Teng Kuan Ng joined SMU in 2022 upon receiving his Ph.D. in Theological & Religious Studies from Georgetown University. An interdisciplinary scholar of religion, his research focuses on the interrelations between religion, film, and culture in Asian contexts. His work—which extends to the fields of Buddhist studies, Chinese and comparative philosophy, religion & economics, and World Christianity—appears in a variety of venues, including Literature and Theology, Journal for Religion, Film and Media, International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture, The Journal of World Christianity, Journal of Religious Ethics, and The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, 2nd ed. His current book project explores how Buddhist wisdom is diffused and cultivated in contemporary China through film and its ambient media practices. He also holds an A.B. in comparative literature from Princeton University, an M.A. in theology from Fuller Seminary, and an M.T.S in East Asian religions from Harvard Divinity School, where he was awarded the John E. Thayer Scholarship for highest scholastic achievement. Before becoming an academic, he worked in study abroad administration and experiential learning at Princeton in Beijing and Yale-NUS College.
Qualifications
- PhD (Theological & Religious Studies), Georgetown University, USA, 2022
- MTS (East Asian Religions), Harvard Divinity School, USA, 2013
- MA (Theology), Fuller Theological Seminary, USA, 2010
- AB (Comparative Literature), Princeton University, USA, 2005
Research Interests
- Religion and Cinema
- Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion
- World Christianity
- Chinese and Comparative Philosophy
- East Asian Cinema
Course(s) Taught in SMU
- Big Questions