raedachille

raedachille@arizona.edu

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Dachille, Rae Erin

Associate Professor

Dr. Rae Erin Dachille (Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies, University of California at Berkeley) specializes in the religious and artistic traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. Her research focuses upon representations of the body in art, ritual, philosophy, and medicine in Tibetan and Sanskrit sources. Dr. Dachille’s book, Searching for the Body: A Contemporary Perspective on Tibetan Buddhist Tantra (Columbia University Press), explores a heated scholastic exchange between two prominent fifteenth-century Tibetan monks on a ritual practice known as body mandala. The book demonstrates the value of reading esoteric sources in relationship to broader conversations on embodiment occurring across and beyond the humanities today.

Dr. Dachille’s work reflects her enduring interest in revealing the many ways in which Buddhist sources may enrich our approach to studying the body as well as to formulating new theories of representation. She continues to develop new curricula focused on gender, ritual and representation in the visual, textual and performative cultures of South Asia and the Himalaya. She currently teaches courses on Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist art, Buddhism and Healing, Tantric Buddhism, and theories and methods for the study of religion. Dr. Dachille is an affiliate faculty member in Gender and Women's Studies as well as in Social, Cultural and Critical Theory. She is the winner of the 2024 Chatfield Outstanding Tenured Researcher of the Year Award.

Areas of Specialization: Indo-Tibetan Buddhism; Tantra; Visual Cultures of Asia; Representation; Embodiment

Currently Teaching

RELI 358 – Tibetan Buddhism: Liberation, Identity, and Representation

How do Tibetans Buddhists innovate while staying connected with tradition? In the Tibetan language, biographies are referred to as liberation tales. In this course, students explore the life experiences of Tibetan Buddhists striving for a variety of forms of liberation, from samsara as well as from social marginalization and political oppression. Students disassemble stereotypes about Tibet by exploring fundamental aspects of its distinct Buddhist tradition. They analyze the stories of figures as diverse as an eighth-century demon-tamer and his enlightened female partner, a contemporary artist exploring questions of identity, a Buddhist yogi seeking to move beyond the confines of the self, and a debut novelist reflecting on writing as a form of agency. Students apply their knowledge to interpret representations of Tibet in sources ranging from early texts on the nature of reality to an Instagram takeover by contemporary Tibetan female poets. In the process, they generate tools for interpreting the host of representations they encounter in their daily lives.

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RELI 406 – Religious Diversity in Healthcare: Intercultural Training

This course is designed to offer tools for engaging religious and cultural diversity within healthcare settings, which includes consideration of religious patients, religious healthcare workers, faith-based healthcare institutions, and the impact of religious communities on healthcare laws and services. To develop skills for navigating intercultural differences, students will practice applying academic approaches to religion to health-related case studies.

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RELI 506 – Religious Diversity in Healthcare: Intercultural Training

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RELI 240 – Imagining the Buddha: Images of Buddhism in Asia and the West

What does it mean to imagine the Buddha? This course guides students in narrating the lives of Buddhist images by tracing their creation and movement in Asia as well as in cultural encounters within Europe and the U.S. Today art critics continue to discuss "Buddhist" elements in the work of iconic artists like Georgia O'Keefe and Mark Rothko, Tibetan mandala coloring books are being used for stress relief, and "Zen" aesthetics inform a broad range of fashion and design platforms. This course provides tools for critically reexamining the categories of "East" and "West" within this cultural moment. Through creative processes such as drawing, writing, and conversation, students interact with diverse imagery such as Chinese painted caves, Himalayan esoteric portraits of enlightened reality, and Japanese temple complexes. They interpret Buddhist texts describing the construction of buddha bodies in art, ritual, and in the mind. Students also engage with the work of contemporary performance artists inspired by Buddhist ideals of discipline and impermanence. Reflecting upon these experiences, students uncover how the categories of "East' and "West" have obscured the understanding of Buddhist art, artists, and communities. They document the ways in which power dynamics of colonialism and Orientalism have been integral to making these categories. In response to their findings, students work together to generate a virtual exhibition reimagining images of Buddhism and telling their stories.

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RELI 550 – Graduate Readings in Theories and Methods for the Study of Religion

The course provides graduate training in the theories and methods of religious studies and guides students in contextualizing their own work within this discourse. It is an opportunity to learn how religion became an object of study, to explore the approaches of key theorists, and to assess the efficacy of these approaches. Controversies surrounding ritual, canon, culture, power, translation, and "experience" will inform our conversations. Students will develop a more nuanced understanding of the relationship of religious studies and area studies, in terms of historical and continuously-evolving dynamics. Finally, this course challenges students to evaluate the broader role of religious studies in the humanities and to set goals for their professional contributions to this discourse.

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