Benjamin James Nourse
Associate Professor, Buddhist Studies
What I do
Benjamin Nourse is an Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Religious Studies Department.Professional Biography
Benjamin Nourse has a BA in Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in Religious Studies with a focus on Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. He has lived and conducted research in India, Nepal, and China, including as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow in China in 2010-11. He has also received grants and fellowships from the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, the Rare Book School, the University of Wisconsin Libraries, and the Asian Division of the Library of Congress.
Degree(s)
- Ph.D., Religious Studies, University of Virginia, 2014
- MA, Religious Studies, University of Virginia, 2009
- BA, Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002
Professional Affiliations
- American Academy of Religion
- Association for Asian Studies
- International Association for Tibetan Studies
- Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography
Research
I am a historian of religion with a particular focus on the history of Buddhist literature and printing in Tibet. My first book, The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism (Lexington Books, 2025), explores the growth and impact of Tibetan woodblock publishing from the seventeenth through eighteenth centuries. I am also working on a study of Chinese and Tibetan manuscripts of the Heart Sūtra recovered at Dunhuang. I have been active in promoting the study of Tibetan book history through the hosting of conferences such as The Symposium on the Tibetan Book (University of Virginia, 2014) and Buddhist Book Cultures (University of Denver, 2017) as well as teaching a course at the Rare Book School on the history and culture of Tibetan books. Recently, I have also begun to engage in research on the history of Buddhism in the US, especially in Colorado.
Featured Publications
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Makzor Gönpo And The Choné Kangyur.” In Sources Of Tibetan Tradition. edited by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Gray Tuttle, and Matthew T. Kapstein. 596-600 New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press. 2013.
Presentations
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Buddhism In Colorado: Moving Beyond 'Two Buddhisms'” Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Aar-Rbs Regional Meeting, Denver, CO, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains AAR-RBS; University of Denver, 2025.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Tibetan Woodblock Printing: Craft, Craftspeople, Networks, And Identity In 17Th And 18Th-Century Inner Asia” Annual Conference On South Asia, Madison, WI, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2024.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Tibetan Buddhist Concertina-Fold Books In Qing-Era Beijing” International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds, 2023.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Editing The Heart Sutra: Challenges And Prospects For Working With The Multiple Versions Found At Dunhuang” Colloquium On Textual Editing, Yale University, 2023.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “The Early History And Publications Of The Derge Printing House” Shang Shung Institute Uk Lecture Series, London, England, Shang Shung Institute UK, 2022.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Where Was The Dalai Lama's Printing House? [Canceled]” Bibliography Week 2022, Zoom, Bibliographical Society of America, 2022.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “In Search Of Beijing's Tibetan Buddhist Past: Religious Spaces, Memory, And Identity In Modern Beijing” Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Aar-Sbl Meeting 2022, Denver, CO, Rocky Mountain/Great Plains AAR-SBL, 2022.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “Giving Voice To The Word: Reading Practices In Tibetan Buddhism” Fifteenth Seminar Of The International Association For Tibetan Studies, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris, France, 2019.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “'Unending Religious Merit': Publishing And Disseminating A Ritual Text By The Dalai Lama In Qing Beijing” From The Silk To The Book Road(S): Networks Of Commerce, Artifacts, And Books Between Central And East Asia, Berkeley, CA, Buddhist Studies Forum at the University of British Columbia, Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, 2018.
Nourse, Benjamin James. “The Dalai Lamas, Book Production, And The Creation Of A Buddhist State” States Of The Book Symposium, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, Department of English, United States Military Academy, 2016.
