The Irish Buddhist: Transnational Buddhism and Opposition to Empire with Alicia Turner

From 1900 to 1914 U Dhammaloka, a working-class Irish sailor who ordained as a Buddhist monk in Burma, organized missions across Southeast Asia to promote Buddhism and rail against British colonialism. As remarkable as his exploits were, study of Dhammaloka’s career reveals an even more fascinating network of Asian Buddhists organizers and a broader movement of plebian cosmopolitanism which constructed its own conceptions of what Buddhism, belonging and reform might mean. This talk will provide a glimpse into these networks in Rangoon, Bangkok, Singapore and Penang and discuss how paying attention to the religious connections of working class people in colonial areas across Asia can work to reorient the study of religion. This event was recorded on October 24, 2022.

Speakers:
Alicia Turner, Associate Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at York University

For more information visit the event website.