James H. Grayson

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James Huntley Grayson (born 1944) is a scholar of the religions and folklore of Korea. He is Emeritus Professor of Modern Korean Studies in the School of East Asian Studies at The University of Sheffield. [1]

Contents

Education

Grayson earned a BA in Anthropology from Rutgers University (1962–66), an MA in Anthropology from Columbia University (1966–68), an MDiv in Systematic Theology from Duke University (1968–71), and a PhD in the History of Religion from University of Edinburgh (1976–79). [2]

Career

Grayson served as a missionary of the United Methodist Church (USA) to South Korea between 1971 and 1987. [3] During this time he taught religion at Kyungpook National University and Keimyung University. [4]

In 1987 he moved to the University of Sheffield, where at the School of East Asian Studies, he taught Korean history and culture, and East Asian philosophy and religion. as first Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, Reader and finally Professor. He retired in 2009. [2]

Grayson's research has focused on topics such as traditional Korean religion, Korean Christianity and Korean oral folklore [5] and has been summarised as being focused on both "the diffusion of religion across cultural boundaries, and an analysis of the religious and intellectual conceptual framework of the Korean and East Asian peoples". [6] His research is informed by his anthropological training and has been aided by fieldwork in Korea, Japan, and Okinawa. [7]

A collection of Grayson's research notes and correspondence, from the time he spent in East Asia, is kept in the Special Collections of the University Library, University of Sheffield. [3]

Recognition

Grayson has served as President of the British Association for Korean Studies (BAKS), and Vice-President of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE). [8]

Grayson was also President of the Folklore Society from to 2014 to 2017. [1]

Selected publications

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References

  1. 1 2 Grayson, James H. (2015-09-02). "Tan'gun and Chumong: The Politics of Korean Foundation Myths". Folklore. 126 (3): 253–265. doi:10.1080/0015587X.2015.1093391. ISSN   0015-587X.
  2. 1 2 Park, Chang-Won (2010). "An Interview with Professor James H. Grayson". Journal of Korean Religions. 1 (1–2): 189–197. doi:10.1353/jkr.2010.0008. ISSN   2167-2040.
  3. 1 2 Sheffield, University of (2018-09-12). "Grayson Papers - Special Collections - The University Library - The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  4. ↑ "Professor captivated by Korean religious rituals". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. ↑ "Korea - A Religious History". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  6. ↑ "Interview: Buddhism in Korea". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Emeritus Professor James H Grayson | East Asian Studies | The University of Sheffield". www.sheffield.ac.uk. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  8. ↑ "AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR JAMES H. GRAYSON". Acta Koreana (in Korean). 9 (2): 155–182. ISSN   1520-7412.
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