About Brendan Newlon

Brendan Newlon

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Curriculum Vitae

COURSEWORK
East Asian Religion and Culture:	Study of Near East Religion and Islam:
RGST 31 Religions in Tibet – Cabezon RGST 166A Religion in Chinese Culture – Yang RGST 166E Chinese Buddhism – Powell C LIT 183 Quest for Narrative (西遊記) – Powell RGST 161B Buddhist Meditation Trad – Grapard RGST 167B Religion in Japanese Culture – Grapard EACS 4A – East Asian Pre-Modern – Nathan, Berry EACS 4B – East Asian Modern – Nathan, Berry	RGST 80A Relig and Western Civ Ancient. – Thomas RGST 80B Relig and Western Civ Medieval – Campo & Hecht RGST 115A Hebrew Bible – Hecht RGST 185 Food and Relig in the Middle East – Campo & Campo IACG 1020 (IAUPR) – Christian Faith – Cadillo Introduction to Islam – Darul Arqam Islamic Center, Singapore. March – April 2005.
Chinese Language:	Other Relevant Coursework:
CHIN 1 – Hsu. Fall 2004 CHIN SN 110 Intermediate Chinese Princeton in Beijing 2nd yr Intensive. Summer 2005. CHIN 122A – Hsu CHIN 122B – Hsu CHIN 122C – Hsu Spring 2006. Written translation work for IBPS Publications. Summer 2006, 2007. Simultaneous 2-way (interview) translation work for IBPS Publications. Summer 2007.	RGST 104 Prob study of Religion: SciFi – Busto RGST 113 Religion in Film – Hecht RGST 145 Pattns in Compar Relig– Holdredge RGST 152 Religion in America Today – Roof RGST 162D Intro to Jainism LS 323 (CSUMB) – World Myth Lit – Martin 12 units in psychology 7 units in anthropology

Extensive Travel Study

Everyone in my family is prone to extensive traveling. My grandfather was born in Hong Kong, my mother studied in Switzerland, one of my brothers studied in the Caribbean, another in Denmark and Korea, and my sister in Paris. Traveling and pursuing education in so many places has broadened my perspectives and given my opinions their variety and international flavor. Puerto Rico: InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico. Nov 2001- Oct 2002. Taiwan: FoGuangShan佛光山Buddhist Monastery. Student. Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program (HBMLP) 2004. Staff. HBLMP 2006. Instructor: Buddhist Monastic Culture and Etiquette. HBMLP 2007. Singapore: National University of Singapore. January – June 2005. China: Princeton in Beijing, 北京师范大学. July – August 2005. UCSB Travel Study program in Nanjing, 南京大学. August 2006. Malaysia: Cultural Homestay with Malay Muslim family. May 2005, September 2006, June 2007. Indonesia: Cultural stay at Turkish Consulate in Medan, Indonesia. June 2005. Other Travel: Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Italy, Vatican, Thailand, Laos, Mexico, British Virgin Islands.

Language Training

Other kids laughed at the way I pronounced “croissant.” The French pronunciation learned from a mother fluent in the language was correct enough to sound silly in the context of English conversation. I love to study languages because they invite me into multiple viewpoints of the world. Within a few minutes of hearing or reading a foreign language, I begin to notice patterns and identify pronouns or particles. By circumlocution I can communicate a maximum of concepts despite a minimum of vocabulary, as one could describe “Sun” as “the daily sky-fireball” for lack of the proper word. I learn languages quickly and easily put them to use. My background in music even helps me to speak with a more native accent. Now with a moderately high level of fluency in French, Spanish, and Chinese, I look forward with anticipation to further study of classical Chinese and Arabic. French (4 years) Spanish (Equivalent of 3 years) Mandarin Chinese (3 years) Arabic (beginning)

Brendan Newlon’s Most Noteworthy Academic Works:

All available online: http://brendannewlon.wordpress.com/

• The Mythic Roots of Religion – The anthropological and social imperatives of spiritual concepts and religious ritual practice. InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico 2002.

• Sera Space – Spiritual and functional ‘closeness’ in Sera Buddhist monastery. UCSB 2003.

• Life of Milarepa – Synopsis of a biography of the Tibetan lama Milarepa. UCSB 2003.

• Finding the Lama – A personal response to the Tibetan methods of identifying a reincarnated lama. UCSB 2003.

• Visiting Vairotsana – Personal observations of a visit to Vairotsana Nyigma Buddhist practice center in Santa Barbara, CA. UCSB 2003.

• Scripture and Community – The relationship between community, religion, and the concept of scripture. UCSB 2004.

• Kabbalah: God in the Secrets – Mystical quest through the kabbalistic interpretation of the Torah. UCSB 2004.

• Midrash – Variety in Rabbinic oral interpretive traditions. UCSB 2004.

• Jains in the New World – Challenges to adaptation in the Jain diaspora. UCSB 2004.

• Western Stereotypes and the Reality of Jainism – Misconceptions and some weaknesses of current scholarship in the study of Jainism. UCSB 2004.

• How to Fire a Monk – Intellectual Taoist religious allegory in Journey to the West. UCSB 2004.

• Nine Quests of the Monkey King – The theme of reliance in the microcosmic first seven chapters of Journey to the West. UCSB 2004.

• Theory and Practice in Ch’an Buddhism – Gradual practice//instant enlightenment: Paradoxical division and simultaneity in Ch’an Buddhism. UCSB 2004.

• K A M I: Combining Deities and Traditions – A study of complex deities as they form through syncretic interaction of religions in Japan. UCSB 2004.

