Biography
Dr. Susie Andrews is Professor of East Asian religions in Mount Allison University's Department of Religious Studies. A scholar of narrative, her research explores how the telling and retelling of stories matters for individuals and communities. Much of her published work pursues this topic in the context of the earliest traditions associated with Mount Wutai in China and, later, Japan. This past year, for instance, she published "Women in the early literature of China's Mount Wutai" and The Transnational Cult of Mount Wutai (co-edited with Jinhua Chen and Kuan Guang). Dr. Andrews is a co-investigator and research cluster leader for the SSHRC Partnership Grant-funded From the Ground Up: Buddhism and East Asian Religions project (Frogbear.org)
At Mount Allison University, Dr. Andrews teaches courses such as "Death and the Afterlife in Asian Religions," "Food Practices and East Asian Religions," and, this 2021-2022 academic year, "Religion and Children." From studying Traditional Chinese Medicine in Henan to producing drone footage of northern Taiwan's sacred landscape, Andrews delights in co-creating opportunities for the individuals in her courses to learn through reflection on doing. Most recently, Andrews and her students launched a collaboration with Sackville Playschool Inc. that seeks to better understand if and how the books we read reflect our community members' multiple, intersecting identities. In 2021, she was honored to receive the Herbert and Leota Tucker Teaching Award, Mount Allison University's highest recognition of teaching excellence.