» Dr. Nancy Martin

Associate Professor, Chair, Department of Religious Studies

Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Religious Studies

Office:

Wilkinson Hall 228

Office Hours:

TTH 11:00 - 11:30 AM and 1:00 - 2:30 PM

Phone:

(714) 997-6608

Email:

nmartin@chapman.edu

Education

University of Puget Sound, Bachelor of Arts
University of Chicago, Master of Arts
Graduate Theological Union, Ph.D. in Religion

Biography

Nancy M. Martin is Associate Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Chapman University and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. Dr. Martin's areas of expertise include devotional Hinduism, Comparative Religious Ethics, and Gender and Religion. Her monograph on the Hindu woman saint Mirabai (Oxford University Press) is forthcoming, and her current projects include a study of oral musical and religious traditions in India entitled "The Rununciant Rani and the Weaver of Protest: Mirabai and Kabir in Rajasthani Folk Traditions" and a documentary film examining religious harmony and violence in India, entitled "Patterns for Peace: India as a Model for Peace in a Multi-Religious Society." The film features His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Dr. Martin's recent publications include “Mirabai Comes to America: The Translation and Transformation of a Saint” ( The Journal of Hindu Studies 2010) and “Fluid Boundaries and the Assertion of Difference in Low-caste Religious Identity” forthcoming in Lines in the Water: Religious Boundaries in South Asia (Syracuse University Press).  In recognition of her expertise on Mirabai, Dr. Martin was invited to lecture on the saint at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C in 2007.

Dr. Martin was also the Co-Founder of an international educational society called the Global Ethics and Religion Forum, dedicated to fostering global ethical responsibility through increased interreligious cooperation and a deeper understanding of ethical issues at a global level. She served as the organization's Associate Director from 2001-2009, organizing a series of conferences in Southern California and at Cambridge University on topics from "Ecology and Global Health" to "War and Reconciliation," and co-editing a series of books, focusing on “The Meaning of Life,” “Love, Sex, and Gender,” “Human Rights and Responsibilities,” and “Ethics.” She has lectured extensively on issues in comparative religious ethics in England, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, India, Thailand, China, and Australia as well as across the United States. Dr. Martin also currently serves on the Advisory Board for the California 3Rs Project on teaching religion in the public schools.

“An Uneasy Truce:  Religion, Violence and the Pursuit of Peace”
Chapman University Town & Gown Invited Lecture
February 7, 2013

Faculty Research

http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Religion-Library-Global-Ethics/dp/1851682007/

http://www.amazon.com/Ethics-Religions-Library-Global-Religion/dp/1851682473/

http://www.amazon.com/Gender-Religion-Library-Global-Ethics/dp/1851682236/

http://www.amazon.com/Rights-Responsibilities-Religions-Library-Religion/dp/1851683097/

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

“Mirabai.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Hinduism. Ed. Alf Hiltebeitel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Elaine Craddock, Siva’s Demon Devotee: Karaikkal Ammaiyar (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2010). Journal of Hindu Studies (2011) 4 (3): 292-294.

“Compassion and Grace in Hinduism.” Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Volume II: Texts, Rituals, Arts, Concepts). Edited by Knut A. Jacobson. Netherlands: Brill. Pages 752-757.

“Mirabai Comes to America: The Translation and Transformation of a Saint.” The Journal of Hindu Studies, 3:12-35.

“Hinduism in Rajasthan.” Encyclopedia of Hinduism: Regional Traditions, Gods and Goddesses. Edited by Knut A. Jacobson. Netherlands: Brill.

“Transforming Love: Holiness and the Vocation of Justice.” Justice and Mercy will Kiss: Paths to Peace in a World of Many Faiths. Edited by Michael Duffey and Deborah Nash. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2008. Pages 19-40.

“Love.” Oxford Handbook of Religion and Emotion. Edited by John Corrigan. Co-authored with J. Runzo. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Pages 310-332.