Daoist Studies Unit
The Daoist Studies Unit invites proposals for the AAR Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado (November 21–24, 2026). We welcome proposals for individual papers, paper sessions, and roundtables concerning any aspects of Daoism regardless of the time period, geographical area, or methodological and theoretical approach. The proposals could be individual papers, 90-minute paper sessions (ideally consisting of 3 papers, a presider, and a respondent), or roundtables (consisting of a presider and 4–6 panelists). All topics for presentations are welcome. Below are the ideas proposed at the business meeting for 2026.
- Women and Daoism
- Medicine and Daoism
- Body and Daoism
- Buddho-Daoism/Daoist-Buddhism
- Self-Cultivation
- What is Daoism?
Please contact us if you wish to participate in formulating or joining any of these panels. Proposals on topics not listed here are also more than welcome. We'll gladly help you transform your ideas into a panel.
We look forward to receiving proposals that are multi-disciplinary and border-crossing. As we continue to reach out to other program units and promote dialogue between different fields, we strongly encourage applicants to submit their proposals to Daoist Studies and one additional program unit. A complete list of AAR program Units can be found at (https://papers.aarweb.org/program-units).
The Daoist Studies Unit steadfastly supports diversity and inclusivity. We require all pre-arranged panels to incorporate a diversity of gender, ethnicity, seniority, sub-field, and/or methodology. We hope that you can reach out to others by utilizing resources, such as the Women in the Study of Asian Religions database (http://libblogs.luc.edu/wisar/).
Please feel free to contact the co-chairs for additional information.
The Daoist Studies Unit organizes the most consistent venue in North America for sharing research on the Daoist religion. We are guided by a vision with three main goals: to reach into the vast recesses of the largely understudied Daoist tradition; to reach out in conversation with the broader American Academy of Religion, and to promote the Annual Meeting of the AAR as an international venue for sharing and vetting research by all levels of Daoism scholars. Since early 2021, the Daoist Studies Unit has also been hosting regular online presentations and workshops throughout the year under the rubric of the Global Daoist Studies Forum.
| Steering Member | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Reich | areich@sju.edu | - | View |
| Haoran Ke | kehaoran@connect.hku.hk | - | View |
| Katherine Alexander | katherine.alexander… | - | View |
| Michael Naparstek | mnaparst@utk.edu | - | View |
| Michael Stanley-Baker | msb@ntu.edu.sg | - | View |
| Richard Wang | rwang1@ufl.edu | - | View |
| Xi JU | jessyca_ju@bnu.edu.cn | - | View |