Michael Naparstek studies Chinese Religions with a focus on Daoist ritual and art. In particular, his work on exorcistic Thunder Deities shows how the study of visual and material cultures in Asian Religions contributes to the broader discourse of presence and object agency. Michael’s courses introduce the academic study of religion through the lens of ritual and the various lives of icons with the goal of applying the critical skills developed in class to practical considerations of religion’s role in today’s world.

• Ph.D. in Chinese Literature and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2018
  minor in Transdisciplinary Study of Visual Cultures
• M.A. in Chinese, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012
• M.A. in Religion, University of Hawai’i-Mānoa, 2005
• B.A. in Religion, Philosophy, and International Studies (Asian), Trinity College (CT), 2002