Jeff Nicolaisen
International Center of Cultural Studies Postdoctoral Fellow(2021/7-)
E-mail｜jeffrey.nicolaisen@nycu.edu.tw
Introduction
Nicolaisen participates in Sub-project V and is working with a team to establish a new research group on environmental justice called “Environmental Crisis and Multi-species Justice.” He is currently participating on the planning committee for the 2023 ACS Institute, serving as an executive editor for the Working Paper Series, and is conducting a personal research project entitled “Equality of Life: Multi-species Ethnography on the Animal Protection Movement in Taiwan.”
Degree title and the university
2019 Ph.D. Asian Religions, Duke University.
2016 M.A. Religious Studies. Duke University.
2013 M.A. Asian Studies. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
2006 M.Eng. Civil Engineering. Nagoya University.
2002 B.A. Japanese Language and Area Studies, Psychology, International Affairs, Economics. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Doctoral dissertation
“Equality of Life: Thinking with Multi-Species Relationships in Taiwan”
Brief work experience
2021-present Ministry of Science and Technology International Postdoctoral Fellow, International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2020-2021 Visiting Lecturer, Duke-DKU Global Fellows Program, Duke Kunshan University
2006-2011 Environmental Resources Management, Assistant/Associate Engineer
Research Interests
Multi-species Ethnography, Buddhist Studies, Indigenous Studies, Critical Animal Studies, Environmental
Humanities, East Asian Studies
Research Project
At the International Center for Cultural Studies, Nicolaisen will work with an emerging NYCU research team focused on multi-species ethnography. His ethnography on relationships between Han and indigenous people and nonhuman animals in Taiwan focuses on the Buddhism-inspired animal protection organization Life Conservationist Association. Nicolaisen will be further developing his dissertation research that found that (1) the politics of religion have restricted the participation of traditions such as Buddhism in public discourse on ecological issues and (2) the Buddhist concept of“equality of life,” which applies to all sentient beings, is incommensurable with international human rights and environmental conservation law based on European political and environmental theory. Nicolaisen will also continue to work on a project that focuses on the subjectivity of nonhuman animals in multi-species communities of humans, dogs, and monkeys in Taiwan. The goal is to integrate the ethological research methods of evolutionary anthropology and the ethnographic research methods of cultural anthropology to represent how both human and nonhuman animals evaluate their multi- species relationships. Nicolaisen has already conducted field research on two case studies that involve the new no-kill law at animal shelters and the conflict between monkeys and fruit farmers in Taiwan.
The subprojects of the ICCS participated
Participating in Sup-project 5 “Toward a Society of Equal Coexistence and Socio-Artistic Intervention in the Inter-Asian Context: Media Lab”
Working with a team to establish a new research group on environmental justice called “Environmental Crisis and Multi-species Justice
Personal research project
Equality of Life: Multi-species Ethnography on the Animal Protection Movement in Taiwan
Jobs at ICCS
（1）Participating in Sup-project 5;
（2）Working with a team to establish a new research group on environmental justice called “Environmental Crisis and Multi-species Justice”;
（3）Planning international workshops on multi-species justice;
（4）Participating on the planning committee for the 2023 ACS Institute;
（5）Serving as an executive editor of the ICCS Working Paper Series;
（6）Making international connections though MOU partnerships;
（7）Conducting a personal research project: Equality of Life: Multi-species Ethnography on the Animal Protection Movement in Taiwan;
（8）Participating in ICCS academic activities and presenting research.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2019 Ph.D. Asian Religions, Duke University. Dissertation Title: “Equality of Life: Thinking with Multi-Species Relationships in Taiwan” Advisor Name: Hwansoo Kim
2016 M.A. Religious Studies. Duke University.
2013 M.A. Asian Studies. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
2006 M.Eng. Civil Engineering. Nagoya University.
2002 B.A. Japanese Language and Area Studies, Psychology, International Affairs, Economics. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS/EMPLOYMENT
2021-present Ministry of Science and Technology Postdoctoral Fellow, International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2020-2021 Visiting Instructor, Duke-DKU Global Fellows Program, Duke Kunshan University
PUBLICATIONS
Edited Special Issues
2020 “Trans-species Listening and Rights of Nature: Legal Persons beyond the Human.” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and Environment with coeditors Prasenjit Duara and Ambika Aiyadurai. ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 27, no. 3.
Journal Articles
2020 Nicolaisen, Jeffrey. “Protecting Life in Taiwan: Can the Rights of Nature Protect All Sentient Beings?” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 27, no. 3: 613–32.
2020 Duara, Prasenjit, Ambika Aiyadurai, and Jeffrey Nicolaisen. “Trans-species Listening and the Rights of Nature: Legal Persons beyond the Human.” ISLE: Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and Environment 27, no. 3: 554–562.
