currently a visiting scholar in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University where he has taught part-time since 2008. Prof. Sjoquist is the author of Mii-dera: The Intersection of Buddhism and Culture in Japan (2008) as well as published articles on a variety of topics including the World Civilizations course in the humanities curriculum, Japanese Buddhist art, and Hinduism in U.S. popular culture. He has traveled extensively to Asian countries including Turkey, Mongolia, China, and Japan. In 2009, Prof. Sjoquist was selected as the guest editor for a special edition on the Asian humanities for the Journal of Interdisciplinary Humanities. Additionally, Prof. Sjoquist regularly leads qualified Japan Center for Michigan University students to Japan to study Japanese religions and art while living at a Buddhist temple. At the present time, he is writing an article on Saikyo-ji – the head temple of the Shinsei sect of Tendai Buddhism.
Courses
- Exploring Religion (REL 101)
- East Asian Buddhism (REL 325)
- East Asian Religions (335)
- Hinduism (REL 340)
- South Asian Buddhism (REL 350)
- Japanese Religions and the Arts (REL 491)