• Beasts and Buildings – Religious Symbolism and Medieval Memory – Analyzes the treatment of memory and symbolism in Umberto Ecco’s The Name of the Rose. UCSB 2004.

• Sacred Space: Human Interaction with Religious Geography – Explores interaction between physical and sacred geography, use and conceptions of sacred space. National University of Singapore 2005.

• Deus Vult: Anal Probing? – Surprising parallels in three works of science fiction literature between “the will of God” and sexual disaster. UCSB 2005.

• Solaris: The Techno-God of Mnemo-topia – The dystopian result of the attempted usurpation of God by a scientific marvel in “Solaris”. UCSB 2005.

• Boundlessness: Sacred Space Across Borders – Transnational treatment of the Mazu pilgrimage in light of modern China-Taiwan politics and media coverage. UCSB 2006.

• Pride in Kaempfer’s Japan – Identifying extreme bias in a supposedly neutral representation of the Japanese by Europeans in Kaempfer’s travelogue. UCSB 2006.

• Ge Hong and his Autobiography – Investigating the relationship between Ge Hong’s autobiography and the larger body of his literary works. UCSB 2006.

• Appropriation of Religion as a Strategy of Government – Population control through religious appropriation and propaganda in the Chinese imperial dynastic system. UCSB 2006.

• Taiping and the Political Formation of Modern China – Argues that the Taiping Rebellion was the single most influential event in the history of modern China, upsetting the dynastic system that had been the primary sociopolitical order for almost 3000 years and paving the way for the Republican Revolution and formation of the modern Chinese state. UCSB 2006.

Brendan Newlon’s

Strange and Wonderful Adventures

~ Hardships, Opportunities, Frivolities and More ~

Growing up in Vallejo, CA: While I was living there, this small city had the highest murder-per-capita rate in the nation. The neighborhood of my junior high school had a teen pregnancy rate twice the national average, and the school restrooms were used for selling drugs. Undercover police officers once parked in front of our home to observe our neighbors, and police chased a murder suspect on foot through my backyard. Living in an overtly hostile environment caused me to develop a strong sense of optimism and creativity.

While my mother taught ESL night classes at the adult school, I would spend the hours with the children of her students from Eritrea, the Philippines, Iran, and other countries. Spending time with such a culturally diverse community led me to appreciate a variety of cultural values and expressions, and the frequent potluck dinners after class developed my enjoyment of the world’s variety of foods.

Two High Schools? After moving to Santa Rosa, I simultaneously attended both Montgomery High School and Santa Rosa High School, leaving MHS in the middle of the day to attend classes across town at SRHS. My reason for this arrangement was to participate in SRHS’s world-famous Concert Choir, led by the master choral conductor Dan Earl. Our choir was selected to join in a 1000-voice choir singing Verdi’s Requiem and other pieces for a tour of Italy, including an unforgettable performance inside the Sistine Chapel. Highly musical, I also played Trumpet in MHS’s jazz band, with which I later gave a performance on the White House lawn. Besides singing and playing trumpet, I also play the Irish pennywhistle, harmonica, and the two-stringed Chinese erhu, and once constructed a beautiful and functional wooden violin by hand. I suspect that my love of music may be responsible for my love and skill for learning languages. Spending a summer living on a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands during my high school years made me love the Caribbean, and tropical climates in general.

CSU Monterey Bay: I was awarded 11 units of French language credit through an assessment test administered by the Monterey Defense Language Institute. Besides Gospel choir, I enjoyed courses in Taiko drumming, world mythological literature, and Taoist qi gong meditation which would influence my later study.

Living in San Juan, Puerto Rico: While attending classes at the InterAmerican University of PR, I became friends with a local “spiritual consultant” who was known both as a sorcerer of Santeria and a devotee of Ganesh. It was exciting to live in a culture where magic is not regarded as unscientific or evil, and people line up at midnight below sacred trees to deposit bottles containing spells. In Puerto Rico, small groups climb into North America’s only rainforest, in search of everything from healing or immortality to chupacabras or extra-terrestrials.

Brendan Newlon also…

• Frets over several attempted and rewritten segments of his novel in progress. It is anticipated to be a “tai chi murder mystery conspiracy” novel unlike any other.

• Served as assistant teacher for beginning and advanced sailing classes at CSU Monterey Bay. I was in charge of instructing students while overseeing the navigation of a 28 foot sailboat and a small three-person sailboat, although not simultaneously.

• Sighted an extraordinary UFO traversing the early night sky in San Juan, PR.

• Accepted employment by the UCSB Housing and Residential Services department as the 2004 Multicultural Awareness Chairperson (MAC) at San Rafael dormitory. The Chinese food-and-film event I organized was the most highly attended MAC event of the year.

• Enjoyed being smuggled across the Singapore/Malaysia border to attend a birthday party for a Princess of Johor, and later walked back across the border, smiling and talking my way past immigration officials.

• Flew to Denmark with only a small backpack of clothing and a bicycle, which I assembled upon landing at the airport and used to find my way across the city.

• Converted to Islam in 2005.

• Earned an Advanced Open Water SCUBA certification, Nitrox certification for diving with enriched air blends, underwater vehicle operation certificate, and shipwreck diving specialty at Pulau Tioman in Malaysia.

• Walked nearly the entire length and breadth of several cities, including Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing, Hang Zhou, Ning Bo, San Juan, Copenhagen, and Roskilde.

• Went hiking with his father and brothers to the top of every mountain in the California Bay Area, except Mt. Hamilton.

Brendan Newlon has been accepted to the UCSB Religious Studies department MA/PhD program to focus on the study of Buddhism and Islam in China.