Employee Directory

Department: Religious Studies

Email: colson@allegheny.edu

Office Building: Oddfellows

Office Room: 119

Professional Title/s

Emeritus Professor

Faculty Credentials

B.A., The Pennsylvania State University; M. Divinity, Drew Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Drew University

Biographical Information

PROFESSIONAL HONORS

• Appointed to the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at Allegheny College, 1991-94;
• Appointed Chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies at Allegheny College, 1994-
• 96; Chosen as a speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council Speakers Program, 1984-
• 85 and 1985-86. Appointed Teacher-Scholar Professorship of the Humanities, 2000-2003;
• Visiting Fellowship at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, 2002; Elected to Life
• Membership of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge 2002-present.

PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS

• Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Third Edition. 1994.
• Who's Who in the East 24th Edition
• Dictionary of International Biography. 23rd Edition.
• Men of Achievement. 16th Edition.
• PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
• American Asian Society; American Oriental Society; American Academy of Religion; Society for
• Asian and Comparative Philosophy; North American Association for the Study of Religion.

PUBLICATIONS/BOOKS

• ed. The Book of the Goddess Past and Present: An Introduction to Her Religion. New York:
  Crossroads Publishing Company, 1983; republished by Waveland Press, Inc., 2002.
• The Mysterious Play of Kali: An Interpretive Study of Ramakrishna. Atlanta: Scholars Press,
  1990.
• The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre. London: Macmillan Publishing
  Company, 1992.
• The Indian Renouncer and Postmodern Poison: A Cross-Cultural Encounter. New York: Peter
  Lang Publishing, 1997.
• Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy: Two Paths of Liberation from the Representational
  Mode of Thinking (Albany, N. Y: SUNY Press, 2000).
• Indian Philosophers and Postmodern Thinkers: Dialogues on the Margins of Culture (Delhi:
  Oxford University Press, 2002).
• ed. Theory and Method in the Study of Religion (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2003).
• The Different Paths of Buddhism: A Narrative-Historical Introduction (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers
  University Press, 2005). 2006 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice.
• ed. Original Buddhist Sources: A Reader (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005).
• The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-Historical Introduction (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers
  University Press, 2007).
• ed. Hindu Primary Sources: A Sectarian Reader (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press,
  2007).
• ed. Celibacy and Religious Traditions (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).
• Historical Dictionary of Buddhism, New Edition (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009):
  paperback titled The A to Z of Buddhism.
• Religious Studies: The Key Concepts (London: Routledge, 2011).
• An Introduction to Religion and Religious Themes in Rock Music (Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen
  Press, 2012).
• The Allure of Decadent Thinking: Essays on Religious Studies and the Challenge of
  Postmodernism. (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013).
• Indian Asceticism: Power, Violence, and Play (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
  2015).
• Religious Ways of Experiencing Life: A Global and Narrative Approach (London: Routledge,
  2016).
• Sacred Texts Interpreted: Religious Documents Explained, 2 Volumes (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-
  CLIO, 2017).
  WORK IN PROGRESS:
• Playing Within Emptiness: A Narrative and Thematic Introduction to Zen Buddhism
• Bodily Margins and Bodily Waste: Their Religious Significance
• Oops!: A Comparative Study of the Self
• Inter-Religious Dialogue in a Postmodern World
  EDITORIAL WORK:
  Series Editor, World Heritage Studies in Comparative Philosophy.
  Review Editor for the International Journal of Hindu Studies 1996-2007
  Review Editor for World Faiths Encounter 1998-2002
  Reviewed numerous manuscripts for possible publication for the following publishers: Oxford
  University Press; SUNY Press; Wadsworth Publishing Company; Prentice-Hall; Laurence King
  Publishing Ltd. (London); Routledge (London); Yale University Press: Stanford University Press.
• “Nayanars,” Holy People of the World: An Encyclopedia. 3 Volumes. Edited by Phyllis G. Jestice
  (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2004), 2: 632.
• “Gandhi,” Holy People of the World: An Encyclopedia. 3 Volumes. Edited by Phyllis G. Jestice
  (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2004), 1: 291-292.
• “Paramahamsa Yogananda,” Holy People of the World: An Encyclopedia. 3 Volumes. Edited by
  Phyllis G. Jestice (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2004), 3: 930-931
• “Transcendental Meditation” The Encyclopedia of Religion. Second Edition. 14 Volumes. Edited
  by Lindsay Jones (New York: Macmillan Reference, 2005), 14: 9289-9292.
• “Contested Categories and Issues in Interpretation,” in Religions of South Asia. Edited by Sushil
  Mittals and Gene Thursby (London: Routledge, 2006), pp. 263-286.
• “Ontology, Altarity, and Difference: A Comparison of Eliade's Method and the Postmodern
  Philosophy of Deleuze,” Studies Philosophia of Babes-Bolya University Cluj-Napaca (2006): 53-62
• “Structuralism,” in Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Method. Edited by Sushil Mittals and
  Gene Thursby (London: Routledge, 2007): 366-377.
• “Orientalism,” in Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods. Edited by Sushil Mittals and
  Gene Thursby (London: Routledge, 2007): 278-288.