2007 Nicolaisen, J.E., J.E. Gilley, B. Eghball, and D.B. Marx. “Crop Residue Effects on Runoff Nutrient Concentrations Following Manure Application.” Transactions of the ASABE. 50(3): 939-944.
Book Chapters
2021 Nicolaisen, Jeffrey. 2021. “Rethinking Ontology with Equality of Life.” In Chinese Environmental Ethics, edited by Mayfair Yang, 35-68. London: Rowman & Littlefield. 2019 Nicolaisen, Jeffrey.
2019. "The Intersection of Sentient Beings and Species, Traditional and Modern, in the Practices and Doctrine of Dharma Drum Mountain." In Chinese Environmental Humanities: Practices of Environing at the Margins, edited by Chiaju Chang, 289-308. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18634-0_13.
Translations
2019 Shih, Chao-hwei. 2019. "An Exposition of the Buddhist Philosophy of Protecting Life and Animal Protection." Translated by Jeffrey Nicolaisen. In Chinese Environmental Humanities: Practices of Environing at the Margins, edited by Chiaju Chang, 309-330. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18634-0_14.
Manuscripts in Submission
Nicolaisen, Jeffrey. “Adaptive Interdependence in the Galluscene: Rethinking the Anthropocene.” Revising for resubmission to ISLE: Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and Environment or submission to Anthropocene. Nicolaisen, Jeffrey. “How to Calculate Suffering When There is No Self.” In Buddhism and Animal Ethics, edited by Geoff Barstow and Bronwyn Finnigan.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Equality of Life: A Multi-Species Alternative to Human Equality in Contemporary Taiwan. Preparing manuscript for Columbia University Press.
GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2021-2023 Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) International Postdoctoral Fellowship | National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2021 Center for the Study of Contemporary China Undergraduate Research Fund | Duke Kunshan University
2021 Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars Program | Duke Kunshan University
2021 Humanities Research Center Small Events | Duke Kunshan University
2020-2021 Duke-DKU Global Fellowship| Duke Kunshan University
2018-2019 The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship | Duke University
2018 Bass Instructional Fellowship: Instructor of Record | Duke University
2018 Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Fellowship | Duke University
2017-2018 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship | Duke University
2016-2018 Duke Global Asia Initiative Seed Grant (co-PI) | Duke University
2016 Chung-Hwa Fellowship for Graduate Students | Duke University
2016 Gurney Harriss Kearns Foundation Summer Research Fellowship | Duke University
2014 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship | Duke University
2013 Critical Language Scholarship | University of Illinois
2013-2017 James B. Duke Fellowship | Duke University
2013 Graduate School Fellowship (declined) | University of Southern California
2012-2013 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship | University of Illinois
2011-2012 East Asian Languages and Cultures Departmental Fellowship | University of Illinois
2011 Mellon Fellowship (declined) | University of Michigan
2005 American Society of Civil Engineers Freeman Fellowship | Nagoya University
2002-2006 Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship | Nagoya University
INVITED LECTURES
2021 “Inequality of Equalities: The Taiwanese Buddhist Encounter with Liberal Humanism and Taiwan’s Indigenous People.” University of Virginia East Asia Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, April 8. (online presentation)
2017 “Buddhist Environmental Ethics.” Dharma Drum Institute of the Liberal Arts, New Taipei City, Taiwan, June 13. (in Chinese)
2017 “Monkey-Human Relations in the Galluscene.” Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, May 28. (in Chinese)
2016 “Religion and Politics.” National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan, October 20. (in Chinese)
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Panels Organized
2016 “Border Crossing Activism in the Asian Anthropocene.” AAS-in-Asia, Kyoto, Japan, June 24-27.
Papers Presented
2022 “Buddhist Multi-species Colonialism in Contemporary Taiwan: The Release of Life Ceremony, Hunting, and the Encounter with Indigenous People.” XIXth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Congress, Seoul, Korea, August 14-19.
2021 “Adaptive Interdependence in the Galluscene: Rethinking the Anthropocene.” 19th International Symposium on the Theory and Practice of the Teachings of Dharma Master Yin Shun: Humanistic Buddhism and Globalization, Hsinchu, Taiwan, November 6-7.
2021 “Inequality of Equalities: The Taiwanese Buddhist Encounter with Liberal Humanism and Taiwan’s Indigenous People.” Center for World Austronesia and Indigenous Peoples Research Symposium, Hsinchu, Taiwan, October 2.
2021 “Ecological Civilization and Its Discontents: China and Environmental Challenges in Global Asia.” Roundtable discussant. Association of Asian Studies, Virtual Annual Meeting, March 25-28.
2020 “Protecting Life in Taiwan: Can the Rights of Nature Protect all Sentient Beings?” American Academy of Religion, Virtual Annual Meeting, November 29-December 10.
2020 “Equality of Life: A Buddhist Teaching for an Ecological Civilization.” Summer Institute for Chinese Studies, University of Pittsburgh (online), June 1-4.
