Lake Forest College Website
Religion Department Website
 
Home »
Curriculum Vitae »

» Site Search


 

index  
CATHERINE BENTON
E-Mail Address: benton@lfc.edu
 
Home Address: 
212 W. Scranton Avenue 
Lake Bluff, IL 60044
Home Phone: 
847-295-7086 
Office Phone: 
847-735-5174
Office Address: 
Religion Department 
Lake Forest College 
Lake Forest, IL 60045


 
Educational Backgound
 

Ph. D., Columbia University, New York, New York. South Asian Religion, 1991.

Major Area: Hinduism, Indian Mythology 
Dissertation topic: The Indian Story of Desire: tales of Kamadeva, the god of desire whose flower arrows excite passion in all beings 

 

M. Phil., Columbia University, New York, New York, South Asian Religion, 1980.

 

 

M. A., Columbia University, New York, New York, South Asian Religion and Mythology, 1978. 

 

 

M. I. A., School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont International Administration and Cross-cultural Education, 1974. 

 

 

Certification for TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), 1973. 

 

 

B. A., Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois. Philosophy/ Government/  Secondary Education, 1973.

 

  Secondary Education Teaching Certification, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois. (NCATE), Social Studies, 1972. 


 
Language
  Research languages: Sanskrit, Hindi, French 
  Additional languages studied: Farsi, Tamil, Swahili 


 
TRAVEL FOR EMPLOYMENT AND RESEARCH
  Europe: March to June 1971
Tanzania: 1973-74 
India: 1975-76, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003
Bangladesh:  1998
China: 2002 
Israel: Summers 1980-82 
Turkey: 1995


 
ACADEMIC AWARDS AND POSITIONS
 

2002-2003 ASIANetwork Freeman Faculty-Student Research Award. Research in Maharashtra, India, on the devotional practices of a Hindu Jyotirlinga Temple and a Sufi Shrine. 

 

 

National Endowment for the Humanities 1999 Summer Seminar, Literature of Islamic Mysticism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

 

 

Lake Forest College Summer Research Award, 1988-1992. Research and translation of Sanskrit story literature texts gathered in India. 

 

Graduate Study Awards and Positions: 
 

Research Associate, Southern Asian Institute, Columbia University, 1983 to 1986.

 

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Religion, Columbia University, 1980-1984. 

 

  National Defense Foreign Language Award (Hindi-Urdu), 1978-79 and 1979-80. 


 
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
  ASIANetwork Board of Directors 1997-2000, Development Team 2000-2004
American Academy of Religion, 1987 - Present
Association for Asian Studies. 1987 - Present 


 
COLLEGE-LEVEL TEACHING
South Asian Religion, Comparative Religion, and Cross-cultural Studies
 

LAKE FOREST COLLEGE, 1987 to present. Lecturer. Asian Religious Traditions and Literatures: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Daoism.

 

 

ASSOCIATED COLLEGES OF THE MIDWEST India Studies Program, 2001 and 1993. Faculty Director. Undergraduate study abroad program based in Pune, India. 

 

 

BELOIT COLLEGE, 1995-2000. Visiting Assistant Professor in Asian Religions. 

 

 

BARAT COLLEGE, 1996-2000. Visiting Lecturer in Asian Religions. 

 

 

BARNARD COLLEGE, 1981-1984. Assisted Professor Theodore H. Gaster in teaching classes in Mythology and Folklore. 

 

 

LEHMAN COLLEGE, City University of New York, 1981 to 1987. Lecturer. Undergraduate classes in writing skills and advanced English as a Second Language.

 

 

HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY, 1982. Adjunct Lecturer. Undergraduate study of World Religions.

 

 

SCHOOL FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING, Ahmedabad, India, 1982. Academic Director. Helped students develop intercultural communications skills and independent study projects in conjunction with Indian university advisors.

 

 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AMERICAN LANGUAGE PROGRAM, 1980-82. Adjunct Lecturer, English as a Second Language (ESL) at beginning and advanced levels. 

 

 

LaGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, CUNY, 1978-79. Taught ESL with an emphasis on grammatical conversation skills. 

 


 
ADULT AND HIGH SCHOOL-LEVEL TEACHING
English, Social Studies, Philosophy
 

CUSHING ACADEMY, Summer ESL Program for secondary school students, 1978. Taught advanced English as college preparation; students from the Middle East, Japan, and Latin America. 

 

 

UNITED MIGRANT OPPORTUNITY SERVICE, Madison, Wisconsin, 1977. Developed an educational program for Mexican farmworkers and taught language skills. 

 

 

TANZANIAN CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE CENTRE, Dodoma, Tanzania, 1973-74. Devised curriculum and materials for teaching advanced English to Tanzanian adults. 

 

DODOMA SECONDARY SCHOOL, Dodoma, Tanzania, 1973-74. Developed an English syllabus and introduced students to the works of African writers. 

 


 
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING
 

ASIANetwork CONSULTANCY PROGRAM. Consultant to liberal arts colleges’ Asian studies programs. 2003 to present 

 

 

BEST PRACTICES IN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION. Global Partners Task Force to generate new standards for international education within the liberal arts. 2002 to present.

