Benjamin Dorman

• Permanent Fellow, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture

• Associate Professor, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Nanzan University

• e-Mail address: dorman@nanzan-u.ac.jp

Ben was born in Papua New Guinea to Australian parents. He completed his PhD at the Australian National University in the Faculty of Asian Studies in 2003. His graduate work concentrated on Japanese print media reporting of new religions during the Allied Occupation, and his currently working on a monograph dealing with that subject. His research interests include media and representation of religion and society in historical and contemporary contexts, identity, celebrity, and issues concerning Australian society.

In 2003 Ben started working for the Nanzan Institute for Religions and Culture and the Nanzan Anthropological Institute as associate editor of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies and Asian Folklore Studies (now Asian Ethnology). In 2008 he became a full-time member of the Nanzan faculty and a permanent fellow of the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. He assumed editorial responsibilities for Asian Ethnology, which he co-edits with Scott Schnell of The University of Iowa's Department of Anthropology.

A list of Ben's published writings is available in PDF format.

He plays guitar and sings, and has been known to dance when absolutely necessary.