2019 “Equality of Life in the Mountains of Taiwan: The Present-Day Buddhist Colonial Encounter with Liberal Humanism and Taiwan’s Indigenous People.” American Academy of Religion, San Diego, California, November 23-26.
2018 “Equality of Life in Taiwan: An Ontology for Rights Beyond the Human.” Transspecies Listening and Rights of Nature: Legal Persons beyond the Human, Durham, North Carolina, October 5
2017 “Monkey-Human Relations in the Galluscene,” Environmental Humanities in Asia: Environmental Justice and Sustainable Citizenship, Kunshan, China, May 22- 24.
2017 “Sustainable Citizenship and the Taiwanese Canine: Who is Included in the Anthropocene Citizenry?” Duke Global Asia Initiative: Environmental Humanities for Sustainable Citizenship in Asia, Durham, North Carolina, January 22-23.
2016 “Buddhist Animal Welfare and Environmental Activism in Taiwan.” AAS-in-Asia, Kyoto, Japan, June 24-27.
2016 “Multi-Species Ethnography in Taiwanese Buddhism.” Altruism and Bodhisattva Thought/Fourteenth International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Master Yin-shun’s Thought. Hsinchu, Taiwan, May 28-29.
2016 “Buddhist Animal Welfare and Environmental Activism in Taiwan.” The Florida State University Department of Religion Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida, February 19-21.
2014 “Cultural Differences in the Reception of Master Sheng Yen’s Spiritual Environmentalism.” Ways of Knowing: Graduate Conference on Religion at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 23-25.
2014 “Cows, Horses, and the Tale of Jōzon.” Association of Asian Studies Southeast Conference Annual Meeting, Durham, North Carolina, January 17-19.
2006 “Hydroponics experiments related to Phragmites japonica nutrient uptake.” Japan Society of Civil Engineers Central Japan Conference, Gifu, Japan, March. (in Japanese)
Chair
2021 “Spaces of Belonging and Exclusion, Mixed Neighborhood, Artistic Intervention: Session I.” Migration Logistics and Unequal Citizens in Contemporary Global Context, Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 26-30. (Online Summer Institute)
Discussant
2019 “Water and Violence.” Rivers in the Anthropocene: Global Challenges and Local Responses, Kunshan, China, July 6-7.
TEACHING
Instructor of Record
2021 Environmental Ethics
2021 Know Thyself: The Practices and Challenges of Examining Your Own Mind
2021 Religion and Leadership
2020 Religious and Philosophical Thought on the Environment
2020 Modern Buddhism
2018 Religion and Science: Biology, Minds, and Souls
Teaching Assistant
2016 Religion and Culture in Korea
2015 Buddhism and Sexuality
2012, 2013 Introduction to Japanese Culture
RESEARCH
2021-present Postdoctoral Researcher, International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2020 Research Associate, Religious Studies, Duke University
2013-2014 Research Assistant, Religious Studies, Duke University
2011-2012 Research Assistant, East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Illinois
2000-2002 Biological Aid, National Phosphorus Project, United States Department of Agriculture
SERVICE
2016-2019 Duke Global Asia Initiative, Co-PI, “Environment and Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Study”
2012-2013 East Asian Languages and Cultures, Graduate Student Representative, University of Illinois
2013 Community of Urbana Cooperative Housing, Interim President, BoardRepresentative
2004-2006 Civil Engineering International Student Organization, Nagoya University
1999 Program Administrator, American Scandinavian Student Exchange International
NON-ACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2006-2011 Environmental Resources Management, Assistant/Associate Engineer
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2020 Center for Teaching and Learning Summer Program, Duke Kunshan University
2020 Learning Innovation Fellowship, Duke Kunshan University
2013-2019 Certificate of College Teaching, Duke University
2013-2015 Responsible Conduct of Research, Duke University
2011 Graduate Academy for College Teaching, University of Illinois
LANGUAGE SKILLS
English: native
Chinese: superior-level reading, writing, aural, and oral skills
Japanese: superior-level reading, writing, aural, and oral skills
Classical Chinese: proficient
Classical Japanese (bungo and kanbun): proficient
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Academy of Religion
Association of Asian Studies
Society for the Study of Chinese Religions
International Association for Buddhist Studies
REFERENCES
Hwansoo Kim
Associate Professor
Department of Religious Studies
Yale University
451 College Street, Room 310
New Haven, CT 06511
hwansoo.kim@yale.edu
Prasenjit Duara
Oscar L. Tang Family Professor of East Asian Studies
History Department
Duke University
114 Campus Drive
226 Carr Building
Campus Box 90719
Durham, NC 27708-0719
prasenjit.duara@duke.edu
Barbara Ambros
Professor and Department Chair
Department of Religious Studies
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
125C Carolina Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3225
bambros@email.unc.edu
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