 

 

ASIANetwork DEVELOPMENT TEAM. Work with foundations to secure funding for national consortium’s programs to support Asian studies the within liberal arts. 2000 to present.

 

 

MOTOROLA UNIVERSITY, CENTER FOR CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY. Consulted on training and development programs for managers working in China, India, and Turkey. 1995-1997

 

 

INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION RESOURCES. Consulted on training programs for India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. 1995 to present 

 

 

Consultant for review of the Kalamazoo College Religion Department, as part of preparation for the college's North Central Review. 1992


 
PAPERS PRESENTED
2004
  • Presentation on Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Lake Forest Women's Club
  2003 
  • Cultural Values, History, and Buddhist Traditions of Thailand, PAX Annual Meeting 
  • Treasures of Ellora and Khuldabad, website presentation of student-faculty research in India during January 2003, ASIANetwork

  •  
  2002 
  • Culture and History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Morocco, PAX Annual Meeting 
  • Orienting Undergraduates for study in India, 2002 ASIANetwork Meeting 

  •  
  2001
     
  • Buddhism in China, Lake Forest College 
  • Asian Cinema In Asian Studies 2001 ASIANetwork Meeting 

  • Understanding the Faith of Islam, Woodlands Academy 
  2000
     
  • Cross-cultural Training for Study Abroad Students ASIANetwork Meeting 

  •  
  1999
     
  • Going Home Again: Bringing Research in Asia into the Classroom, ASIANetwork 
  • Buddhism in a Troubled World, Women’s Board Lecture, Lake Forest College
  • The Story of the Prophet Muhammad, Lake Forest Friends Meeting 
  • Confucianism as a Foundation of Chinese Values, Lake Forest College 

  •  
  1998
     
  • The Dalai Lama as Bodhisattva,Tulku, and Statesman, Lake Forest Friends Meeting 
  • An American Zen Priest Responds to 'The Way of Alan Watts', ASIANetwork 

  •  
  1997
     
  • Asian Cultures and Traditions in America, North Shore Series on International Issues 
  • Abu Kasem's Slippers and the Law of Karma, Gita Ashram of the Americas, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana 

  •  
  1996 
  • Pedagogical Issues: Indian Religion through Story Literature, ASIANetwork 
  • Perspectives on 'Culture Shock', Lake Forest College 

  •  
  1995
     
  • The Origins of the Islamic Religious Tradition, Motorola University 
  • History and Religions of China, International Orientation Resources 
  • Multiple Religious Traditions of India, International Orientation Resources 

  •  
  1994
     
  • The Indian God Kamadeva: stories of lust and laughter, Carthage College 

  •  
  1992
     
  • Hanumn in the Thai narration of the Rma Story, the Ramakien, American Academy of Religion, Religion in South Asia Group 
  • Indian Gurus and the Contemporary American Religious Scene, Perspectives on Global Issues Series, Lake Forest College 
  • Knowledge, Power, and Authority within the Indian Tradition, Lake Forest College 
  • Buddhist Perspectives on Death", Barat College 

  •  
  1991
     
  • Concept of Atonement in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Lake Forest College 
  • Major Concepts in Indian Puranic and Upanisadic Texts, Barat College 

  •  
  1990
     
  • Death and the Process of Dying in Buddhist Texts, Barat College 
  • An Historical Glimpse of Islam", First Presbyterian Church, Highland Park 

  •  
  1989 
  • Manjusri-Vajrananga: a god of desire in Bodhisattva Clothing, American Academy of Religion, Religion in South Asia Group
 


 
RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Book manuscript accepted for publication by SUNY Press, God of Desire in the Indian Narrative Tradition (February 2004)

 

Article Reviews for Gender and Society, 2003-2004. 

 

 

Film Reviews for Asian Educational Media Service: “Salaam Shalom: the Jews of India”, Fall 2001; “Doing Time, Doing Vipassana”, Winter 2002. l Benson. 1994 

 

 

Two articles for the Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion, "Boundaries" and "Egg", New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1999 

 

 

"Bangladeshi Business Culture: Doing Business Internationally and Regionally," Motorola University, 1997. 

 

 

"Teaching Indian Buddhism with Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha -- or Not?," Education About Asia, Winter 1997. 

 

 

Review of Family, Gender, and Population in the Middle East: Policies in Context for the winter 1997 issue of The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences.

 

 

"Many Contradictions: Women and Islamists in Turkey," The Muslim World, April 1996, vol. 86:2, pp. 106-129. 

 

 

"Potential Effects of Implementing Motorola's Corporate Culture in Turkey," Motorola University, January 1995. 

 

 

"The Impact of Turkish Business Culture on Technology Transfer", Motorola University, February 1996. 

 


 
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
  Nineteenth century British Sanskritists in Maharashtra and their analysis of Indian story literature
 
  Devotional rituals in Indian Sufi communities and Indian Hindu Temple communities
 
  Intercultural communications issues in study abroad and business contexts

 

All of the information in this page is (c) 2003-2004 by Dr. Benton.

Site designed and developed by Alex Le | nworld3d@yahoo.com