• “Mircea Eliade n-a încetat niciodată să fïe român şi să -şi iubească ţinuturile natale: professorul
  Carl Olson în dialog cy Gabriel Stănescu,” traducerde Florina Cîrlan, Agnes: Revistă de cultură
  (Iulie 2007): 10.
• “Ontology, Altarity, and Difference: A Comparison of Eliade's Method and the Postmodern
  Philosophy of Deleuze,” in Intalniricu/Encounters with Mircea Eliade. Edited by Mihaela Gilgor
  and Mac Linscott Ricketts (Cluj-Napoca: Casa Cărţi de Ştinţă, 2005): 187-98; also published in
  Professor Mircea Eliade: Reminiscences. Edited by Mihaela Gilgor and MacLinscott Ricketts
  (Kolkata: Codex, 2008): 150-161.
• “Celibacy and the Human Body: An Introduction,” in Celibacy in Religious Traditions, Edited by
  Carl Olson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008): 3-20.
• “Hindu Devotionalism, Tantra, and Celibacy,” in Celibacy in Religious Traditions, Edited by Carl
  Olson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008): 285-299.
• “Celibacy and Native American Indian,” in Celibacy and Religious Traditions. Edited by Carl
  Olson (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008): 285-299.
• “Earth,” Religion Past and Present Volume IV. Edited by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning,
  Bernd Janowski, and Eberhard Jüngel (Leiden: Brill, 2008).
• ”Liturgy in Hinduism.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited by Yehudit
  Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), 2: 370-372.
• “Nature in Hinduism.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited by Yehudit
  Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), 2: 440-441.
• “Suffering in Hinduism.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited by
  Yehudit Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008). 2:615-617.
• “Festivals of Love in Buddhism.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited
  by Yehudit Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), 1: 209-210.
• “Sacrifice in Buddhism.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited by
  Yehudit Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), 2: 522-523.
• “Ancestors.” Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions. 2 Volumes. Edited by Yehudit Kornberg
  Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2008), 1: 51-53.
  Edited by H. James Birx. (London: Sage Publications, 2009), 1: 336-337.
• “Nagarjuna (c. 150-c. 250 CE)” in Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, and
  Culture. 3 Volumes. Edited by H. James Birx (London: Sage Publications, 2009), 2: 900-901.
• “Sankara” in Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, and Culture. 3 Volumes.
  Edited by H. James Birx (London: Sage Publications, 2009), 3: 1129-1131.
• “Paul Tillich. (1886-1965),” in Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, and
  Culture. 3 Volumes. Edited by H. James Birx (London: Sage Publications, 2009), 3: 1253-1254.
• ”The Human Body as a Boundary Symbol: A Comparison of Merleau-Ponty and Dōgen.” In
  Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism. Edited by Jin Y. Pak and Gereon Kopf. Lanham, MD: Lexington
  Books, 2009. pp. 83-94.
• “The Sacred Book” in Oxford Companion to the Book. 2 Volumes. Edited by Michael F. Suarez,
  S. J. and Henry Woudhuysen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 1: 11-23.
• “Pollution, Religious.” India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic. 2 Volumes. Edited
  by Arnold P. Kaminsky and Roger D. Long. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011, 2: 597-599.
• “Religion.” India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic. 2 Volumes. Edited by Arnold
  P. Kaminsky and Roger D. Long. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011, 2: 595-597.
• “Secularism.” India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic. Edited by Arnold P.
  Kaminsky and Roger D. Long. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011, 2: 618-620.
• “Theosophical Society.” India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic. Edited by Arnold
  P. Kaminsky and Roger D. Long. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011, 2: 702-703.
• “Gandhi,” Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Edited by S. Rao. Columbia, S.C: University of South
  Carolina Press, 2010.
• “Vivekānanda and Ramakṛṣṇa Face to Face: An Essay on the Alterity of a Saint.” in Debating
  Vivekananda: A Reader. Edited by A. Raghuramaraju. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014):
  232-260.
• “Archaeology of Celibacy.” In The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. 3 Volumes.
  Edited by Patricia Whelehan and Anne Bolin. (London: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2015), I: 207-
  208.
• “Tantric Sex.” In The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality. 3 Volumes. Edited by
  Patricia Whelehan and Anne Bolin (London: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2015), III: 1335-1357.
• “Conflicting Methodological Metaphors Pertaining to Sameness and Difference: Eliade and
  Deleuze in Dialogue.” In From Influence and Confluence to Difference and Indifference: Studies on
  History of Religions. Edited by Mihaela Gligor. Cluj-Napoca, Romania: Cluj University Press,
  2015): 76-113.
• “A Painting you Can Eat: A Dialogue between Dōgen and Postmodern Thinkers on Aesthetics,
  Nature, and Ecology.” In Comparative Environmental Aesthetics. Edited by Hwa Yol Jung
  (forthcoming)
• “Postmodern Approaches in Indian Philosophy.” in Routledge History of Indian Philosophy.
  Edited by Purushottama Bilimoria (London: Routledge, 2017, forthcoming).
• ”The Shadow of Kālī Over the Goddess Kāmākṣī and Her City.” In Staal Memorial Volume.
  Edited by Richard K. Payne. Berkeley: Numata Foundation (forthcoming 2016).
• “The Notion of Play (Līlā) in Gaudiya Vaiṣṇavism and Its Implications for the Western
  Understanding of Play.” In The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Theories of Religion.
  London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (forthcoming 2017).