Dr. Derek F. Maher joined the ECU faculty in 2003. He earned a PhD and MA in the History of Religions: Tibetan Studies from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, and a BA in Philosophy and BS in Physics from Evergreen State College. He is an associate professor of religious studies at East Carolina University and director of the Religious Studies Program. Dr. Maher teaches courses in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Methodology, and Religion and Violence.

His research interests include Tibetan biography, history, philosophy, politics, and especially religion. In particular, he is working on a series of biographies to see how they enact religious, philosophical and political agendas. He is actively engaged in publishing and presenting his research at national and international organizations.

His recent and forthcoming articles include:

• "College Student Attitudes Toward Buddhism and Islam," Journal of College and Character Vol. X, no. 2, November 2008.
  
• "Sacralized Warfare: The Fifth Dalai Lama and the Discourse of Religious Violence," in Buddhist Warfare, eds. by Mark Jurgensmeyer and Michael Jerryson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  
• "An Examination of a Critical Appraisal of Tsepon Shakabpa's One Hundred Thousand Moons," in The Rise of the Modern in Tibet, ed. Gray Tuttle. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung, International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies-Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH: Sankt Augustin, 2009.
  

Dr. Maher has two books coming out soon:

One Hundred Thousand Moons
An Advanced Political History of Tibet, 2 volumes, by Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa. Translated and annotated by Derek F. Maher. Leiden: Brill, 2009.

Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension by Derek F. Maher (Editor), Calvin Mercer (Editor). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Courses taught:

• PHIL 2691 - Classical Islam [HTML]  [PDF, 128 KB]
• PHIL 3691 - Islam in the Modern World
• PHIL 2692 - Buddhism [HTML]  [PDF, 148 KB]
• PHIL 3692 - Tibetan Religion and Culture
• RELI 4500 (even numbered years) - Methodology of Religious Studies [HTML]  [PDF, 148 KB]
• RELI 4500 (odd numbered years) - Violence and Religion [HTML]  [PDF, 148 KB]

Links to pages:

• Study Abroad in India [http://www.ecu.edu/religionprogram/india]
• Religious Studies [http://www.ecu.edu/religionprogram]
• Asian Studies [http://core.ecu.edu/hist/tuckerjo/ECUAsia.html]
• Philosophy Department [http://www.ecu.edu/phil]
• Tong-len [http://www.tong-len.org]