Sara A. Swenson (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College. Her research focuses on contemporary Buddhism in Vietnam. During her time at SEAP, she will be completing her first book entitled Having Heart: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam. This study examines rising trends of Buddhist volunteerism in Vietnam’s fastest growing urban area, Ho Chi Minh City. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2015 and 2019, Swenson explores how lay and monastic Buddhist charity workers coped with experiences of urban alienation by framing altruism as an intersubjective act that benefits all beings. Her scholarship shows how Buddhist practices fundamentally inform and drive a shift toward grassroots social service programming in Vietnam amid increasing economic privatization. 

Swenson's research has been published in The Journal of Global Buddhism, Asian Ethnology, The Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Political Theology, and the Journal of Theology & Sexuality. Her work has been previously funded through the Dartmouth College Leslie Center for the Humanities; American Academy of Religion; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies, awarded through ACLS. This year of writing is graciously funded through a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). 

Swenson completed her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She holds an M.Phil. in Religion (Syracuse University, 2016), a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women’s and Gender Studies (Syracuse University, 2015), an M.A. in Comparative Religion (Iliff School of Theology, 2012), and a B.A. in English (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009). 

Beyond research, Swenson also enjoys creative writing and hiking with her dog. Please feel free to contact her at: sara.a.swenson@dartmouth.edu. She looks forward to connecting with the Cornell community and participating in SEAP events this year.