Beiyin Deng

Growing up in China, traveling extensively across Southeast Asia, while pursuing her academic career in the US, Beiyin Deng considers herself a boundary-crosser who aims to bridge these different worlds through her research. She received her doctoral degree in Religious Studies at Arizona State University in Spring 2024. Her dissertation, titled "Seeking Magnificence: Material Enchantment and the Trade of Marble Buddhist Images across the Myanmar-China Border," investigates contemporary Buddhist craftsmanship and economic collaboration that transcends the conventional academic boundaries between China/East Asian/Mahayana Buddhism and Myanmar/Southeast Asian/Theravada Buddhism. More broadly, her research interests include contemporary Buddhist material culture (especially Buddhist crafting labor), transnational Buddhism between China and Southeast Asia, and Buddhist diplomacy in Asia.

The courses Professor Deng will teach at Grinnell College include Studying Religion: East Asia, Buddhism and Politics in Modern Asia, and Buddhism and Economy.