About

Jane N. Iwamura

Assistant Professor of Religion and of American Studies and Ethnicity

Contact Information
E-mail: iwamura@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 821-2851
Office: ACB 130

 

Education
M.A. Philosophy of Religion and Theology, Harvard University (Divinity School)
B.A. Rhetoric and Philosophy, University of California at Berkeley
Ph.D. Rhetoric, University of California at Berkeley
 

Postdoctoral Training
Postdoctoral Fellow, New York University, Center for Religion and Media, 2004-2005   
 

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History
Assistant Professor of Religion and American Studies & Ethnicity, University of Southern California, 08/16/2000-  
Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara, 09/01/1999-12/31/1999  
Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley, 01/01/1995-01/01/1998  
 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
Professor Iwamura's research focuses on Asian American religions, race and popular culture in the United States (with an emphasis on visual culture). She has also written on the intersection of religion and Asian American literary production. Her publications include the co-edited volume, Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America, and she is currently working on her monograph, The Oriental Monk Comes West: Asian Religions in the Age of Virtual Orientalism. New media plays a significant role in both her research and teaching. Professor Iwamura incorporates these as well as other non-traditional pedagogical practices into her classroom and has received institutional support and funding from the Institute for Multimedia Literacy, The Visible Knowledge Project, and the Literary, Visual, and Material Cultures Initative (for a course co-developed with Nancy Lutkehaus).
 

Research Specialties
U.S. Religions with an emphasis on the Asian American context; Visual Culture; Cultural Studies
 

Funded Research

Contracts and Grants Awarded
Faith in High Definition: Morality and Mortality in Post-9/11 Television Dramatic Series (American Academy of Religion), Jane Naomi Iwamura, Diane Winston, $4,000, 11/01/2007-11/01/2008  
Immigration, Religion and Conservative Politics in the United States (Russell Sage Foundation), Janelle Wong, Jane Iwamura, $30,932, 09/01/2007-08/31/2008  
Altared States: A Cultural History of the Japanese American Home Shrine (American Academy of Religion), Jane Iwamura, $4,000, 12/01/2005-11/30/2006  
 

USC Funding
Provost Initiative on Immigration and Integration. Faithful Coalitions: Immigrants and Conservative Christian Politics: (PI: Janelle Wong), $25,000, 2007-2008   
College Initiative on Interdisciplinary Projects, Programs and Centers. Interdisciplinary Program for the Study of Faith in High Definition: (Co-PI: Diane Winston), $15,000, 2007-2008   
James H. Zumberge Faculty Research and Innovation Fund. Altared States: A Cultural History of the Japanese American Home Shrine: , $10,000, 2006-2007   
USC Arts and Humanities Initiative: Visions & Voices. Asians in America | Americans in Asia: (Co-PI: Viet Nguyen), $18,000, 2006-2007   
Center for Religion and Civic Culture. Immigration, Religion, and Conservative Politics in America: (PI: Janelle Wong), $35,000, 11/01/2005-06/30/2007  
 

Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions
Asian Pacific American Religions Research Intiative (APARRI), Managing Board Member
The Institute for Signifying Scriptures, Research Associate
 

Publications

Book
Iwamura, J. N. The Oriental Monk Comes West: Asian Religions in the Age of Virtual Orientalism.
Iwamura, Jane Naomi and Paul Spickard (Ed.). (2003). Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America. New York: Routledge.
 

Book Chapter
Iwamura, J. N. (2008). "Critical Faith: Japanese Americans and the Birth of a New Civil Religion" [expanded reprint]. In Richard D. Alba, Albert J. Raboteau, and Josh Dewind (Eds.), Religion and Immigration in America: Comparative and Historical Perspectives. New York City, NY: New York University Press.
Iwamura, J. N. (2008). Critical Faith: Japanese Americans and the Birth of a New Civil Religion [reprint]. In R. Marie Griffith and Melani McAlister, eds., Religion and Politics in the Contemporary United States. pp. 411-442. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Iwamura, J. N. (2007). Ancestral Returns: Reexamining the Horizons of Asian American Religious Practice. In Rita Nakashima Brock, Jung Ha Kim, Kwok Pui-lan, and Seung Ai Yang (Eds.), Off the Menu: Asian and Asian North American Women's Religion and Theology. pp. 107-121. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Wong, J. S., Iwamura, J. N. (2007). The Moral Minority: Race, Religion, and Conservative Politics among Asian Americans. In Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo (Ed.), Religion and Social Justice for Immigrants,. pp. 35-49. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Iwamura, J. N. (2005). The Oriental Monk in American Popular Culture. In Bruce David Forbes and Jeffrey Mahan (Eds.), Religion and Popular Culture in America,. pp. 23-43. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
 

Encyclopedia Article
Iwamura, J. N. (2003). Asian American Religions [anchor essay]. In Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expressions. (Gary Laderman and Luís Léon, Ed.). 25-30. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio.
 

Journal Article
Iwamura, J. N. (2007). Critical Faith: Japanese Americans and the Birth of a New Civil Religion. American Quarterly/Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 59 (3), pp. 937-968.
Iwamura, J. N. (2006). Statements of Faith. Journal of Asian American Studies/Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 9 (3), pp. 307-312.
Iwamura, J. N. (2003). Altared States: Exploring the Legacy of Japanese American Butsudan Practice. Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies/Institute of Buddhist Studies. Vol. 3 (5), pp. 275-291.
Iwamura, J. N. (2002). The 'Hidden Manna' That Sustains: Reading Revelation 2:17 in Joy Kogawa's Obasan. Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism/Society for Biblical Literature. pp. p. 159-177.
Iwamura, J. N. (1996). Homage to Ancestors: Examining the Horizons of Asian American. Amerasia Journal/UCLA Asian American Studies Center. pp. p. 161-167.
 

Honors and Awards
USC Raubenheimer Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, 2007-2008   
USC Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund Award, 2006-2007   
Remarkable Women Faculty Award, University of Southern California, 2006  
USC Mellon Award for Excellence in Mentoring, 2006  
NYU Center for Religion and Media Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2004-2005   
USC or School/Dept Award for Teaching, USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences General Education Teaching Award, 2003  
 

Service to the Profession

Editorships and Editorial Boards
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 2001-2008  
 
 
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