Mark Berkson

Mark Berkson is Associate Professor in the department of Religion at Hamline University. He teaches courses in the religious traditions of East and South Asia, Islam, and comparative religion. Mark received a B.A. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1987 with a minor in East Asian Studies; an M.A. from Stanford University in East Asian Studies in 1992; and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Religious Studies and Humanities in 2000.  Mark's scholarly work has addressed topics such as comparative religious thought, interfaith dialogue, Chinese religious thought and practice, death and dying, and religious studies pedagogy.  Mark lives in Saint Paul with his wife Laura and two sons, Alexander and Daniel. 

• Courses Taught:
  
  -Religions of East Asia
  -Religions of South Asia
  -Buddhism (upper-level seminar)
  -Islam
  -Scriptures of Asia and the Near East
  -Introduction to Religion
  -Death and Dying: Religious, Philosophical and Literary Perspectives (upper-level seminar)
  -Chinese Religious and Philosophical Thought (upper-level seminar)
  -Life, Work and Self: Religious Explorations of Vocation (Department Seminar)
  -Just Say Know: Drugs and Drug Policy in America (First-Year Seminar)
  -Resources or Relatives?  The Ethical Status of Non-Human Animals (First Year Seminar)