Wu, Emily, PhD

Emily S. Wu is a religionist and ethnographer with expertise in Chinese Religions, particularly in food, healing, and medical practices in Chinese and other East Asian religious contexts. Her ongoing research and publications explore folk temple cultures and healing practices in Taiwan, China, and the East Asian diaspora in Northern California. Besides teaching undergraduate courses in Dominican, she teaches graduate level courses on East Asian Religions, Asian religious practices, and interfaith dialogues in Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA), Iliff Seminary (Online; Denver, CO), and Institute for Buddhist Studies (Berkeley, CA). She currently serves as steering committee co-chair (2015-2020) of the Religions, Medicines, and Healing unit of American Academy of Religion. Dr. Wu’s teaching and community work also explore deeply into the diasporic, transnational, and cross-cultural experiences and understandings of health and healing, community-building, and social justice. As the Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Project Development for Dominican’s Service-Learning program, she works closely with non-profit community partners in Marin County to facilitate student engagement in the local community. In addition to placing students in existing community partner programs, Dr. Wu also co-created and co-directs several community-based research and learning projects. Furthermore, she has taken students to practice immersive global service-learning in a Tibetan monastery in Northern India, and organizes annual human rights advocacy trip to South Korea.

Dominican University of California

50 Acacia Ave.

San Rafael, CA 94901