Keynote Speakers
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Tracy Pintchman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Global Studies, Loyola University Chicago
Tracy Pintchman is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Global Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches courses on South Asian religions. Her publications include five edited and co-edited books, forty articles and book chapters, and three monographs: The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition (1994); Guests at God’s Wedding: Celebrating Kartik Among the Women of Benares (2005); and Goddess Beyond Boundaries: Worshipping the Eternal Mother at a North American Hindu Temple (2024). This talk is based on her most recent monograph.
Taylor Easum, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Asian History, Indiana State University & Chair of the AAS Council of Conferences
Taylor Easum is Associate Professor of Asian History at Indiana State University and Chair of the AAS Council of Conferences. After completing his dissertation in Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he held positions at New York University and University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. His book, Chiang Mai Between Empire and Modern Thailand, explores the integration of Chiang Mai into the modern Siamese state through the lens of urban space. He has also published articles on identity, historical memory, and religious movements in northern Thailand. His current research interests include gaming and political history in modern Thailand, cold war urban history in Chiang Mai, and comparative colonial historiography across Asia.