Eric Haruki Swanson

In residence July 2026.

Eric Haruki Swanson is an Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University Bloomington, his M.A. in Esoteric Buddhist Studies from Koyasan University in Japan, and Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, with a concentration on Religion and Philosophy, from Harvard University. He is a historian of religion who studies religious traditions of Japan through the examination of literature, visual material, ritual practices, and performance arts, and considers the role of religious institutions and its actors within broader cultural patterns, political agendas, and expressions of religious identity. 

His current projects include a study of scholar-monk Jien (1155-1225) and his establishment of Buddhist ritual programs for the restoration of social order in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and discourses on “peace of mind” (anjin) and the negotiation of salvation among Shingon Buddhist priests within the rapidly changing social landscape of Meiji Japan (1868-1912). He is an Affiliate Researcher at the Center for Kanji Text Information Research at Ryukoku University, where he will be part of a research project that seeks create digital content grounded on interdisciplinary research that integrates Buddhist thought, Chinese philosophy, visual studies, psychology, and the arts.