Dr. Shayne Dahl
Affiliations
Assistant Professor (Teaching)
Contact information
Location
Office: ES710E
Background
Credentials
Teaching in Higher Education, University of Toronto , 2017
Educational Background
PhD Anthropology , University of Toronto, 2019
MA Anthropology, Trent University, 2012
BA (Honours) Religious Studies, University of Lethbridge, 2007
Biography
I specialize in the anthropology of religion, with a focus on Japanese mountain asceticism (Shugendō), Buddhism, and the intersections of history, spirituality, and consciousness. My research is based on long-term fieldwork in Japan, but I have also done fieldwork in Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, and among Blackfoot communities in North America. My first book, The Secret World of Shugendō: Sacred Mountains and the Search for Meaning in Post-Disaster Japan (2025, UNC Press), explores how religious practitioners negotiate secrecy, resilience, and meaning in the wake of catastrophe. Beyond Japan, I’m interested in global indigeneity, revitalization movements, and how religious practices shape human relationships with the environment and the cosmos. At the University of Calgary, I teach courses in cultural anthropology, death and ritual, and anthropological theory.
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 329 | Anthropology of Death | Fall 2025 |
| ANTH 203 | Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology | Fall 2025 |
| ANTH 490 | Anthropological Theory | Fall 2025 |
| ANTH 329 | Religion in Inner Asia | Winter 2026 |
Projects
Awards
- Governor General Academic Gold Medal, Trent University. 2013
Publications
- Buddhist Mummy or Living Buddha? The Politics of Immortality in Japanese Buddhism. Anthropological Forum. (2020)
- Sutra as Speech Act: Shugendō Rivalries and the Heart Sutra in Northeastern Japan. Pacific World. (2023)
- Ascetic Ressentiment: Historical consciousness and mountain politics in Northeastern Japan. History and Anthropology. (2023)
- Summits Where Souls Gather: Mountain Pilgrimage in Post-disaster Japan. Journal of Religion in Japan. (2017)
- Sleep, Dreaming, and the Imagination: Psychosocial Adaptations to an Ever-Changing World. Anthropological Forum. (2013)
- The Secret World of Shugendo: Sacred Mountains and the Search for Meaning in Post-disaster Japan. University of North Carolina Press. (2025)
- The Buddha Mummies of North Japan. Satoshi Watanabe (director). Documentary Educational Resources. (2017)
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