Having returned from spending a year-and-a-half studying Japanese mountain asceticism, Trent M.A. Anthropology graduate, Shayne Dahl ’13 was welcomed back to campus for the first time since he was a teaching assistant here as the speaker for Trent University Durham’s Anthropology Public Lecture Series.

Mr. Dahl, a current Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto, captivated the audience by sharing historical, cultural, and religious influences on the practice of willful mummification by Buddhist monks.  Describing the process of self-mummification, Mr. Dahl explained it as a quest for immediate enlightenment and altruism, highlighting how revered these mummies are.

Dr. Roger Lohmann, professor in Anthropology, organizer of the event, and Mr. Dahl’s supervisor when he was at Trent, was pleased that students and other audience members could see “what an adventurous life one can have as an anthropologist.”

Emily Baker, a Psychology student who was drawn to the event out of curiosity, shared what a great opportunity it was to “learn about differing worldviews.”

Both during and after his lecture, Mr. Dahl spoke fondly about his time at Trent, referring to it as a “transformational time” in his life, remarking that his experience completing graduate studies at Trent is what helped enable him to secure grants for his research in Japan.