Senior Research Fellow
University of Cape Town

Elisabetta Porcu is a Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). She holds an M.A. in German and English Literature (University of Cagliari, Italy) and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies (Marburg University, Germany). Before moving to South Africa, she worked in Japan at Ryukoku University, Otani University, and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (2004–2010) and taught Japanese religions at the University of Leipzig (2010–2014). She has been Visiting Research Scholar at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyōto (2013–2014), Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hawai’i (2013), Visiting Professor at Kyushu University (2016–2017), and undertook extensive fieldwork in Japan. Among her publications are the monograph Pure Land Buddhism in Modern Japanese Culture (Brill, 2008), and various articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Dr. Porcu is the director of the Center for Asian Religions (CSAR) at the University of Cape Town and the founding editor of the Journal of Religion in Japan (Brill). While at the Department, Dr. Porcu will conduct research for two current book projects on Japanese religions and popular culture as well as the Gion Festival in Kyōto.